The Arawak are a group of Indigenous peoples of northern South America and of the Caribbean. The term "Arawak" has been applied at various times to different Indigenous groups, from the Lokono of South America to the Taíno (Island Arawaks), who lived in the Greater Antilles and northern Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean.

Apr 2, 2025 · Arawak, American Indians of the Greater Antilles and South America. The Taino, an Arawak subgroup, were the first native peoples encountered by Christopher Columbus on Hispaniola.

Jun 19, 2019 · The Arawaks were the first people to live in the Caribbean islands and parts of South America. They were also the first to be seen by Columbus and his men. Their name, pronounced “air-ah-wack”, refers to their main crop, cassava root.

Sep 17, 2021 · Christopher Columbus arrived on the mainland on October 12, 1492. The natives living at his first destination were the Arawak people, or as they’re also known, the Taino. They shared their Arawak language with other groups in the Antilles.

Mar 23, 2023 · Arawak The Arawak people were one of the largest indigenous groups in South America and the Caribbean. They inhabited a vast territory that included present-day Brazil, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Lesser Antilles.

The Arawak/Taíno grew corn (maize), squash, beans, peppers, sweet potatoes, yams and peanuts. They not only had cotton, but they raised tobacco and enjoyed smoking very much. It was not only a part of their social life, but was used in religious ceremonies too.

Feb 29, 2020 · The Arawak are a group of peoples Indigenous to the Caribbean and South America. They are believed to have originally been from the Orinoco River basin in Venezuela . This once vibrant community had an estimated population in the millions until the Spanish conquistadors came along.

Arawak men in traditional dress. The duties of the sexes were well defined: The men cleaned the land for planting, but the rest of the agricultural activity was done by the women.

Three intertwined forces profoundly reshaped the lives of the Arawak people under colonial rule: disease, warfare, and oppressive assimilation policies. These horrors acted in concert to dismantle indigenous societies, decimate populations, and erase cultural identities.

Jun 24, 2024 · The Arawaks, an indigenous group of people who lived in the Americas before Columbus, faced many challenges and hardships that resulted in their decline and near extinction. Disease and harsh treatment by the Europeans played a significant role in …