﻿478 
  ANIiTUAL 
  KEPORT 
  SMITHSONIAN 
  INSTITUTION-, 
  19 
  2 
  9 
  

  

  5^ear. 
  He 
  found 
  the 
  natives 
  of 
  southeastern 
  Santo 
  Domingo 
  — 
  that 
  

   is, 
  of 
  the 
  native 
  Province 
  of 
  Higuey 
  — 
  as 
  hostile 
  as 
  had 
  been 
  the 
  

   Ciguayans, 
  and, 
  like 
  them, 
  also 
  threatening 
  to 
  bind 
  the 
  Spanish 
  with 
  

   ropes. 
  Also, 
  at 
  La 
  Navidad, 
  Columbus 
  found 
  two 
  dead 
  Spaniards 
  

   bound 
  with 
  native 
  ropes. 
  

  

  During 
  his 
  second 
  voj^age 
  Columbus 
  began 
  the 
  practice 
  of 
  sending 
  

   natives 
  of 
  the 
  island 
  to 
  Spain 
  to 
  be 
  sold 
  into 
  slavery. 
  Tribute 
  was 
  

   exacted 
  from 
  the 
  remainder. 
  The 
  tribute 
  was 
  to 
  be 
  in 
  gold, 
  but 
  an 
  

   arroba 
  of 
  cotton 
  — 
  that 
  is, 
  25 
  pounds 
  — 
  was 
  later 
  substituted 
  as 
  the 
  

   amount 
  of 
  tribute 
  to 
  be 
  collected 
  quarterly 
  from 
  all 
  adults 
  over 
  14 
  

   years 
  of 
  age. 
  As 
  cotton 
  was 
  not 
  grown 
  throughout 
  the 
  islands, 
  and 
  as 
  

   it 
  was 
  practically 
  impossible 
  to 
  obtain 
  gold 
  elsewhere 
  except 
  in 
  the 
  

   central 
  mountains 
  of 
  Cibao, 
  service 
  was 
  accepted 
  instead 
  of 
  gold 
  or 
  

   cotton. 
  This 
  was 
  the 
  beginning 
  of 
  the 
  so-called 
  repartimiento, 
  later 
  to 
  

   be 
  expanded 
  into 
  the 
  encomienda 
  system, 
  under 
  which 
  natives 
  of 
  the 
  

   conquered 
  island 
  were 
  divided 
  among 
  the 
  Spanish 
  soldiery 
  for 
  admin- 
  

   istrative 
  purposes, 
  principally 
  for 
  the 
  collecting 
  of 
  tribute. 
  Under 
  

   this 
  arrangement 
  the 
  Indian 
  population 
  of 
  the 
  island 
  rapidly 
  declined. 
  

   It 
  is 
  probable 
  that 
  to-day 
  not 
  one 
  pure-blood 
  descendant 
  survives 
  of 
  

   the 
  comparatively 
  dense 
  native 
  population 
  living 
  on 
  the 
  island 
  at 
  the 
  

   time 
  of 
  the 
  discovery. 
  The 
  population 
  at 
  that 
  time 
  has 
  been 
  estimated 
  

   at 
  approximately 
  1,000,000. 
  In 
  the 
  year 
  1507, 
  according 
  to 
  Spanish 
  

   records, 
  60,000 
  remained, 
  while 
  in 
  1533, 
  600 
  natives, 
  supposed 
  to 
  

   constitute 
  the 
  remainder 
  of 
  the 
  native 
  population, 
  were 
  given 
  lands 
  at 
  

   Boya. 
  Jefferys 
  writes 
  there 
  were 
  but 
  100 
  natives 
  still 
  living 
  in 
  

   Haiti 
  in 
  1730, 
  but 
  he 
  estimates 
  the 
  number 
  of 
  survivors 
  in 
  1550 
  as 
  

   4,000. 
  To 
  offset 
  this 
  rapid 
  decline 
  in 
  workers 
  for 
  the 
  mines 
  and 
  

   plantations, 
  consignments 
  of 
  African 
  slaves 
  were 
  brought 
  to 
  the 
  island 
  

   as 
  early 
  as 
  1508. 
  

  

  The 
  island 
  also 
  gained 
  an 
  unsavory 
  reputation 
  from 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  

   Spanish 
  pirates 
  used 
  the 
  island 
  as 
  a 
  base 
  and 
  preyed 
  on 
  the 
  French, 
  

   Dutch, 
  and 
  British 
  shipping. 
  The 
  long 
  speedy 
  boats 
  used 
  in 
  this 
  

   piracy 
  were 
  called 
  fiy-bote 
  or 
  freibote 
  and 
  their 
  crews 
  were 
  known 
  as 
  

   freiboters, 
  freebooters, 
  or 
  filibusters. 
  The 
  French 
  and 
  British 
  united 
  

   to 
  suppress 
  these 
  pirates 
  or 
  freebooters 
  and 
  established 
  a 
  base 
  on 
  St. 
  

   Christopher 
  Island 
  and 
  later 
  on 
  the 
  island 
  of 
  Tortuga, 
  a 
  small 
  island 
  

   north 
  of 
  Cape 
  Haitien, 
  Haiti. 
  Frequent 
  incursions 
  were 
  made 
  into 
  

   the 
  northern 
  parts 
  of 
  Haiti 
  for 
  the 
  purpose 
  of 
  killing 
  cattle. 
  Those 
  

   engaged 
  in 
  this 
  activity 
  became 
  known 
  as 
  buccaneers, 
  from 
  boucan, 
  

   the 
  spit 
  on 
  which 
  they 
  cooked 
  their 
  meat. 
  

  

  From 
  Tortuga, 
  the 
  French 
  gained 
  a 
  permanent 
  foothold 
  on 
  the 
  west- 
  

   ern 
  end 
  of 
  the 
  island, 
  now 
  the 
  Republic 
  of 
  Haiti. 
  The 
  activities 
  of 
  the 
  

   French 
  in 
  bringing 
  slaves 
  from 
  Africa 
  soon 
  exceeded 
  the 
  Spanish; 
  

   their 
  methods 
  became 
  harsher 
  and 
  more 
  exacting 
  than 
  those 
  of 
  the 
  

   easy-going 
  Spanish 
  planters 
  on 
  the 
  Santo 
  Domingo, 
  or 
  eastern 
  side 
  of 
  

  

  