Enriqillo Loosely translated from Historica Grafica de la Republica Dominicana
by Jose Ramon Estella
The hero of this story was born on the island of Hispaniola
in the early 1500's. His name was Guarocuya. He was the son of
a Taino cacique, or chief, who was assassinated by the Spaniards.
After the death of his father, Guarocuya was adopted by Franciscan
monks, who provided him with a Spanish-style education. Upon
his conversion to Catholicism he was given the Christian name,
Enriquillo.
Enriquillo was happily married to the granddaughter of the illustrious
caciques, Caonabo and Anacaona. Her name was Mencía, and
she also had converted to Christianity.
The Tainos of Hispaniola, conquered and subjugated by the Spanish,
were governed under a policy called the encomienda, a system
not very different than the institution of slavery. Under this
policy Taino lands were entrusted to Spanish colonists who then
exercised complete authority over that land and the people on
it.
Enriquillo and Mencía, along with other Tainos of their
village were "entrusted" to the Spanish colonist, Francisco
de Valenzuela who operated a large ranch. When Francisco de Valenzuela
died he left his estate, including the "entrusted" workers,
to his son Andrés who, taking advantage of his position
and his power, began to make unwanted sexual advance towards
Mencía.
When Enriquillo found out about the persecution being suffered
by his wife, he reproached his new master and begged him to leave
Mencía in peace. Andrés de Valenzuela perceived
his servant's complaint as an affront to his authority and had
Enriquillo beaten in front of the other Tainos.
Indignant over this unjust treatment, Enriquillo denounced Andrés
to the lieutenant governor of the village, don Pedro Badillo.
The Spanish colonial official, however, refused to get involved
in any case involving a Taino against a Spaniard. Enriquillo
then took his complaint to the highest judicial authorities on
the island. This only resulted in the case being sent back to
Badillo to deal with. When Badillo received the complaint for
the second time, he warned Enriquillo that if he persisted in
this matter, he would be arrested and sentenced to prison.
At this point Enriquillo made his decision to rebel against
the Spaniards. He gathered together a large group of fellow Tainos
and fled to the rugged mountain terrain in the region of Bahoruco.
The year was 1520.
Badillo and Valenzuela and a force of armed men set out in pursuit
of the rebels. A fierce battle ensued and the Taino rebels succeeded
in defeating the Spaniards, many of whom were killed or wounded.
Valenzuela himself was at the point of being killed by one of
the Taino warriors when, Enriquillo, the former servant, took
pity on him and ordered the warrior to spare Valenzuela's life.
Enriquillo set Valenzuela free, saying to him, "Be grateful
that I have not killed you. Leave and never return here again."
The Taino insurgents established a secure mountain stronghold
where they planted fields of yucca and other provisions in the
most hidden and remote valleys and conducted raids against Spanish
haciendas and ranches in the vicinity.
Enriquillo turned out to be a great warrior and a master strategist.
He used guerrilla tactics in which he avoided meeting his numerically
superior and better armed enemy on open ground. Instead Enriquillo
took advantage of his knowledge the terrain and lead his adversaries
into to fall into deadly ambushes. After attacking with lightning
speed Enriquillo would retreat into the nearly inaccessible mountain
valleys and steep ravines, which only they knew well and, from
there, prepare for the next surprise attack. All attempts to
quell the Taino insurrection through force of arms met with failure.
After several humiliating defeats, the Spaniards decided to
take another tack. Diego Colon, the Governor General of Hispaniola
offered to make peace with Enriquillo and his followers granting
them complete immunity if they would give up the rebellion and
once again submit to Spanish authority. Enriquillo refused to
accept this and several other subsequent proposals made by both
the government and the church.
At one point the Spanish sent Father Remigio, the priest who
had been Enriquillo's former teacher, to act as an intermediary
between the government and the rebels. Father Remigio was intercepted
by lookouts who dispossessed the Franciscan of his robes. They
then conducted the priest, who was dressed only in his underwear,
to meet Enriquillo.
Ashamed at seeing his old teacher in such a state, Enriquillo
punished the warriors who were responsible for this show of disrespect,
and as a means of apology ordered that a grand reception be made
in Father Remigio's honor. Enriquillo's doubts concerning the
sincerity and good faith of the colonial officials, however,
still remained and he once again refused to accept the peace
offer.
In 1532, in order to put an end to the Taino uprising, the Emperor
sent a corps of two hundred well-armed and well-equipped soldiers
to Hispaniola under the command of Captain Francisco de Barrionuevo.
Barrionuevo was ordered to explore all peaceful avenues for
ending the conflict before resorting to violent action. In 1533
Barrionuevo, along with thirty soldiers, two priests and thirty
Tainos, among whom were Enriquillo's and two priests met to discuss
peace with the rebellious cacique. The meeting took place alongside
a saltwater lake that today is called Lake Enriquillo in commemoration
of the epic uprising.
Barrionuevo carried with him a missive from the Royal Court
that proposed that the cacique cease hostilities and sign a pact
of peace. Enriquillo read the document which agreed to the abolition
of the encomienda system, freedom for the Tainos and grants of
land to be used for the cultivation of crops and the raising
of animals in exchange for the cessation of hostilities and the
acceptance of Spanish authority. Enriquillo accepted the terms
and signed the agreement with Barrionuevo. The Spanish monarchy
rapidly approved the treaty and sent the ratified documents to
a Taino representative named Gonzáles who had been commissioned
by Enriquillo for that purpose.
The Royal Court was true to their word and even took special
care in the resettlement of the Tainos, providing them with cattle
for livestock and seeds for the cultivation of the land. Enriquillo
died peacefully a year after the peace treaty was signed, earning
the love of his people and the admiration and respect of the
Spaniards.
Enriquillo's wife, Mencía organized the construction
a church where the remains of her heroic husband were then buried.
His tomb, however, was also the tomb of the Taino people; for
despite their recently won gains, the ravages of European diseases
and depredations continued to take their toll on the less than
4,000 surviving Tainos of Hispaniola. By the end of the sixteenth
century that noble and gentle race had all but disappeared from
the face of the Earth.
