Part 7/17:
Spanish efforts to suppress resistance included violent campaigns, strategic relocations, and the brutal suppression of leaders like Anakaona, who actively sought to negotiate or ally with Europeans. The indigenous population, decimated by violence and diseases like smallpox, was replaced by African slaves and African-derived cultures. Many Taínos fled into remote mountains or forests, forming communities of maroons—escapees organized in independent enclaves fighting off Spanish control.