The Kalinago genocide was the

massacre A massacre is the killing of a large number of people or animals, especially those who are not involved in any fighting or have no way of defending themselves. A massacre is generally considered to be morally unacceptable, especially when per ...

of an estimated 2,000 Kalinago people by

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and French settlers on the island of

Saint Kitts Saint Kitts, officially the Saint Christopher Island, is an island in the West Indies. The west side of the island borders the Caribbean Sea, and the eastern coast faces the Atlantic Ocean. Saint Kitts and the neighbouring island of Nevis cons ...

in 1626.

Event

In the early 17th century, the Kalinago leader Tegremond had become uneasy with the increasing number of English and French settlers emigrating to the island of

. The settlers soon outnumbered the Kalinago and began to clear land around the island to establish farms. In 1626, Tegremond began plotting to massacre all English and French settlers on Saint Kitts, under the fear that they would "completely take over the island"; he secretly dispatched messengers to Kalinago communities on other

West Indian A West Indian is a native or inhabitant of the West Indies (the Antilles and the Lucayan Archipelago). For more than 100 years the words ''West Indian'' specifically described natives of the West Indies, but by 1661 Europeans had begun to use it ...

islands, informing them to come to Saint Kitts by

canoe A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle. In British English, the ter ...

at night for the planned attack on the settlers. However, a Kalinago woman named Barbe informed Thomas Warner and

Pierre Belain d'Esnambuc Pierre Belain, sieur d'Esnambuc (; 1585–1636) was a French trader and adventurer in the Caribbean, who established the first permanent French colony, Saint-Pierre, on the island of Martinique in 1635. Biography Youth Pierre Belain d'Esnambuc ...

of Tegremond's plan; taking pre-emptive action, the settlers invited the Kalinago to a party where they became intoxicated. When the Kalinago returned to their village, the settlers attacked them and 120 Kalinago were killed in the attack, including Tegremond. The following day, roughly 4,000 Kalinago were forced by the settlers into the area of Bloody Point and Bloody River where a battle broke out; historian Vincent K. Hubbard estimates 2,000 Kalinago were massacred while attempting to surrender. The account of the massacre by Jean-Baptiste Du Tertre described "piles of alinagobodies" after the massacre. 100 settlers were also killed in the battle, with one French settler going insane after being struck by a

poisoned arrow Arrow poisons are used to poison arrow heads or darts for the purposes of hunting and warfare. They have been used by indigenous peoples worldwide and are still in use in areas of South America, Africa and Asia. Notable examples are the poisons se ...

from a Kalinago before dying. The remaining Kalinago fled into the mountains, and by 1640, those who were not enslaved were forcibly removed to Dominica.

References

{{coord, 17.3033, -62.7885, dim:3000_region:KN_type:event, display=title Carib people Genocides in North America Native American genocide Massacres of Native Americans Saint Kitts (island) Wars involving Saint Kitts and Nevis Conflicts in 1626 1626 in North America 1620s in the Caribbean History of British Saint Christopher and Nevis Kalinago Ethnic cleansing in North America