Caribbean Interactions

- The Tainos were the prominent people the the Caribbean
- Tainos did not resist the Spanish and were interested in Spanish trade goods like glass, beads, and metal tools
- Spanish established the fort of Santo Domingo, which became the capital of the Spanish Caribbean
- Spanish wanted to establish trading posts where merchants could trade with local people for products desired by European consumers
- Spanish realized that there was no silks or spices in the Caribbean and started mining gold
- Recruitment of labor came through the an institution called encomienda, which gave Spanish the right to compel Tainos to work in their mines and fields
- Tainos would organize rebellions against the Spanish due to bad conditions and hard work