Anacaona
| Anacaona | |
|---|---|
| Born |
1474 |
| Died | c. 1503 Santo Domingo |
| Nationality | Taíno |
| Other names | Golden Flower |
| Occupation | Cacica |
| Known for | being one of two Taíno female Caciques (chiefs) along with Yuisa[1] from where is now called Loíza, Puerto Rico |
| Spouse(s) | Caonabo |
Anacaona (1474 – c. 1503), also called the Golden Flower, was a Taíno cacica (chief), sister of Bohechío, chief of Xaragua, and wife of Caonabo, chief of the nearby territory of Maguana. Her brother and her husband were two of the five highest caciques who ruled the island of Xayiti (now called Hispaniola) when the Spaniards settled there in 1492. She was celebrated as a composer of ballads and narrative poems, called areítos.
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Life [edit]
Anacaona was born in Yaguana (today the town of Léogane, Haiti) in 1474. During Christopher Columbus's visit to the chiefdom of Xaragua in what is now southwest Haiti in late 1496, Anacaona and her brother Bohechío appeared as equal negotiators. On that occasion, described by Bartolomé de las Casas in Historia de las Indias, Columbus successfully negotiated for tribute of food and cotton to be paid by the natives to the Spanish invaders under his command. The visit is described as having taken place in a friendly atmosphere. Several months later, Columbus arrived with a caravel to collect a part of the tribute. Anacaona and Behechío had sailed briefly aboard the caravel, near today's Port-au-Prince in the Gulf of Gonâve.
Anacaona's high status was probably strengthened by elements of matrilineal descent in the Taíno society, as described by Peter Martyr d'Anghiera. Taíno caciques usually passed inheritance to the eldest children of their sisters. When their sisters had no children, they chose among the children of their brothers, and when there were none, they fell back upon their own.
Anacaona had one child, named Higuemota, whose dates of birth and death are lost to history.
Arrest and death [edit]
Anacaona became chief of Xaragua after her brother's death. Her husband Caonabo, suspected of having organized the attack on La Navidad (a Spanish settlement on northern Hispaniola), was captured by Alonso de Ojeda and shipped to Spain, dying in a shipwreck during the journey. The Taínos, being ill-treated by the conquerors, revolted and made a long war against them. During a feast organized by eighty-four regional chieftains to honor Anacaona, who was friendly to the Spaniards, the Spanish Governor Nicolás de Ovando ordered the meeting house to be set on fire. He arrested Anacaona and her Taíno noblemen — all of whom, being accused of conspiracy, were executed. Prior to her execution, Anacaona was offered clemency if she would give herself as concubine to one of the Spaniards. Standing with her fellows in solidarity, she chose execution over colluding with her enemy. While the others were shot, Anacaona was executed by hanging. She was twenty-nine years old.
Legacy [edit]
Her immortalization in the intertwining histories of both Haiti and the Dominican Republic have resulted in the use of her name for various places in both countries. Many in Haiti claim her as a significant icon in early Haitian history and consequently a primordial founder of their country. Renowned Haitian American author Edwidge Danticat wrote an award-winning novel, Anacaona: Golden Flower, Haiti, 1490, in dedication to the fallen chief. She was immortalized by Puerto Rican salsa composer Tite Curet Alonso in his song "Anacaona".
Notes [edit]
References [edit]
- Bartolomé de las Casas: A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies.
- Peter Martyr d'Anghiera: De Orbe Novo.
- Samuel M. Wilson: Hispaniola - Caribbean Chiefdoms in the Age of Columbus. The University of Alabama Press, 1990. ISBN 0-8173-0462-2.
- Attribution
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Wilson, James Grant; Fiske, John, eds. (1891). "article name needed". Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography. New York: D. Appleton.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the 
