The Taino are the indigenous people of Florida and the Carribean. They were massacred by the Spaniards and also decimated by disease soon after first contact with Europeans.

Columbus first encountered the Taino on the island he called San Salvador. There were millions of Taino living there in small cities.

Bartolome de Las Casas described the cruel slaughter of the Taino in his book "A Brief Report on the Destruction of the Indians". Las Casas was horrified at the cruel behavior of his fellow Christians.

The word "barbecue" comes from the Taino language. The European sailors learned the idea of the hammock from them.

The Taino language is part of the Arawak language family. Taino tribal organizations still exist in Puerto Rico and New Jersey.

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