Ta Arawakan

The Ta Arawakan peoples spread from the Amazon and Orinoco basins across northern South America to the Guianas, Colombia and the Caribbean. They include the Taino of the islands, the Lokono of the Guianas and the Wayuu of the Guajira, and in the interior the Yanesha, Matsigenka and Moxo.

The Taino lived under hereditary caciques and worshipped spirit images called zemis. In 1492 they were the first Americans Columbus met, and the encomienda and epidemics shattered them; the cacique Enriquillo's revolt ran from 1519 to 1533. The Lokono kept Spain at arm's length and traded with the Dutch and English, who founded Essequibo in 1616.