Precolonial and Spanish colonial periods
The island of Hispaniola, of which Haiti occupies the western third, is one of many Caribbean islands inhabited at the time of European arrival by the Taíno Indians, speakers of an Arawakan language. The Taíno name for the entire island was either Ayiti or Kiskeya. In the Taíno societies of the Caribbean Islands, the largest unit of political organization was led by a cacique; the Europeans called these polities caciquedoms or chiefdoms (French caciquat, Spanish cacicazgo). Before the arrival of Christopher Columbus, the island of Hispaniola was divided among five or six long-established caciquedoms.
The caciquedoms were tributary kingdoms, with payment consisting of harvests. Taíno cultural artifacts include cave paintings in several locations in the country, which have become national symbols of Haiti and tourist attractions. Modern-day Léogane, a town in the southwest, is at the site of Xaragua's former capital.
Christopher Columbus landed at Môle Saint-Nicolas on 5 December 1492, and claimed the island for Spain. Nineteen days later, his ship the Santa María ran aground near the present site of Cap-Haïtien; Columbus was forced to leave behind 39 men, who founded the settlement of La Navidad. Following the destruction of La Navidad by the local indigenous people, Columbus moved to the eastern side of the island and established La Isabela. One of the earliest leaders to fight off Spanish conquest was Queen Anacaona, a princess of Xaragua who married Caonabo, the cacique of Maguana. The couple resisted Spanish rule in vain; she was captured by the Spanish and executed in front of her people. Queen Anacaona is revered in Haiti as one of the country's founders.
The Spanish exploited the island for its gold, and directed its mining by the labor of local Amerindians. Those refusing to work in the mines were killed or sold into slavery. Europeans brought with them infectious diseases
