Enrique (1498-1535), best known as Enriquillo , was a Taíno cacique who rebelled against the Spaniards between 1519 and 1533. Enriquillo's rebellion is the best known rebellion of the early Caribbean period. He was born on the shores of Lake Jaragua (today Lake Enriquillo ) and was part of the royal family of Jaragua. Enriquillo's aunt Anacaona was Queen of Jaragua, and his father Magiocatex was the crown prince. He is considered a hero in the modern day Dominican Republic for his resistance in favor of the indigenous peoples. Dominican friar Bartolomé de las Casas , who documented and rallied against Spanish abuse of the native peoples, wrote sympathetically of Enriquillo.
31-601: Enriquillo was born on the shores of Lake Jaragua (currently Lake Enriquillo in Dominican Republic ), around 1500. He was a part of the Taíno people, who had an advanced government, cultural traditions, and agricultural practices. Good relations between Christopher Columbus and the indigenous Taíno of the large island Columbus called Hispaniola did not last more than a few days. The Taínos were forced into terrible conditions as laborers in gold mining operations, badly housed in
62-521: A combination of storm-driven precipitation events and the region's high evaporation rate. Salinity in the lake can vary between 33 parts per thousand (comparable to seawater ) and over 100 parts per thousand ( hypersaline ). The region has a hot, semiarid climate. Annual rainfall is not evenly distributed, with peak precipitation occurring in May and October. The dry season is December through April when rainfall may be less than 20 mm (0.79 in). Due to
93-540: A way to profit from his voyages. Enriquillo's father, his aunt Anacaona , and eighty other regional chieftains were killed by Nicolás de Ovando while attending supposed "peace talks" with the Spanish in Jaragua. During the talks, Spanish soldiers ambushed the chieftains, also known as caciques, set the meeting house on fire, and then proceeded to kill anyone who fled the flames (causing his father's death). Enriquillo, an orphan,
124-530: Is a hypersaline lake in the Dominican Republic located in the southwestern region of the country. Its waters are shared between the provinces of Bahoruco and Independencia , the latter of which borders Haiti . Lake Enriquillo is the largest lake in both the Dominican Republic and Hispaniola , as well as the entire Caribbean . It is also the lowest point for an island country . Lake Enriquillo covers an area of 380 km (150 sq mi), and
155-411: Is a view of the lake. There are several small hotels in the nearby towns, usually used by travelers linked to commerce, and which are also used by tourists to see the attractions of the area. A transportation system with buses also links this community with Santo Domingo and other communities between them. Monte Plata Monte Plata is a town and municipality ( municipio ) and the capital of
186-580: Is the lowest point for an island country , falling 46 m (151 ft) below sea level. Its drainage basin includes ten minor river systems. The rivers that rise in the Neiba Mountains to the north (lower center and lower right of the image) are perennial. Those rivers that rise in the Baoruco Mountains to the south are intermittent. Lake Enriquillo has no outlet, making it an example of an endorheic lake . The lake's water level varies because of
217-597: The Monte Plata province in the Dominican Republic . It includes the municipal districts ( distritos municipal ) of Boyá , Chirino , and Don Juan . Monte Plata was founded by residents of the towns of Monte Cristi and Puerto Plata, whose destruction was ordered by the king of Spain and carried-out by Antonio Ozorio, Governor of the Island. The name is a portmanteau of the names of the two cities MONTE Cristi and Puerto PLATA . The founders of Monte Plata were 87 families from
248-617: The Dominican Republic. The valley is known as the Hoya de Enriquillo in the Dominican Republic and as the Plain du Cul-de-Sac in Haiti. Parts of the depression are below sea level and are covered by large salt lakes, including Lake Enriquillo and Etang Saumâtre , Hispaniola's second largest lake (as well as Haiti's largest). There historically were three islands in the lake: Barbarita, Islita, and Isla Cabritos. Once, when water levels dropped during dry spells,
279-500: The Province of Monte Plata over his tomb, to dislocate the true place of the sanctuary of such a leader. It is also stated that the Cacique died around 1536 of about 40 years of age. Most historians agree (see Sued Badillo and others) that Enriquillo was the same person as the cacique Guarocuya which would mean that Enriquillo belonged to the highest house of the Jaragua cacicazgo . Guarocuya
310-531: The Spaniard's word. This, according to some writers, was the tipping point for Enriquillo which led to his revolt in the Bahoruco mountains. Several revolts followed in the first half of the 16th century; the most famous began in 1519. Enriquillo, one of the few remaining caciques, or indigenous chiefs, started the revolt with a large number of Taínos from the mountain range of Bahoruco . The Tainos were able to continue
341-536: The Spaniards in the early 16th century, and hid in the mountains south of the lake. It was previously called Lake Xaragua , after the Taino chiefdom in which it was located. Land near Lake Enriquillo has long been used for agriculture, with crops such as bananas, sweet potatoes, and yuca being grown there, as well as pasture for cattle. The rising water levels have affected hundreds of nearby residents in townships bordering
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#1732852077850372-438: The Spanish monarchy more than 40,000 gold pesos. Assaults, fires, raids, death of Spaniards and a dangerous example for the slaves, who by the end of the 1520s numbered thousands in the southern part of the island, dedicated to the production of sugar cane. His style of fighting and the method that he applied of irregular warfare and his cunning, patience and prudence; the efficient information and supply service that he organized in
403-701: The baptism. The salt water lake Lake Enriquillo in the Dominican province of Baoruco was named after him. Looking out over it is the Trono de Enriquillo , where he is said to have camped during the rebellion. The highest rank of the Asociación de Scouts Dominicanos was formerly named after him. A new genus of lizard , Guarocuyus , was described in 2022 from Jaragua National Park , and named in honor of Enriquillo's likely Taíno name, Guarocuya. Lake Enriquillo Lake Enriquillo ( Spanish : Lago Enriquillo )
434-508: The eastern end of the lake. Plants that thrive in arid places, such as cacti (especially the endemic Melocactus lemairei ), can be found here. A national park was established in 1974 to preserve the area; in 2002 it was combined with two other parks to form the Jaragua-Bahoruco-Enriquillo Biosphere Reserve. The lake is named after Enriquillo , a cacique of the indigenous Taíno , who rebelled against
465-428: The flooding are being debated, but may be a combination of several, including increases in rainfall in the region in recent years, increase of sediments going into the lake from run-off due to deforestation that are contributing to raising the lakebed, and milder temperatures, which are reducing the surface evaporation rate. The lake lies in a valley that stretches from near Port-au-Prince in Haiti to Bahia de Neiba in
496-465: The islands were linked to one another by sandbars. As of December 2011, only Isla Cabritos remains; the other two islands were submerged by the rising levels of the lake. Lake Enriquillo is located within a linear depression that formed as a ramp basin between the Haiti fold and thrust belt to the north and the uplifted oceanic crust of the Massif de la Selle and Sierra de Bahoruco mountain ranges to
527-417: The lake and severely affected by the rising waters, has been the subject of government relocation efforts, including the construction of a new town further from the shores of Enriquillo. Lake Enriquillo has become an important tourist destination, both for national and foreign tourism. There is a group of possibly pre-Taino indigenous petroglyphs (locally named " las caritas ", "the faces"), from where there
558-460: The lake, as well as on Isla Cabritos: the Ricord's iguana ( Cyclura ricordii ), and the rhinoceros iguana ( Cyclura cornuta ). The endemic Hispaniola racer ( Haitiophis anomalus ), a snake, is also native to the area. Among the numerous bird species found at the lake, American flamingos ( Phoenicopterus ruber ) are prominent; flocks of flamingos are especially concentrated on Isla Cabritos and near
589-432: The lake, with abundant loss of agricultural land. Important towns near the shores of Enriquillo include Neiba , the capital of Baoruco Province , on the northeast, and Jimaní , the capital of Independencia Province , at the western end of the lake near the border with Haiti . La Descubierta is the town nearest to the entrance of Lago Enriquillo and Isla Cabritos National Park. The community of Boca de Cachon, near
620-415: The length of the lake, annual rainfall averages also vary at the eastern and western ends: 729 mm (28.7 in) on the northwest shore, and 508 mm (20.0 in) in the southeast. Between 2004 and 2009, the lake doubled its surface area. Records for 2004 show the lake to be 164 km (63 sq mi); measurements from 2011 put the area at 350 km (140 sq mi). Reasons for
651-525: The mountains, poorly fed, extremely overworked, and forced to live in close quarters with the Spaniards. Additionally, due to taking men away from the villages, the cycle of food production was disrupted, causing widespread malnutrition. This malnutrition further aided the Taínos' vulnerability to deadly new types of diseases introduced by the foreigners. After Columbus tortured and killed many in his quest for gold, he turned to slavery and sugar cane plantations as
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#1732852077850682-406: The other indigenous people. For this reason, he served as a foreman for the encomendero. Enriquillo also had a wife, called Mencía, later with the noble title Doña due to Enriquillo's high standing and relations with the Spaniards. She was raped by a Spaniard named Valenzuela. When Enriquillo tried to take the issue to the Spanish courts, nothing could be done, since it was Doña Mencia's word against
713-519: The rebellion because of their better knowledge of the region. As the Spaniards were not able to control the rebellion, a treaty was signed granting to the Native population among others the right of Freedom and of Possession . It had little consequences, however, as by this time the Native population was rapidly declining due to European diseases. Thirteen years of insurrection of the Bahoruco chieftain cost
744-576: The region are common. Lake Enriquillo is home to the largest population of American crocodiles ( Crocodylus acutus ) in the Caribbean. Three species of native fish inhabit the lake: the blackbanded limia ( Limia melanonotata ), the Hispaniolan gambusia ( Gambusia hispaniolae ), and the Hispaniola pupfish ( Cyprinodon bondi ). Two endangered iguanas endemic to Hispaniola live sympatrically on around
775-536: The region, in the high mountains of the Sierra, made him feared by the Spaniards . A true military leader, a great captain, capable of facing and defeating the representatives of the most powerful nation in the world at that time. Their resistance forced the King of Spain to commission Francisco de Barrionuevo to put an end, by means of negotiation or force, to the long conflict that unsettled the colony. Enrique del Bahoruco, as he
806-506: The south. The Enriquillo-Plantain Garden fault is a later strike-slip fault , cutting across the depression, which extends from Jamaica in the west to near Neiba in the Dominican Republic in the east. The valley, a former marine strait, was created around one million years ago when the water level fell and the strait was filled in by sediments of the Yaque del Sur River . Due to this, tremors in
837-400: The tales of Guarocuya's demise are identical to the more verifiable accounts of the capture and execution of his aunt Anacaona. It is also well documented that the character of Enriquillo was married to Mencía, the mestiza granddaughter of Anacaona. His name, Enriquillo, would come after his baptism as a Catholic. The name Enriquillo, "little Enrique," was probably due to his age at the time of
868-509: The “Liberator of the Quisqueyanos”. According to sources, the chief Enriquillo settled in the area that is today the province of Monte Plata , and lived in the town of Boya, now known as Sabana Grande de Boya, where he died. The tomb of the Liberator became a place of pilgrimage by the natives and for this reason the Spaniards decided to build the church of Agua Santa in the community of Boya in
899-399: Was later raised in a Santo Domingo monastery and given the name of "Enrico". One of his mentors was Bartolomé de las Casas . De las Casas was a Spanish Roman Catholic Priest focused on the rights of Native Americans. Enriquillo owned a steed and could read and write Castilian. He was aware of his privileges or rights as a subject of the colony and was still recognized as a chief or nitaíno by
930-418: Was originally known, received Barrionuevo, in his first interview, bearing a letter from Carlos and, on Cabritos Island. Those agreements were never fully executed; the Cacique assumed a peaceful attitude from that moment on. He never came down from the mountains and although there is talk of a visit to Santo Domingo accompanied by his wife, nothing confirms that fact. By the success of his negotiations, he became
961-411: Was the nephew of Anacaona , sister to the cacique of Jaragua Bohechío and his eventual successor once Bohechío was killed. Anacaona was married to Caonabo , who was the cacique of the neighboring Maguana kingdom. A minority of historians, however, claim that Guarocuya was captured and hanged, while Enriquillo succeeded in his revolt. Most historians believe both rebels were the same person, arguing that