Migration and Settlement

Migration to the New World
The first people to inhabit the Caribbean region were the Indigenous Peoples
or the Pre- Columbian Indians as they are also called. The Indigenous Peoples
migrated from Asia and settled in the Americas and the Caribbean and
established a way of life in these regions.
Most people believe that the first inhabitants came to the Americas from Asia
between 15-20 000 years ago. This was during the Fourth Ice Age when large
parts of the earth were covered with ice and the oceans and lakes were
frozen. All this time, the Bering Strait (the narrow stretch of water which
separates Alaska from the coast of Siberia in north-eastern Asia) was said to
be forming an ‘’Ice Bridge’’.
Early man depended on animals for food and clothing especially since the Ice
Age had cause fruits and herbs to become scarce. These hunters were
nomadic so they travelled from place to place in search of food and shelter.
These hunters were following herds of animals like mammoths, dear and
caribou without knowing that they were crossing from one continent to
another. These Asian migrants are usually referred to as Mongoloids since
they came from Mongolia in Central Asia.

Settlement Patterns in the Americas
The Asian migrants settled in North America and continued to hunt. As time
passed, these people developed a way of life and also many languages. They
lived in small family units and made their homes from the skins of the
animals they hunted. Their homes are called tents. During the next
thousands of years, they wandered in many directions. Those who occupied
the same area, spoke the same language, and shared a common language
are said to belong to a tribe. Some Amerindians lived in Eastern Canada
(Mohawk) while some occupied the bleak and barren Artic regions. They
were known as Eskimos. In North America, the Amerindians settled in areas
such as the Florida Peninsula and Alaska. Some also settled in the Prairies of
the Great Plains. The Incas settled in countries such as Chile, Argentina,
Nicaragua, and Peru. The Aztecs settled in Mexico while the Maya settled in
the Yucatan Peninsula, Guatemala, Honduras, parts of Belize, El Salvador,
and Southern Mexico. The Mayas, Incas and Aztecs each developed
civilizations which flourished and they are known as Mesoamericans.

Settlement Patterns in the Caribbean
The first group of Amerindians to arrive in the Caribbean were the Ciboney
who settled mainly in Cuba. They migrated northwards from Suriname,
Eastern Venezuela and Guyana in South America. Archaeologists have not
found much evidence in order to describe what they were like or how they
lived. This is because they left few artefacts behind. Sometime afterwards,
the Ciboney were followed by the Tainos (Arawaks) and Kalinagos (Caribs).
The Tainos’ original homeland was in the forest between the Orinoco and
Amazon Rivers in South America. They travelled in large canoes and usually
settled on each island they encountered. Then after a few years, some would
move onto another island. The Arawaks were divided into two principal tribes
which are the Lucayos in the Bahamas and the Tainos in the Greater Antilles.
The Kalinagos followed the Tainos into the Caribbean. They lived further
south in the jungles around the Orinoco. They also moved from island to
island. At each one, they fought the Tainos and pushed them out and
established themselves on the island.
The Tainos fleeing from their enemies, the Kalinagos, crossed into Trinidad
and continued to move further up the island chain. By the time the
Europeans arrived in the Caribbean in 1492, the Tainos occupied mainly the
islands of the Greater Antilles which are Puerto Rico, Cuba, Hispaniola and
Jamaica. They also occupied the Bahamas and Barbados. The Kalinagos
occupied mainly the islands of the Lesser Antilles such as Trinidad, Dominica
and St. Vincent. Trinidad and Puerto Rico were occupied by both the Tainos
and Kalinagos. The Tainos and Kalinagos in the Caribbean did not develop
great civilizations like the Maya or Inca, rather they have been labelled as
‘’primitive’’ in terms of culture. The Amerindians dominated the region up
until the arrival of the Europeans in 1492. The coming of the Europeans saw
drastic changes in the way of life of the Amerindians and ensured their near extermination.