Neiba Mountains

The Neiba Mountains rise in southwestern Hispaniola, north of Lake Enriquillo. Precolonial archaeological sites in the range include Las Caritas near the lake. According to Neiba's municipal history, the nearby district belonged to the Indigenous chiefdom of Jaragua before Spanish conquest.

Spanish conquest brought violence, forced labour and disease to Indigenous societies across Hispaniola. In the wider southwest, people escaping enslavement established communities in difficult terrain. The maniel of Neiba was located in the separate Bahoruco range to the south; colonial authorities organized an expedition against it in 1768. Its history illustrates resistance in the region without placing that community in the Neiba Mountains themselves.