THE TAINOS: The People Who Welcomed Columbus

A tightly focused account of the origins, migrations, culture, and tragic demise of the indigenous people on the islands Columbus named San Salvador and Hispaniola. The relationship between 'Tainos and Spaniards was cordial early on but soon deteriorated, largely due to the inept and heavy-handed administration of Columbus and his delegates. The Tainos' simple farming economy collapsed; starvation, forced labor, and disease all but exterminated them in little more than 50 years. Jacobs has not entirely resisted the temptation to judge the European explorers by the standards of our time rather than theirs, but her book is well researched, readable, and valuable for its contribution to understanding the full significance of the early encounters between the old world and the new. Notes; international list of museums and exhibits; bibliography. Map, illustrations, and index not seen.