What was the primary goal of the Spanish conquistadores when they first arrived in the Caribbean?

To establish peaceful trade with native groups

To find a shorter sea route to East Asia

To convert the Taino and Arawak to Christianity

Besides forced labor, what was the main reason for the massive decline in the Taino and Arawak populations?

They migrated to other islands to escape the Spanish.

They lost battles due to the Spanish having better weapons.

They had no immunity to European diseases like smallpox.

They suffered from widespread famine caused by new Spanish farming methods.

Enslaved Africans brought on their ships

The local Taino and Arawak peoples

Spanish prisoners sent from Europe

Rival European sailors captured at sea

A lack of legal protection under Spanish laws established in the colonies.

An inability to fight off new European diseases like smallpox.

The absence of strong forts to defend their villages from attacks.

The failure to build an organized military resistance against the conquistadores.

The discovery of new crops that required a massive number of new laborers to harvest.

The collapse of the native workforce from disease and harsh labor conditions.

A formal treaty between Spanish merchants and West African kingdoms for workers.

The sudden end of gold mining, which shifted focus to plantation agriculture.