Recorded history of Trinidad began when Christopher Columbus arrived on 31 July 1498. Trinidad was inhabited by Amerindian peoples of the Arawak group, who had lived there for many centuries, and by Island Caribs who had begun to raid the island long before 1498 and had established settlements by the end of the sixteenth century. After its discovery by Columbus the Spanish began to settle on the island and the production of tobacco and cocoa began during the seventeenth century, but because they lacked the essentials for economic development and shipping, the capacity to develop a productive base was crippled; Spain failed to develop the productive industrial and commercial base necessary to maintain an empire.