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would endure. “The Taíno culture,” observes Dr. José Barreiro, assistant director for research at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, “permeates the culture of Cuba in a fundamental way.” In rural Cuba, for example, hous- es can still be seen that use Taíno construction techniques, such as the thatched-palm roof. Some Cubans in rural areas continue to follow Taíno herbal practices and hold Taíno-influ- enced spiritual beliefs. Cubans have received another significant inheritance from the indigenous people. Many early Spanish settlers took Taíno wives. The mixed-race offspring of these unions were called mestizos . Today, even Cubans who consider themselves blanco (white) are likely to have substantial Native American ances- try, according to genetic studies. Slavery on the Island The decimation of Cuba’s indigenous population left the Spanish without a supply of forced labor to work their mines and plantations. They turned to African slaves. The first record of slavery in Cuba dates to 1513. That year, the Spanish crown granted an official’s request to transport four enslaved Africans from Hispaniola to Cuba. Seven years later, in 1520, about 300 slaves were brought to Cuba to mine gold. Over the next two centuries, the number of enslaved blacks on the island increased at a modest rate. That paralleled the rel- atively low levels of immigration from Spain. By 1608, Cuba was home to only about 20,000 people in all. By 1700, the island’s population had increased to just 50,000. Half of these

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