Who are the Caribs and the Arawaks?

The Carib and the Arawak, are the names that was given to the original settlers of the Caribbean, by those European; who settled the Caribbean, after the first aborigine people had settled and lived there a free people and in peace for centuries. They existed amongst themselves, freely utilizing the resources that were available. The fertile land on which they planted their food and the sea where they harvested the rich bounty that live and made the sea their home.

The peace loving Kalinargo the original islanders befriend the strangers, and even though, the European were not required to lift a stroke in resistance, against the original settlers of these islands paradises, that is now known as the Caribbean (a name that find its origin in the given name to the original settlers the Caribs), the European did what was common to conquerors, the first acts of the European was: to change the name of the people living on the islands and they changed the name of Islands as well.

As is expected, there were members of the Kalinargo Community who, were suspicious of the European visitors and did not want to have anything to do with the outsiders. However this group accepted the decisions of the elders and other leaders, but they did not extend a hand of friendship to the new settlers Those members of the Kalinargo community, took the liberty, to sabotage the comfort of the European settlers; with the hopes that they will move on.

This led the European settlers to mentally divide the Kalinargo into two groups, and a record were made to justify them exercising their tyrannical behaviors, which was their first intent, upon the original settlers.


The name that was given to the members of the Kalinargo Community, who opposed the tribal embracing of the foreigners by the Kalenargos were: Caribs. The European settler called the unfriendly Kalinargo: Caribs, and without any evidence, they accuse and documented the Caribs, as extremely hostile people who practices cannibalism. They said that the Caribs delighted in eating the flesh of others humans, especially their enemies.

Those members of the Kalinargo Community who embraced and befriended the European, were called the Arawaks. The Arawaks were described as peace loving people, who did not like war as the Caribs did, and did not practice Cannibalism.

Later, when the settlers in the new world, got the right away to use slave labor to enrich their sponsors and themselves, the European quickly became unable to distinguish between the Caribs and the Arawaks. At this point of their settlement, it did not served their purpose to remember those Kalinargo who befriend them, but both the so-call Caribs and Arawaks were enslaved under the name Caribs and they were used in the production of Cotton, sugar and tobacco etc.

To justify the absence of the peace loving Arawaks from the entire Caribbean, to visiting officials from their countries, it is recorded on the pages of colonial history, of the Caribbean that the Caribs conquered and wiped-out the entire Arawak communities.


In my opinion, the word Carib and the characteristic that were unjustly, associated with this proud people, indicated that the word Carib, was a word that was given to the Caribbean Indigenous People (CIP) as a means of degrading them. Therefore, I rather use the term Caribbean or St. Vincent Indigenous People (CIP or the SIP), hen referring to these dignify people of the Caribbean. In the case of St. Vincent, I use the handle St. Vincent Indigenous People (SIP) to which encapsulate the Garifuna and the Kalinago. The use of word Carib or the terms CIP and SIP are personal.