Caribbean

     From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The Caribbean or the West Indies is a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. These islands curve southward from the bottom tip of Florida to the Northwest of Venezuela in South America. There are at least 7000 islands, islets, reefs and cayes in the region. They are organized into twenty-five territories including sovereign states, overseas departments and dependencies.

The name "West Indies" originates from Christopher Columbus' idea that he had landed in India when he had in fact reached the Americas. The Caribbean consists of the Antilles and the Bahamas and is part of North America.

At one time there was a short-lived country called the Federation of the West Indies composed of the English-speaking Caribbean islands of the region.

Table of contents

1 Present-day territories of the Caribbean 2 Historical groupings 3 Native American Tribes

Present-day territories of the Caribbean

• Anguilla (British dependency)
• Antigua and Barbuda
  • Antigua
  • Barbuda
• Aruba (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)
• Bahamas
  • Andros
  • Cat Island
  • Eleuthera
  • Grand Bahama
  • New Providence, with the capital Nassau.
• Barbados
• Bermuda (British dependency)
• British Virgin Islands (British dependency, shares the Virgin Islands with the U.S. Virgin Islands.)
• Cayman Islands (British dependency)
  • Cayman Brac
  • Grand Cayman, with the capital George Town
  • Little Cayman
• Cuba
• Dominica
• Grenada (shares the Grenadines group with Saint Vincent and the Grenadines)
  • Petite Martinique
  • Carriacou
• Guadeloupe (overseas department of France)
  • Guadeloupe proper (Basse-Terre)
  • La Desirade
  • Grande-Terre
  • Marie-Galante
  • Iles de la Petite Terre
  • Iles des Saintes
    • Terre de Haut
    • Terre de Bas
  • Saint-Barthelemy, also Saint Barts
  • Saint-Martin (part of the island Saint Martin shared with the Netherlands Antilles; note the dash)
• Hispaniola
  • Dominican Republic
  • Haiti
• Haiti
• Jamaica
• Martinique (overseas department of France)
• Mexico is not a Caribbean country, but has some islands in the Caribbean sea:
  • Cancun
  • Isla Mujeres
  • Isla Cozumel
• Montserrat (British dependency)
• Netherlands Antilles (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)
  • Bonaire
  • Curaçao
  • Saba
  • Sint Eustatius
  • Sint Maarten (part of the island Saint Martin shared with Guadeloupe)
• Puerto Rico (commonwealth associated with US)
• Saint Kitts and Nevis
  • Saint Kitts
  • Nevis
• Saint Lucia
• Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (shares the Grenadines group with Grenada)
  • Bequia
  • Canouan Island
  • Mustique
  • Palm Island
  • Saint Vincent
  • Union Island
  • Young Island
• Trinidad and Tobago
  • Tobago
  • Trinidad
• Turks and Caicos Islands (British dependency)
  • Grand Turk
  • Providenciales
• U.S. Virgin Islands (territory of the USA, shares the Virgin Islands with the British Virgin Islands)

The nations of Belize and Guyana, although on the mainland of Central America and South America respectively, were former British colonies and maintain many cultural ties to the Caribbean and are members of CARICOM. The Turneffe islands (and many other islands and reefs) are part of Belize and lie in the Caribbean Sea.

Historical groupings

Most islands at some point were, or still are, colonies of European nations:

• British West Indies - Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago and the Turks and Caicos Islands
• Danish West Indies - present-day United States Virgin Islands
• Dutch West Indies - present-day Netherlands Antilles and Aruba
• French West Indies - the French overseas departements of Guadeloupe and Martinique
• Spain - Cuba, Hispaniola (present-day Dominican Republic and Haiti), Puerto Rico

The British West Indies, formerly united in the West Indies Federation, still make up a composite cricket team that successfully competes in test matches and one-day internationals. The West Indies cricket team also includes the South American nation of Guyana, a former British colony.

Native American Tribes

• Arawak
• Carib
• Ciboney

See also: History of the Caribbean, Caribbean Community and Common Market, African diaspora, British Afro-Caribbean community, Music of the Caribbean