Guacanagarix (alternate transcriptions: Guacanacaríc, Guacanagarí) was one of five

Taíno The Taíno are the Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean, Indigenous peoples of the Greater Antilles and surrounding islands. At the time of European contact in the late 15th century, they were the principal inhabitants of most of what is now The ...

cacique A cacique, sometimes spelled as cazique (; ; feminine form: ), was a tribal chieftain of the Taíno people, who were the Indigenous inhabitants of the Bahamas, the Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles at the time of European cont ...

s of the Caribbean island henceforth known as

Hispaniola Hispaniola (, also ) is an island between Geography of Cuba, Cuba and Geography of Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and the second-largest by List of C ...

at the arrival of the Europeans in 1492. This was contemporaneous with the first of the

voyages of Christopher Columbus Between 1492 and 1504, the Italian explorer and navigator Christopher Columbus led four transatlantic maritime expeditions in the name of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain to the Caribbean and to Central and South America. These voyages led to t ...

. He was the chief of the

cacicazgo ''Cacicazgo'' is a phonetic Spanish transliteration (or a derivative) of the Taíno word for the lands ruled by a ''cacique''. The Spanish colonial system recognized indigenous elites as nobles in Mexico and Peru, and other areas. Nobles could ...

of Marién, which occupied the northwest of the island. Guacanagarix received

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus (; between 25 August and 31 October 1451 – 20 May 1506) was an Italians, Italian explorer and navigator from the Republic of Genoa who completed Voyages of Christopher Columbus, four Spanish-based voyages across the At ...

after the '' Santa María'' was wrecked during his first voyage to the

New World The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and sometimes Oceania."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: ...

. He allowed Columbus to establish the settlement of

La Navidad La Navidad ("The Nativity", i.e. Christmas) was a Spanish fort that Christopher Columbus and his crew established on the northwest coast of Hispaniola (near what is now Caracol, Nord-Est, Caracol, Nord-Est (department), Nord-Est Department, Hait ...

near his village. The colonists that remained there were killed by a rival tribe before Columbus returned on his second voyage. Guacanagarix refused to ally himself with other caciques, who were trying to expel the Spaniards from the

Captaincy General of Santo Domingo The Captaincy General of Santo Domingo ( ) was the first Captaincy in the New World, established by Spain in 1492 on the island of Hispaniola. The Captaincy, under the jurisdiction of the Real Audiencia of Santo Domingo, was granted administra ...

, and many times served as an informant and spy for the European settlers.

Guacanagarix complex

In the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

, the term (Spanish: ''complejo de Guacanagarix'') has been used to describe a Dominican who is considered more interested in foreign culture than in his own country.F.Viala, 2014, The Post-Columbus Syndrome: Identities, Cultural Nationalism, and Commemorations in the Caribbean

References

*See: "El primer virreinato americano" by Roberto Cassá, Raimundo González de Peña, Genaro Rodríguez Morel. Anuario de Estudios Americanos, 63, 2, julio-diciembre, 13–26, Sevilla (España), 2006. *
Excerpt from ''Typical wedding decoration in Guacanagarix''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guacanagarix Taíno leaders 15th-century monarchs in North America Haitian people of Taíno descent History of the Colony of Santo Domingo Spanish Indian auxiliaries

Guacanagarix complex

See also

References