Caribbean
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
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The Caribbean, (Spanish: Caribe) or the West Indies is a group of countries and islands in the Caribbean Sea. These countries or islands are located from the southeastern areas of Mexico to the northwest of Venezuela in South America. There are at least 7,000 islands, islets, reefs, and cayes in the region. They are organized into 25 territories including sovereign states, overseas departments, and dependencies.
The name "West Indies" originates from Christopher Columbus' idea that he had landed in the Indies (then meaning all of south and east Asia) when he had in fact reached the Americas. The name "Caribbean" is named after the Caribs, one of the dominant Amerindian groups in the region at the time of European contact. The Caribbean consists of the Greater and Lesser Antilles, and is often considered 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.
The Caribbean area is also famous for its sea pirates. See the article piracy in the Caribbean.
The region known as "Caribbean" is usually restricted to the islands of the Caribbean Sea, although sometimes the continental American coastline is included.
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Historical groupings
Main article: History of the Caribbean
Most islands at some point were, or still are, colonies of European nations:
- British West Indies / Anglophone_Caribbean - 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 - Haiti and the French overseas départements of Guadeloupe and Martinique
- Spain - Cuba, Hispaniola (present-day Dominican Republic and Haiti), Puerto Rico
The British West Indies were formerly united by the United Kingdom into a West Indies Federation. The independent countries which were once a part of the B.W.I. still have a unified composite cricket team that successfully competes in test matches and one-day internationals. The West Indian cricket team includes the South American nation of Guyana, the only former British colony on that continent.
In addition, these countries share the University of the West Indies as a regional entity. The university consists of three main campuses in Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago, a smaller campus in the Bahamas and Resident Tutors in other contributing territories.
Present-day island territories of the Caribbean
See also: Caribbean South America, Caribbean_basin
Anguilla (British dependency)
Antigua and Barbuda
Aruba (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)
Bahamas
Barbados
- Barbados
- Culpepper Island
- Pelican Island (now absorbed into Barbados)
British Virgin Islands (British dependency, shares the Virgin Islands with the U.S. Virgin Islands.)
- Anegada
- Beef Island
- Bellamy Cay
- Carvel Rock
- Cockroach Island
- Cooper Island
- Dead Chest Cay
- Diamond Cay
- Dog Islands
- Drowned Island
- East Seal Dog Island
- Eustatia Island
- Fallen Jerusalem Island
- Frenchmans Cay
- Grouge Dog Island
- Ginger Island
- Great Camanoe
- Great Dog Island
- Great Thatch
- Great Tobago Island
- Green Cay
- Guana Island
- Jost Van Dyke
- Key Cay
- Little Anegada
- Little Camanoe
- Little Cay
- Little Jost Van Dyke
- Little Seal Dog Island
- Little Thatch
- Little Tobago
- Little Wickmans Cay
- Marina Cay
- Mosquito Island
- Nanny Cay
- Necker Island
- Norman Island
- Old Jerusalem Island
- Oyster Rock
- Pelican Island
- Peter Island
- Prickly Pear Island
- Saba Rock
- Salt Cay
- Sandy Cay
- Scrub Island
- Spanish Island
- Tortola
- Virgin Gorda
- West Dog Island
Cayman Islands (British dependency)
- Cayman Brac
- Grand Cayman (with the capital George Town)
- Little Cayman
Cuba
- Cuba
- Isla de la Juventud
Dominica
- Bird Island (disputed territory with Venezuela located about 110 km (70 mi) west of the island of Dominica)
Grenada (shares the Grenadines group with Saint Vincent and the Grenadines)
- Carriacou
- Grenada
- Petite Martinique
Guadeloupe (overseas department of France)
- Basse-Terre
- La Désirade
- Grande-Terre
- Marie-Galante
- Iles de la Petite Terre
- Saint-Barthélemy (also Saint Barts)
- Saint-Martin (part of the island Saint Martin shared with the Netherlands Antilles; note the dash)
- Iles des Saintes
- Hispaniola
Jamaica- Martinique (overseas department of France)
Montserrat (British dependency)- Navassa Island (U.S. insular area)
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 (U.S. commonwealth)
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (shares the Grenadines group with Grenada)
Trinidad and Tobago
Turks and Caicos Islands (British dependency)
United States Virgin Islands (U.S. territory, shares the Virgin Islands with the British Virgin Islands)
note: Bermuda is also considered by some to be part of the Caribbean
Continental countries with Caribbean coastlines and islands
Belize
Colombia
Costa Rica- French Guiana
Guatemala
Guyana
Honduras
Mexico
Nicaragua
Panama
Suriname
Venezuela
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.
Indigenous Tribes
See also
- African diaspora
- British Afro-Caribbean community
- Caribbean English
- CONCACAF
- Council on Hemispheric Affairs
- History of the Caribbean
- Indo-Caribbean
- Music of the Caribbean
- Politics of the Caribbean
- Tourism in Caribbean
- West Indies Federation
Regional Institutions
Here are some of the bodies that several islands share in collaboration:
- African, Caribbean and Pacific states (ACP)
- Association of Caribbean States (ACS), Trinidad and Tobago
- Caribbean Association of Industry and Commerce (CAIC), Trinidad and Tobago [1]
- Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Guyana
- Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), Barbados
- Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency (CDERA), Barbados
- Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC), Barbados and Jamaica
- Caribbean Hotel Association (CHA), Puerto Rico [2]
- Caribbean Programme for Economic Competitiveness (CPEC), Saint Lucia [3]
- Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM), Belize [4]
- Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery (CRNM), Barbados and Dominican Republic [5]
- Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO), Barbados
- Inter-American Economic Council (IAEC), Washington, D.C.
- Latin American and Caribbean Internet Addresses Registry (LACNIC), Brazil and Uruguay
- Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), Saint Lucia
- United Nations - Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Chile and Trinidad and Tobago
Many of the nations in the Caribbean play international cricket as one team called the West Indies.
| Regions of the World | |
| Africa: | Central Africa | East Africa | Great Lakes | Guinea | Horn of Africa | North Africa | Maghreb / Northwest Africa | Sahel | Southern Africa | Sub-Saharan Africa | Sudan | West Africa |
| Americas: | Andean states | Caribbean | Central America | Great Lakes | Great Plains | Guianas | Latin America | North America | Patagonia | South America | Southern Cone |
| Asia: | Central Asia | East Asia | East Indies | Far East | Indian subcontinent | North Asia | Southeast Asia | Southwest Asia (Middle East / Near East, Levant, Anatolia, Arabia) |
| Europe: | Balkans | Baltic region | Benelux | British Isles | Central Europe | Eastern Europe | Northern Europe | Scandinavia | Southern Europe | Western Europe |
| Eurasia: | Caucasus | Mediterranean | Post-Soviet states |
| Oceania: | Australasia | Melanesia | Micronesia | Polynesia | Aleutian Islands | Pacific Rim |
| Polar: | Arctic | Antarctic |
