When the famous navigator, Christopher Columbus, reached Jamaica on May 4, 1494, he found Arawak Indians there—gentle, peaceful aborigines. These people were put to unaccustomed hard work and this resulted in a dramatic decrease in their numbers. At this point a plea was made on their behalf by Bartholome de las Casas who asked the Spanish authorities to replace them with African workers who, he claimed, were better suited for such strenuous labor.