*1639 map of Hispaniola and Puerto Rico* An island in the [[Dan's History Web/US 1/Topic Index/Caribbean]], located between Cuba and Puerto Rico, named by [[Dan's History Web/US 1/Topic Index/Christopher Columbus]] on his first voyage. Before European contact, the island had been home to possibly a million natives of the Taino people. Columbus established two forts, La Navidad and La Isabella, on the island during his first and second voyages, and then the first European settlement, Santo Domingo, on his third. The Spanish Empire controlled the island until the 17th century, when French pirates began establishing bases on the western edge. The first major rebellion of [[Slavery|enslaved]] Africans occurred on the island in 1521 when Muslims on [Diego Columbus's](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diego_Columbus) sugar plantation led an uprising and many escaped into the interior and established [[Dan's History Web/US 1/Notes to Fill/Maroon]] colonies in the southern hills. A later rebellion of enslaved people led tot he [[Dan's History Web/US 1/Topic Index/Haitian Revolution]] in 1791 and the establishment of the second independent nation in the Americas.