Hicayagua

Hicayagua is an early name associated with Santa Cruz de El Seibo in eastern Hispaniola. The country belonged to the Taíno chiefdom of Higüey before the Spanish conquest. Its plains and river valleys lay inland from the island’s eastern coast, within a region of Indigenous communities and local leaders.

Spanish forces began their conquest of Higüey in 1502. An early colonial town was called Santa Cruz de Hicayagua, with the name written in several forms by chroniclers; Seibo later became its established name. The town retained a connection to the older Indigenous name in its full colonial designation. The founding formed part of the establishment of Spanish villas after a violent campaign that transformed the political and social life of the Taíno inhabitants.

The later city of Hato Mayor del Rey lies here.