Overview

Reveals the transformation that occurred in Indian communities during the Spanish conquest of Hispaniola and Puerto Rico from 1492 to 1550 In Surviving Spanish Conquest: Indian Fight, Flight, and Cultural Transformation in Hispaniola and Puerto Rico, Karen F. Anderson-CÓrdova draws on archaeological, historical, and ethnohistorical sources to elucidate the impacts of sixteenth-century Spanish conquest and colonization on indigenous peoples in the Greater Antilles. Moving beyond the conventional narratives of the quick demise of the native populations because of forced labor and the spread of Old World diseases, this book shows the complexity of the initial exchange between the Old and New Worlds and examines the myriad ways the indigenous peoples responded to Spanish colonization.   Focusing on Hispaniola and Puerto Rico, the first Caribbean islands to be conquered and colonized by the Spanish, Anderson-CÓrdova explains Indian sociocultural transformation within the context of two specific processes, out-migration and in-migration, highlighting how population shifts contributed to the diversification of peoples. For example, as the growing presence of “foreign” Indians from other areas of the Caribbean complicated the variety of responses by Indian groups, her investigation reveals that Indians who were subjected to slavery, or the “encomienda system,” accommodated and absorbed many Spanish customs, yet resumed their own rituals when allowed to return to their villages. Other Indians fled in response to the arrival of the Spanish.   The culmination of years of research, Surviving Spanish Conquest deftly incorporates archaeological investigations at contact sites copious use of archival materials, and anthropological assessments of the contact period in the Caribbean. Ultimately, understanding the processes of Indian-Spanish interaction in the Caribbean enhances comprehension of colonization in many other parts of the world. Anderson-CÓrdova concludes with a discussion regarding the resurgence of interest in the TaÍno people and their culture, especially of individuals who self-identify as TaÍno. This volume provides a wealth of insight to historians, anthropologists, archaeologists, and those interested in early cultures in contact.

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9780817360580

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Surviving Spanish Conquest is an important and worthwhile addition to the literature of Caribbean contact studies. Anderson-Cordova's contextualization of ethnogenisis and the fresh twist she gives it will revitalize debate among scholars over indigenous agency during the critical early years of Spanish imperial reach in the Caribbean. --Ethnoarchaeology Anthropologist Anderson-Cordova's analysis of Indian-Spanish relations in the 16th-century Caribbean reveals a sophisticated, new appreciation for the historical data. The book is based on an impressive knowledge of original sources, archaeological evidence, and ethnohistorical theories, and supplemented with appendixes and a bibliographic essay. Required for all Caribbeanist libraries and students alike. Essential. --CHOICE An original and significant contribution to multiple fields in Caribbean studies. Surviving Spanish Conquest will be used widely by historians, archaeologists, and students of Caribbean society and culture, as well as by scholars of American Indian history. --Kathleen Deagan, coauthor of Columbus's Outpost among the Tainos: Spain and America at La Isabela, 1493-1498 Surviving Spanish Conquest provides a solid overview of early colonial encounters in sixteenth-century Hispaniola and Puerto Rico from both ethnohistorical and archaeological points of view. It is an excellent book in every sense. --Gabriel De La Luz-Rodriguez, professor, Department of Social Sciences, University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras

Author Information

Karen F. Anderson-Córdova is retired from the historic preservation division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. Throughout the course of her career, she served as an instructor of anthropology at Georgia State University, an assistant professor of anthropology and social sciences at the University of Puerto Rico, a Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer, and a historian and archaeologist in the State Historic Preservation Office in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

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