Caonabo

Caonabo (died 1496) was a Taíno cacique (chieftain) of Hispaniola at the time of Christopher Columbus's arrival to the island.

In retaliation against mistreatment of the Taíno people, Caonabo led attacks against the Spanish, including an assault on La Navidad which left 39 Spaniards dead.

The Santa María shipwrecked on the north coast, and under Columbus's direction, the ship was salvaged in order to build a fort.

[5] Columbus left some of his crew at La Navidad and returned to Spain, he mistakenly thought that his men would not threaten the natives, whom he believed to be friendly.

[5] When Columbus returned to Hispaniola and found La Navidad destroyed, Caonabo quickly came to be considered one of the strongest leaders on the island.

[7] In 1494, Bartholomew Columbus received word that Caonabo was planning an attack on the Spanish fort at Santo Tomás.

[8] In response, Columbus sent a party of four hundred men led by Alonso de Ojeda to march into the interior of the island in order to instill fear and subjugate the natives.

The Spanish decided to remove Caonabo from the island in order to prevent future uprisings, so he and his brother were sent to Spain.