Indigenous Puerto Rico

About this Region

Our Indigenous Puerto Rico region encompasses the archipelago of Puerto Rico, with its main island and more than 140 islets and cays. The Taíno were the primary inhabitants until the Spanish arrived in the late 1400s. The Spanish conquistadors marveled at the complex Taíno ceremonial dances and oral storytelling traditions. The polytheistic Taíno believed that their gods, known as zemi, controlled elements of the natural world, such as wind and fire.

Puerto Rico's Ocean of Change

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1750–1800
An Ocean of Change

In the middle of the 18th century, Puerto Rico had few towns, few roads, and thick forests that could make taking a boat from one side of the island to the other easier than traveling overland. The culture—and many of the residents—reflected a mix of native Taino, African, and Spanish ancestry, and raising livestock, producing sugar, and smuggling were vital to the economy. But this was about to change. Puerto Rico’s population tripled. Coffee became an important export crop. Spain eased trade laws, and settlements increased from 5 in 1700 to almost 40. The century ended with Puerto Ricans repelling a British invasion in 1797. Source Ancestry Origin DNA Story Time Lines by © 1997-2019 Ancestry

The Taíno were an indigenous people of the Caribbean. At the time of European contact in the late fifteenth century, they were the principal inhabitants of most of Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, The Bahamas and the northern Lesser Antilles. Source Wikipedia

Territory Puerto Rico's Taino People /ˈtīnō /

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