{"product_id":"hispaniola-samuel-m-wilson-9780817304621","title":"Hispaniola: Caribbean Chiefdoms in the Age of Columbus","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn 1492 the island of Hispaniola was inhabited by the Taino, an Indian group whose ancestors had moved into the Caribbean archipelago from lowland South America more than 1,500 years before. They were organized politically into large \u003ci\u003ecacicazgos\u003c\/i\u003e, or chiefdoms, comprising 70 or more villages under the authority of a paramount \u003ci\u003ecacique\u003c\/i\u003e, or chief. From the first voyage on, Columbus made Hispaniola his primary base for operations in the New World. Over the subsequent decades, disease, warfare, famine, and enslavement brought about the destruction of the Taino chiefdoms and almost completely annihilated the aboriginal population of the island. \u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis book examines the early years of the contact period in the Caribbean and in narrative form reconstructs the social and political organization of the Taino. Wilson describes in detail the interactions between the Taino and the Spaniards, with special attention paid to the structure and functioning of the Taino chiefdoms. By providing additional information from archaeology and recent ethnography, he builds a rich context within which to understand the Taino and their responses to the Europeans. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e The Taino are especially important in a New World context because they represent a society undergoing rapid sociopolitical change and becoming more complex through time. The early contact period on Hispaniola gives us a rich ethnohistorical glimpse of the political processes of a complex New World society before and during its destruction brought about by the arrival of the Europeans. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Samuel M. Wilson\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0817304622\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780817304621\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University Alabama Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 10\/30\/1990\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 184\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback","brand":"Samuel M. Wilson","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":48112763306239,"sku":"9780817304621","price":29.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_f9326bca-5747-4aca-8443-c91f8fa0626b.jpg?v=1769610762","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/hispaniola-samuel-m-wilson-9780817304621","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}