Anacaona ( b.1474?-1502) was a Taíno cacica or female chief who ruled over the chiefdom of Xaragua, one of the 5 chiefdoms of Bohío (which the Spanish renamed to Hispaniola, now known as the 2 countries of Haiti 🇭🇹 and the Dominican Republic 🇩🇴). Her name comes from the Taíno words “ana” = flower & “caona” = gold.
In addition to her famed beauty, Anacaona was also known for her intelligence, poetry and work as a talented composer. Her work was commonly performed at areítos, a religious song & dance performed by Taínos. She was also celebrated for her ability to communicate with ancestral spirits called zemi. Anacaona was married to Caonábo, the cacique of nearby Maguana. They had 1 daughter named Higuemota.
On Dec 4 1492, Christopher Columbus arrived in Bohío in the kingdom of Márien. Relations between the Taínos & Spaniards were initially friendly, with the Taíno gifting their European visitors gold, corn and other precious metals. The Spanish however, did not return the favour 😒. In 1493, the Spanish established a colony to excavate gold, kidnapping and enslaving the Taíno to feed their greed. Many Taíno women were r*ped and other natives who rebelled were brutally m*rd*red. 😔
In 1493, Anacaona’s husband Caonábo was shipped off to Spain for trying to destroy a Spanish colony. He later died in a shipwreck. Following the death of her brother, she returned to Xaragua to rule as cacica.
Although there is some disagreement on historical accounts of Anacaona’s death, it’s generally believed that during a lavish welcome ceremony for visiting governor Nicolás Ovando, the Spanish ambushed the Taínos. The Taínos fought as hard as they could, killing 50 Spaniards. A high number considering Spain had more advanced military technology. Unfortunately the natives were outnumbered and Anacaona was eventually hanged.
After committing g*nocide, Ovando was deposed & called back to Spain on the order of King Ferdinand in 1504, dying 2 years later.
Is Anacaona’s story sad af? Yes. And does her the situation around her death mirror many current world events? Absolutely, which is one of the reasons why I included her. But I wanted to include her in this series to 1) Share more about the various indigenous people of the Caribbean and 2) to honour Anacaona as an early female ruler in the Caribbean, who was a beautiful, peace-loving, talented artist.
