Gold
Columbus gained a desire to get gold, with his slaves captive he used some of them to guide him to the gold. They went to severely islands but found nothing. Gold mines were eventually discovered in Hispaniola and later in Puerto Rico and Cuba. Gold mining was then given to enslave Tainos. Most died from disease, overwork, and hunger.

-http://www.stjohnbeachguide.com/Taino%20Gold.htm
-http://www.seestjohn.com/history_gold.html
-http://www.google.com/search?q=Taino+History+of+Gold&hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=pKP&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&prmd=ivns&tbs=tl:1&tbo=u&ei=sPPCTe6rNsyUtwerh6zDBQ&sa=X&oi=timeline_result&ct=title&resnum=11&ved=0CGEQ5wIwCg