Abstract

This writing is a critical look and a historical balance on the indigenous revolt that began in 1519 led by the cacique Enriquillo. Despite its transcendence and importance, the cacique’s revolt is one of the least studied historical themes of the colonial period. So far, the fictionalized story of Enriquillo by Manuel de Jesús Galván is better known than the historical truth. Precisely for this reason, this text addresses the most complex issues of that revolt by contextualizing the actions of the sectors in conflict and emphasizing the issues that really gave rise to the conflict, thus demystifying the idea most handled by historiography about the reasons for the uprising.

We also emphasize that what was initially a flight, which was customary among the slaves, would soon become a deep-seated revolt that attracted a significant number of native slaves. The historical truth about the Bahoruco rebellion is exposed in this work, bringing the cacique’s personality closer to reality than to fiction, hence the questions and inquiries that appear in this speech to delve into the historical fact and not into fiction. This is what this work is about. It is a reflective synthesis of one of the events that marked and defined the culture and customs of the island’s slave population.