Editing Hatuey (section)

==Life and death==
In 1511, [[Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar|Diego Velázquez]] set out from Hispaniola to conquer what is now known as present-day La Gonave, Haiti and subjugate the indigenous people, the [[Taíno]],  who had previously been recorded by [[Christopher Columbus]]. Velázquez was preceded, however, by Hatuey, who fled Hispaniola with a party of four hundred in canoes and warned some of the Native people of eastern Cuba about what to expect from the Spaniards.<ref name="historyofcuba.com">[http://www.historyofcuba.com/history/oriente/hatuey.htm J. A. Sierra. 'The Legend of Hatuey', ''The History of Cuba'' (August 2006)]. Retrieved September 9, 2006.</ref>

[[Bartolomé de Las Casas]] later attributed the following speech to Hatuey which was addressed against Christianity. He showed the Taíno of Caobana a basket of gold and jewels, saying:
:Here is the God the Spaniards worship. For these they fight and kill; for these they persecute us and that is why we have to throw them into the sea... They tell us, these tyrants, that they adore a God of peace and equality, and yet they usurp our land and make us their slaves. They speak to us of an immortal soul and of their eternal rewards and punishments, and yet they rob our belongings, seduce our women, violate our daughters. Incapable of matching us in valor, these cowards cover themselves with iron that our weapons cannot break...<ref>Bartolomé de Las Casas, ''Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies''. Translated by Nigel Griffin.  (London: Penguin, 1999)  {{ISBN|0-14-044562-5}}{{page needed|date=January 2018}}</ref>

The Taíno chiefs in Cuba did not respond to Hatuey's message, and few joined him to fight. Hatuey resorted to [[guerrilla warfare|guerrilla]] tactics against the Spaniards, and was able to confine them for a time. He and his fighters were able to kill at least eight Spanish soldiers. Eventually, using mastiffs and torturing the native people for information, the Spaniards succeeded in capturing him. On 2 February 1512, he was tied to a stake and burned alive at [[Yara, Cuba|Yara]], near the present-day city of [[Bayamo]].<ref>Barreiro, Jose "A Note on Taino," in Akwe, Cornell, ''View From the Shore'', Pon Press, 1990{{page needed|date=January 2018}}</ref>

Before he was burned, a priest asked Hatuey if he would accept [[Jesus]] and go to heaven. Las Casas recalled the reaction of the chief:
:[Hatuey], thinking a little, asked the religious man if Spaniards went to heaven. The religious man answered yes... The chief then said without further thought that he did not want to go there but to hell so as not to be where they were and where he would not see such cruel people. This is the name and honour that God and our faith have earned.<ref>"''<span dir="ltr">A violent evangelism: the political and religious conquest of the Americas</span>''", Luis N. Rivera, Luis Rivera Pagán, Westminster John Knox Press, 1992, p. 260 {{ISBN|0-664-25367-9}}.</ref><ref>[https://www.cervantesvirtual.com/obra-visor/brevsima-relacin-de-la-destruccin-de-las-indias-0/html/847e3bed-827e-4ca7-bb80-fdcde7ac955e_18.html Brevísima relación de la destruición de las Indias], Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes. "''Él, pensando un poco, preguntó al religioso si iban cristianos al cielo. El religioso le respondió que sí, pero que iban los que eran buenos. Dijo luego el cacique, sin más pensar, que no quería él ir allá, sino al infierno, por no estar donde estuviesen y por no ver tan cruel gente. Ésta es la fama y honra que Dios y nuestra fe ha ganado con los cristianos que han ido a las Indias.''"</ref>

[[File:Hatuey.jpg|alt=Image of a bas-relief of the portal of El Capitolio of Havana depicting the burning of Hatuey.|thumb|Burning of Hatuey. From a bas-relief of the portal of El Capitolio of Havana.]]