Christopher Columbus set foot in Jamaica after hearing about the island from Cuban inhabitants. He easily defeated the native Taino resistance and captured Jamaica for Spain. However, interest in the island waned after the Spanish realized there was no gold, and the island became a poor country. Settlers who arrived developed plantations and forced native inhabitants to farm sugarcane and work in the mines, extracting whatever precious materials were available. Colonies such as Cuba and Hispaniola were regarded as more important.