Chief Kairouane

Chief Kairouane (or Kaierouane) was a Kalinago (Carib) leader of Grenada. For years, he led the resistance against European invaders attempting to set a hold on the island. In a sudden turn of affairs, however, he led a small band of survivors who had rejected slavery on a deadly escape over a cliff, which the French named Morne de Sauteurs or “Leapers Hill.” Today his daring act is mythologized as a reminder of the Indigenous resistance in the region.[1]

Resistance to European assault

Since the arrival of the Spanish to the Caribbean islands, the Kalinago of the Lesser Antilles successfully resisted the interlopers. They kept the Iberians at bay in Puerto Rico and out of the islands to the south. With the Spanish decline in the region after the 1590s, the Kalingo enjoyed a short respite. The early 1600s, however, soon saw the arrival of the more economically aggressive British, Dutch and the French, who came to challenge the Spanish supremacy in the area. These northerners had chosen to cross the "poison arrow curtain" and face the Kalingo forces believing that their islands would be easier to conquer than the Spanish fortified settlements on the Greater Antilles.[2]

Arrival at Grenada

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. French and English raiders appeared with some regularity, but because of the resistance they soon encountered, none had yet attempted to establish a plantation in Grenada until 1649. On March, the governor of Martinique, Jacques du Parquet, arrived with a strong contingent and in a week erected a settlement under the watchful eye of Chief Kairouane and his men. Then, the Kalingo warriors came out of hiding, with the chief wearing his kingly attire. The meeting resulted in a peaceful agreement.[3][4]

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References

  1. ↑ Carew, Jan R (2015). Return to streets of eternity. Grewelthorpe, Ripon: Smokestack Books. ISBN 9780992740986.
  2. ↑ "Kalinago (Carib) Resistance to European Colonisation of the Caribbean". Caribbean Quarterly. 54 (4): 79. 2008.
  3. ↑ Crouse, Nellis Maynard (1940). French pioneers in the West Indies, 1624-1664. New York: Columbia university press. p. 196.
  4. ↑ Steele, Beverley A. (2003). Grenada: A History of Its People. Macmillan Caribbean. pp. 39–48. ISBN 0333930533.


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