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Dominica (Ceyre)

The first island Columbus's second fleet sighted in November 1493, one of the three islands the captive women named as the Caribs' homes.

Today: Dominica

The Second Voyage Reaches the Islands of the Caribs

Diego Álvarez Chanca, letter to the city council of Seville on Columbus’s second voyage (the stay on Guadeloupe, November 1493) · written on Hispaniola, probably early 1494 (events of November 1493)

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La costumbre desta gente de Caribes es bestial: son tres islas, esta se llama Turuqueira, la otra que primero vimos se llama Ceyre, la tercera se llama Ayay; estos todos son conformidad como si fuesen de un linage, los cuales no se hacen mal: unos é otros hacen guerra á todas las otras islas comarcanas, los cuales van por mar 150 leguas á saltear con muchas canoas que tienen, que son unas fustas pequeñas de un solo madero. Sus armas son frechas en lugar de hierros: porque no poseen ningún hierro, ponen unas puntas fechas de huesos de tortugas los unos, otros de otra isla ponen unas espinas de un pez fechas dentadas, que ansí lo son naturalmente, á manera de sierras bien recias, que para gente desarmada, como son todos, es cosa que les puede matar é hacer harto daño; pero para gente de nuestra nación no son armas para mucho temer.

The way of life of these Carib people is bestial. They live on three islands. This one is called Turuqueira, the one we saw first is called Ceyre, and the third is called Ayay. They are all of one mind, as if they were one family, and they do no harm to each other. Together they make war on all the other islands around them. They travel 150 leagues by sea to raid, in the many canoes they have, which are small boats made from a single tree trunk. Their weapons are arrows. Since they have no iron, some of them tip their arrows with points made of turtle bone. People from another island use the spines of a fish, which are naturally toothed like very strong saws. To unarmed people, as all of these are, such arrows can kill and do great harm. But for people of our nation they are not weapons to fear much.