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C A R I B B E A N

Arawaks and Caribs

They were an agriculturebased and non-militaristic
society. Columbus spoke of
Everybody
their generosity and kindknows
ness, but these characterisColumbus as
tics made them vulnerable.
the great disThough they did eventually
coverer of the
fight the Europeans, they
Americas, but what about the were easily defeated and
people before Columbus?
enslaved. Today, they are
The history of the
remembered only
Atlantic Ocean
Caribbeans
through myth,
St. Thomas
indigenous peosurviving pottery,
ple often gets
and Columbus
Montserrat
lost behind the
records.
Dominica
Columbus legThe Caribs
Caribbean
Sea
end. In fact, the
began settling the
Arawaks and
Caribbean in the
Caribs first came
11th century.
to the Caribbean
They acquired a
Venezuela
in 500 B.C., 2000
fierce reputation
years before Columbus
due to their practice of eating
discovery.
the leaders of their enemies.
The Arawaks, the most
Columbus used this as an
numerous Caribbean people, excuse to destroy them,
occupied Cuba, Hispaniola,
although the practice was
Jamaica, and Puerto Rico.
rare. In truth, Carib society
was based on agriculture
and fishing. Caribs made
pottery, hammocks, and
weavings. They were militarInteractions
ily advanced, and opposed
Colonization
European colonization, but
impacts a colowere no match for European
nized country in many
rifles. The Caribs were
ways. Look in the paper for
destroyed almost to the
articles showing interactions point of extinction, though a
between people, towns,
few survived in Dominicas
states, and/or countries.
protective mountains.
How does one group influMolly Pierce is a student
ence another? Are these
aboard the sailing vessel
influences for the better,
Spirit of Massachusetts.
worse, or neither?

by Molly
Pierce

Q. Do you
ever steer
the ship?
A. We spend time at the
helm (steering wheel) in halfhour intervals during each
watch. I really enjoy steering
the boat because I feel like
I have more responsibility
when my actions control the
movement of the ship. Our
watch officer still tells us the
course to steer according to
the ships compass, but we
are responsible for keeping
it as steady as possible.
Depending on which
sails are set and where the
wind is coming from, the
ship responds to the wheel
differently. Sometimes it
takes a while for the ship to
respond, and other times it
responds faster than you
want. At the end of each
watch, we tell the next watch
our average course steered
so they can determine our
location and accurately plot
our future course.
Answered by Clay Baines,
a student aboard the sailing vessel
Spirit of Massachusetts.

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