Resistance Across the Americas: Taínos, Maroons, and Mesoamerican Revolts

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms from the video notes on Taíno resistance, maroon communities (palenques), and Mesoamerican rebellions, including Gaspar Yanga and the first free town in the Americas.

Taínos

Indigenous people of the Caribbean who resisted Columbus, challenging the image of passive conquest and launching resistance across Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, and Cuba for over twenty years.

Navidad

The first Spanish fortress in the Americas, built from the wood of the Santa Maria after that ship sank off Hispaniola.

Caonabo

Taíno chief who burned the Navidad fortress and killed the Spaniards, sparking prolonged Taíno resistance on Hispaniola.

Maroons

Enslaved Africans who escaped bondage and formed self-sufficient communities; described by Schwaller as a unique form of conquest.

Bahoruco

Area where officials noted rebel settlements of enslaved people; referenced in a 1587 letter about growing resistance.

Palenque

A self-sufficient maroon community, often in the mountains, where escaped enslaved people and allies lived and organized.

Cimarrones

Escaped enslaved Africans who formed maroon communities; leaders often organized resistance in the Americas.

Gaspar Yanga

Leader of the first free town in the Americas; escaped slavery in 1570 and established San Lorenzo de Los Negros near Veracruz.

Veracruz

City near which Yanga and his followers fled to form their palenque and establish their community.

Orizaba

Rugged mountainous region where Yanga's palenque was located, allowing self-sufficient resistance.

Francisco de la Matiza

Angolan warrior who led Yanga’s Cimarrón fighters in their resistance against Spaniards.

Padre Juan Laurencio

Priest who documented Yangans’ settlement and observed the peace process with the Spanish Crown.

1609

Year when the Spanish Crown sent a militia to destroy Yanga’s palenque; the attack failed to crush the community.

San Lorenzo de Los Negros (Yanga)

First free town in the Americas founded by Gaspar Yanga; later known simply as Yanga.

Cupul Uprising

Maya rebellion in the northern Yucatán from November 1546 to March 1547.

Chichimecas

Nomadic warriors in northern central Mexico who fought Spaniards; conflict extended from 1550 and was settled by 1590 with concessions.

Viceroy Luis de Velasco

Spanish administrator who sent the military to quell Yanga’s palenque in 1609.

Eleven-item treaty (Yanga’s demands)

Peace settlement demanded by Yanga, outlining terms for freedom and the right to establish a free town and community.