Circum-Caribbean Trade Network of the 1460s

Timeline

1. 1461–1465Hispaniola and the Straits of Cuba · CaribbeanTaíno and Arawak merchants regularly sailed between islands in large canoes (canoa), each capable of carrying dozens of people and large quantities of goods. In the 1460s, Hispaniola, the most densely populated island, exported cotton cloth, gold ornaments, and cassava products to Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Lesser Antilles, forming a hub-and-spoke shipping network centered on the large islands.
2. 1463–1467Hispaniola · Greater AntillesCore goods of the circum-Caribbean trade included gold ornaments (guanín alloy) from Hispaniola and Puerto Rico, hammocks and cotton textiles produced in various places, stone axes and shells from the Lesser Antilles, and foods such as cassava bread. Chiefdoms organized trade through both gift exchange and regular markets, strengthening political alliances.
3. 1465–1470Lesser Antilles and the Venezuelan coast · CaribbeanIn the late 1460s, Taíno of the Greater Antilles maintained intermittent contact with the Lesser Antilles and the northern coast of South America, exchanging parrot feathers, shell strings (used as cazabi currency), and stone tools. Carib activity on the eastern small islands also affected the security of trade routes, forming a circum-sea network in which competition and exchange coexisted.