Barbecue has origins in the Caribbean, linked to the Taino people who used a method of cooking over fire. The term 'barbecue' comes from the Taino word 'barabicu,' which refers to wooden frames used for cooking. Spanish explorers, like Columbus, adopted this term and transformed it into 'barbacoa.' Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo y Valdes is credited with the first written use of 'barbacoa' in 1526, describing the Taino cooking method involving a wooden frame that resembled modern grills.
The word 'barbecue' has its origins in the Caribbean where the Tainos, Indigenous people who inhabited the Caribbean islands lived before being largely wiped out by Spanish conquistadors during the 15th century.
The word itself is believed to have stemmed from the Taino word, 'barabicu' which referred to the wooden frames they used to cook over a fire.
When Spanish conquerors, like Christopher Columbus, gazed upon the Native population in the Caribbean and saw them using this method for cooking meats they took 'barabicu' and turned it into 'barbacoa,' according to Merriam Webster.
Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo y Valdes, a Spanish explorer, is widely credited with first using the word 'barbacoa' in print in 1526, to describe the Taino's cooking style.
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