CatastropheThe 16th century

Catastrophe in the 16th century

Every event in the Terralore archive tagged catastrophe — plague, famine, earthquake and other disasters, narrowed to the 16th century — 3 of them, drawn from 3 nations, running from 1500 to 1520. Each entry keeps the sources it was verified against and links back to the chronicle it came from.

Events
3
Nations
3
Earliest
1500
Latest
1520

Every entry below is the same record, with the same sources, as the one on its nation’s chronicle.

  1. North America

    Haiti

    Collapse of the Taino

    Forced labour, violence, and Old World disease devastate the Indigenous population within a generation of contact.

    Era: Quisqueya: The Taino and Spanish Hispaniola

    Sources: History of Haiti · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Columbus and the Taino · Library of Congress

  2. North America

    Bahamas

    Depopulation of the Bahamas

    By about 1520 enslavement and disease had all but exterminated the Lucayans; the islands were left effectively abandoned for more than a century.

    Era: The Lucayans and Columbus's landfall

    Sources: How Archaeologists Are Unearthing the Secrets of the Bahamas' First Inhabitants · Smithsonian Magazine, Bahamas: Local History and Genealogy — Research Guide · Library of Congress, The Bahamas — British colonization (History) · Encyclopaedia Britannica

  3. North America

    Cuba

    Collapse of the Taino

    Forced labour, starvation, and Old World disease all but extinguish the indigenous Taino, prompting the import of enslaved Africans.

    Era: The Taino and the Spanish Conquest

    Sources: Taino · Encyclopaedia Britannica