On his second voyage to the New World, Christopher Columbus encountered Native Americans living in the present-day archipelago of the United States Virgin Islands. Archaeological records indicate that the islands have been home to native american people groups, including the Taíno, Arawak, Kalinago/Carib, and the Ciboney people. Several of them lived in present-day Charlotte Amalie in small fishing communities. As was the case in most of the Americas, the native population died relatively quickly from disease when the Europeans settled. As the Spanish early focused their energy on Puerto Rico and other Caribbean islands, Saint Thomas remained unprotected for a long time, leaving Charlotte Amalie's sheltered coves to be frequented by pirates, like Blackbeard, as well as mariners and European settlers.