Chief Kairouane (or Kaierouane) was a

Galibi The Kalina, also known as the Caribs or mainland Caribs and by several other names, are an Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous people native to the northern coastal areas of South America. Today, the Kalina live largely in villages o ...

leader on the island of

Grenada Grenada is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean Sea. The southernmost of the Windward Islands, Grenada is directly south of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and about north of Trinidad and Tobago, Trinidad and the So ...

at the time of French colonization in 1649. He is known only from a short passage in an account of the first decade of the French colony. In this account, Kariouane approached the scout, La Rivière, sent to negotiate land for the new settlement. An exchange of gifts ensued, which the French disingenuously interpreted as a purchase of land. According to some, Kariouane's hospitality and cordiality with the French settlers upset other indigenous villages, particularly in

St. Vincent Saint Vincent may refer to: People Saints * Vincent of Saragossa (died 304), a.k.a. Vincent the Deacon, deacon and martyr * Saint Vincenca, 3rd century Roman martyress, whose relics are in Blato, Croatia * Vincent, Orontius, and Victor (died 305 ...

, who embarked on occasional raids and attacks of the colonists. Thereafter, Kairouane disappears from historical records.

Resistance to European assault

Since the arrival of the Spanish to the

Caribbean islands Most of the Caribbean countries are islands in the Caribbean Sea, with only a few in inland lakes. The largest islands include Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica and Puerto Rico. Some of the smaller islands are referred to as a ''rock'' or ''reef.'' ''I ...

, the Kalinago of the

Lesser Antilles The Lesser Antilles is a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea, forming part of the West Indies in Caribbean, Caribbean region of the Americas. They are distinguished from the larger islands of the Greater Antilles to the west. They form an arc w ...

successfully resisted the interlopers. They kept the Spanish at bay in

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

and out of the islands to the south. With the Spanish decline in the region after the 1590s, the Kalinago enjoyed a short respite. The early 1600s, however, soon saw the arrival of the more economically aggressive English, Dutch and the French, who came to challenge the Spanish supremacy in the area. These nations had chosen to cross the "poison arrow curtain" and face the Kalinago forces believing that their islands would be easier to conquer than the Spanish fortified settlements on the

Greater Antilles The Greater Antilles is a grouping of the larger islands in the Caribbean Sea, including Cuba, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, and Jamaica, together with Navassa Island and the Cayman Islands. Seven island states share the region of the Greater Antille ...

. The Kalinagos, confronted with what was now a war of retreat, reorganized their communities for a protracted conflict and chose even smaller islands which they could defend more effectively. European colonists appeared with some regularity, but because of the resistance they soon encountered, none had yet attempted to establish a

plantation Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tob ...

in Grenada until 1649. In March, the French governor of Martinique, Jacques du Parquet, arrived with a strong contingent and in a week erected the first settlement at Port Louis.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kairouane Grenadian rebels History_of_Grenada 17th century in Grenada Date of birth missing Place of birth missing Date of death missing Place of death missing 17th-century Caribbean people Tribal chiefs of the Caribbean Indigenous peoples in Grenada

Resistance to European assault

See also

References