Group
Lucayans
The Lucayan people (/luːˈkaɪən/ loo-KY-ən) were the original residents of The Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands before the European colonisation of the Americas. They were a branch of the Taínos who inhabited most of the Caribbean islands at the time. The Lucayans were the first Indigenous Americans encountered by Christopher Columbus (in October 1492). Shortly after contact, the Spanish kidnapped and enslaved Lucayans with the displacement culminating in the complete eradication of the Lucayan people from the Bahamas by 1520.
The name "Lucayan" is an Anglicization of the Spanish Lucayos, itself a hispanicization derived from the Lucayan Lukku-Cairi, which the people used for themselves, meaning "people of the islands". The Taíno word for "island", cairi, became cayo in Spanish and "cay" /ˈkiː/ in English [spelled "key" in American English].
Some crania and artifacts of "Ciboney type" were reportedly found on Andros Island, but if some Ciboney did reach the Bahamas ahead of the Lucayans, they left no known evidence of occupation. Some possible Ciboney archaeological sites have been found elsewhere in the Bahamas, but the only one subjected to radiocarbon dating dated to the mid- to late-12th century, contemporaneous with Lucayan presence on the islands.
Christopher Columbus's diario contains the only contemporaneous observations of the Lucayans. Other information about the customs of the Lucayans has come from archaeological investigations and comparison with what is known of Taíno culture in Cuba and Hispaniola. The Lucayans were distinguished from the Taínos of Cuba and Hispaniola in the size of their houses, the organization and location of their villages, the resources they used, and the materials used in their pottery.
Member Cities
- Almirante Bocas del Toro Panama Location
- Bajos de Haina San Cristobal Dominican Republic Location
- Barcelona Cataluña Spain Location
- Basseterre Saint Kitts-Nevis Location
- Bottom Saba Island Netherlands Antilles Location
- Carbet Martinique Location
- Chacachacare Trinidad Trinidad and Tobago Location
- Charlestown Saint Kitts-Nevis Location
- Christiansted U S Virgins (American) Virgin Islands Location
- Cienfuegos Cíenfuegos Cuba Location
- Columbus Channel Location
- Cádiz Andalucia Spain Location
- Dunmore Town Harbour Island Bahamas Location
- George Town Cayman Islands Location
- Grand Bourg Guadeloupe Location
- Guanaja Islas de la Bahia Honduras Location
- Kingstown Saint Vincent Island Saint Vincent and Grenadines Location
- La Asunción Nueva Esparta Venezuela Location
- La Isabela Puerto Plata Dominican Republic Location
- La Navidad Nord Haiti Location
- Lisbon > Lisboa Lisboa Portugal Location
- Madeira Madeira Islands Portugal Location
- Nuevitas Camagüey Cuba Location
- Oranjestad Sint Eustatius Netherlands Antilles Location
- Palos de la Frontera Andalucia Spain Location
- Peter Island British Virgins Virgin Islands Location
- Philipsburg Sint Maarten Island Netherlands Antilles Location
- Plana Cays Mayaguana Bahamas Location
- Plymouth Montserrat Location
- Point Nelson San Salvador and Rum Cay Bahamas Location
- Port Royal Kingston Jamaica Location
- Porto Santo Madeira Islands Portugal Location
- Providenciales Island Turks and Caicos Location
- Puerto Castilla Colon Honduras Location
- Redonda Island Antigua & Barbuda Location
- Road Town British Virgins Virgin Islands Location
- Roseau Saint George Dominica Location
- Samana Cay Long Island Bahamas Location
- Samaná Samana Dominican Republic Location
- San Juan San Juan Puerto Rico United States Location
- San Sebastián de la Gomera Canary Islands Spain Location
- Sanlúcar de Barrameda Andalucia Spain Location
- Santo Domingo Distrito Nacional Dominican Republic Location
- Scarborough Tobago Trinidad and Tobago Location
- Seville > Sevilla Andalucia Spain Location
- Spanish Town British Virgins Virgin Islands Location
- St Ann's Bay Saint Ann Jamaica Location
- St George's Saint George Grenada Location
- St John's Saint John Antigua & Barbuda Location
- Îles des Saintes Guadeloupe Location