| A cacique (Latin American Spanish: [kaˈsike]; Portuguese: [kɐˈsikɨ, kaˈsiki]; feminine form: cacica) translates to "king" or "prince" of an indigenous group, derived from the Taíno word kasike for the pre-Columbian tribal chiefs in the Bahamas, the Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles.
In the colonial era, Spaniards extended the word as a title for the leaders of practically all indigenous groups that they encountered in the Western Hemisphere. In Hispanic and Lusophone countries, the term also has come to mean a political boss or leader who exercises significant power in the political system known as caciquismo. |
