In fact, it was Caribs who fought the most effectively against the Europeans, their behavior probably led the Europeans to unfairly attribute warlike tendencies to all of the island's tribes. A dynamic tension between the Ta nos and the Caribs certainly existed when the Christopher Columbus landed on Puerto Rico. At their arrival the Spaniards expected the Taino Indians to acknowledge the sovereignty of the king of Spain by payment of gold tribute, to work and supply provisions of food and to observe Christian ways. They were joined in this uprising by their traditional enemies, the Caribs. In order to understand Puerto Rico's prehistoric era, it is important to know that the Ta nos, far more than the Caribs, contributed greatly to the everyday life and language that evolved during the Spanish occupation.
Many Taino words persist in the Puerto Rican vocabulary of today.
Also, many Ta no superstitions and legends were adopted and adapted by the Spanish and still influence the Puerto Rican imagination. All rights reserved.