West Indies

Links[]

Cricket[]

http://westindianlegends.weebly.com/ West Indies Cricket blog

Not[]

West Indian is the western part of India. See West India.

Background[]

The West Indies are also known in geography as Caribbean.

Ethnic groups=[]

| data4 = Black African, Native American (Arawak, Caribs, Taino), European (Spanish, French, English, Portuguese, Dutch), Asian (Chinese, Indian)

Includes 13 sovereign states[]

also, 2 overseas departments and 14 dependent territories, tied to the European Union or to the United States.

The Caribbean (Template:PronEng, kæ'rɪbiːən;^[1] Template:Lang-nl or Caraïben; Template:Lang-fr or more commonly Antilles; Template:Lang-es; Template:Lang-it) is a region consisting of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (most of which enclose the sea), and the surrounding coasts. The region is located southeast of the Gulf of Mexico and Northern America, east of Central America, and to the north of South America.

The region comprises more than 7,000 islands, islets, reefs, and cays. These islands, called the West Indies, generally form island arcs that delineate the eastern and northern edges of the Caribbean Sea.

The islands are called the West Indies because when Christopher Columbus landed here in 1492 he believed that he had reached the Indies (in Asia).

The region consists of the Antilles, divided into the larger Greater Antilles which bound the sea on the north and the Lesser Antilles on the south and east (including the Leeward Antilles), and the Bahamas which are in fact in the Atlantic Ocean north of Cuba, not in the Caribbean Sea.

Geopolitically, the West Indies are usually reckoned as a subregion of North America

At one time, there was a short-lived country called the Federation of the West Indies composed of ten English-speaking Caribbean territories, all of which were then UK dependencies.

In the English-speaking Caribbean, someone from the Caribbean is usually referred to as a "West Indian," although the phrase "Caribbean person" is sometimes used.

Definition[]

The term "Caribbean" has multiple uses. Its principal ones are geographical and political.

Physiographically, the Caribbean region is mainly a chain of islands surrounding the Caribbean Sea. To the north is the Caribbean Sea bordered by the Gulf of Mexico, the Straits of Florida, and the Northern Atlantic Ocean which lies to the East and Northeast; the coastline of the continent of South America lies to the south.
Politically, "Caribbean" may be centered around socio-economic groupings found in the region. For example the bloc known as the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) contains both the Co-operative Republic of Guyana and the Republic of Suriname found in South America, along with Belize in Central America as full members. Bermuda and the Turks and Caicos Islands which are found in the Atlantic Ocean are Associate members of the Caribbean Community, and the same goes for the Commonwealth of the Bahamas which is a full member of the Caribbean Community.'
Alternately the organisation known as the Association of Caribbean States (ACS) consists of almost every nation in the surrounding regions which lie on the Caribbean Sea plus El Salvador which lies solely on the Pacific Ocean. According to the ACS the total population of its member states is some 227 million people.^[2]

Demographics[]

The population of the Caribbean is estimated to have been around 750,000 immediately before European contact, although higher figures are given. After contact, war and disease led to a decline in the Native American population.^[3] From 1500 to 1800 the population rose as slaves arrived from West Africa and immigrants from Britain, France, Spain, the Netherlands, and Denmark, although the mortality rate was high for both groups.^[4] The population is estimated to have reached 2.2 million by 1800.^[5] Immigrants from India, China, and other countries arrived in the 19th century.^[6] After the ending of the Atlantic slave trade, the population increased naturally.^[7] The total regional population was estimated at 37.5 million by 2000.^[8]

The majority of the Caribbean has populations of mainly African ancestry. In the French Caribbean, Anglophone Caribbean and Dutch Caribbean, there are minorities of mixed-race and European people of French, English, Dutch and Portuguese ancestry. Asian, especially those of Chinese and Indian descent, form a significant minority in the region and also contribute to multiracial communities. Many of their ancestors arrived in the 19th century as indentured laborers. The Spanish-speaking Caribbean have primarily Mulatto, African, or European majorities (Cuba and Puerto Rico), and are primarily descended from Africans, Native Americans, and Spaniards.

Geography and climate[]

File:Sautmathurine640.jpg

Ile a Vache, Haiti

The geography and climate in the Caribbean region varies from one place to another. Some islands in the region have relatively flat terrain of non-volcanic origin. Such islands include Aruba (possessing only minor volcanic features), Barbados, Bonaire, the Cayman Islands or Antigua. Others possess rugged towering mountain-ranges like the islands of Cuba, Dominica, Hispaniola, Jamaica, Montserrat, Puerto Rico, Saba, Saint Kitts, Saint Lucia, Grenada, Saint Vincent, Guadeloupe, and Trinidad & Tobago.

The climate of the region is tropical but rainfall varies with elevation, size and water currents (cool upwellings keep the ABC islands arid). Warm, moist tradewinds blow consistently from the east creating rainforest/semidesert divisions on mountainous islands. Occasional northwesterlies affect the northern islands in the winter. Winters are warm, but drier.

The waters of the Caribbean Sea host large, migratory schools of fish, turtles, and coral reef formations. The Puerto Rico trench, located on the fringe of the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea just to the north of the island of Puerto Rico, is the deepest point in all of the Atlantic Ocean.^[9]

Hurricanes, which at times batter the region, usually strike northwards of Grenada, and to the west of Barbados. The principal hurricane belt arcs to northwest of the island of Barbados in the Eastern Caribbean.

The region sits in the line of several major shipping routes with the man-made Panama Canal connecting the western Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean.

Biodiversity[]

The Caribbean islands are classified as one of Conservation International's biodiversity hotspots because they support exceptionally diverse ecosystems, ranging from montane cloud forests to cactus scrublands. These ecosystems have been devastated by deforestation and human encroachment. The arrival of the first humans is correlated with extinction of giant owls and dwarf ground sloths.^[10] The hotspot contains dozens of highly threatened species, ranging from birds, to mammals and reptiles. Popular examples include the Puerto Rican Amazon, two species of solenodon (giant shrews) in Cuba and Hispaniola, as well as the Cuban crocodile. The hotspot is also remarkable for the decimation of its fauna.

Historical groupings[]

Main article: History of the Caribbean

All islands at some point were, and a few still are, colonies of European nations; a few are overseas or dependent territories:

British West Indies/Anglophone Caribbean – Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Bay Islands, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Croix (briefly), Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago (from 1797) and the Turks and Caicos Islands
Danish West Indies – present-day United States Virgin Islands
Dutch West Indies – present-day Netherlands Antilles and Aruba, Virgin Islands, Saint Croix (briefly), Tobago and Bay Islands (briefly)
French West Indies – Anguilla (briefly), Antigua and Barbuda (briefly), Dominica, Dominican Republic (briefly), Grenada, Haiti, Montserrat (briefly), Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sint Eustatius (briefly), St Kitts (briefly), Tobago (briefly), Saint Croix, the current French overseas départements of Martinique and Guadeloupe (including Marie-Galante, La Désirade and Les Saintes), and the current French overseas collectivities of Saint Barthelemy and Saint Martin.
Portuguese West Indies – present-day Barbados, known as Los Barbados in the 1500s when the Portuguese claimed the island en route to Brazil. The Portuguese left Barbados abandoned in 1533, nearly a century prior to the British arrival to the island.
Spanish West Indies – Cuba, Hispaniola (present-day Dominican Republic, and until 1609, Haiti), Puerto Rico, Jamaica (until 1655), the Cayman Islands, Trinidad (until 1797) and Bay Islands (until 1643)
Swedish West Indies – present-day French Saint-Barthélemy and Guadeloupe (briefly).

The British West Indies were united by the United Kingdom into a West Indies Federation between 1958 and 1962. The independent countries formerly part of the B.W.I. still have a joint cricket team that 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[]

CaribbeanIslands — Islands in and near the Caribbean

Main article: List of islands in the Caribbean

Template:See also Template:Div col

Anguilla (also known as AIA) (British overseas territory)
- Anguillita Island
- Dog Island, Anguilla
- East Cay
- Little Scrub Island
- Prickly Pear Cays
- Sandy Island
- Scrub Island
- Seal Island (pronounced locally as "Sail Island")
- Sombrero
- West Cay
Template:ATG
- Antigua
- Barbuda
- Guiana Island
- Great Bird Island
- Lesser Bird Island
- Prickly Pear Island
- Redonda
Template:ABW (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)
The Bahamas (also known as BHS)
- Abaco
- Acklins Island
- Andros
- Anguilla Cay
- Berry Islands
- Bimini Islands
- Cat Island
- Cay Sal
- Crooked Island
- Eleuthera
- Grand Bahama
- Great Abaco
- Great Exuma
- Great Inagua
- Gun Cay
- Little San Salvador Island/Half Moon Cay
- Long Island
- Mayaguana
- New Providence
- Ragged Island
- San Salvador Island
Template:BRB
- Barbados
- Culpepper Island
- Pelican Island (Barbados) (now absorbed into Barbados)
British Virgin Islands (also known as IVB) (British overseas territory; shares the Virgin Islands with the U.S. Virgin Islands)
- Anegada
- Beef Island
- Bellamy Cay
- Carvel Rock
- Cay
- 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
- 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 (British Virgin Islands)
- Peter Island
- Prickly Pear Island
- Saba Rock
- Salt Cay
- Sandy Cay
- Scrub Island
- Spanish Island
- Tortola
- Virgin Gorda
- West Dog Island
Cayman Islands (also known as CAY) (British overseas territory)
- Cayman Brac
- Grand Cayman (with the capital George Town)
- Little Cayman
Cuba (also known as CUB)
- Cayo Blancos del Sur
- Cayo Buenavista
- Cayo Coco
- Cayo Cruz del Padre
- Cayo Esquivel
- Cayo Fragoso
- Cayo Guajaba
- Cayo Guillermo
- Cayo Ines de Soto
- Cayo Largo del Sur
- Cayo Levisa
- Cayo Punta Arenas
- Cayo Romano
- Cayo Saetia
- Cayo Santa Maria
- Cuba
- Isla de la Juventud
- and thousands of minor cays and islets.

Dominica (also known as DMA)
- Dominica
- Bird Island (disputed territory with Venezuela located about 110 km (70 mi) west of the island of Dominica)
Template:GRD (shares the Grenadines group with Saint Vincent and the Grenadines)
- Carriacou
- Grenada
- Petite Martinique
- Ronde Island
Template:GLP (overseas department of France)
- Basse-Terre
- La Désirade
- Grande-Terre
- Iles de la Petite Terre
- Iles des Saintes
  - Terre-de-Haut
  - Terre-de-Bas
- Marie-Galante

Hispaniola
- Dominican Republic (also known as DOM)
  - AltoVelo Cay
  - Beata Island
  - Catalina Island
  - Cayos Siete Hermanos (Seven Brothers Cays)
  - Levantado Cay (Cayo Levantado)
  - Saona Island
- Haiti (also known as HAI)
  - Gonave Island
  - Grande et Petite Cayemites
  - Île à Vache
  - Île de Anacaona
  - Ile de Sud
  - Les Arcadins
  - Lighthouse Island
  - Mole Saint-Nicolas
  - Navassa Island
  - Ti Teal
  - Tortuga
Jamaica (also known as JAM)
- Jamaica
- Bogue Islands (some now absorbed into Montego Bay, Jamaica)
- Great Goat Island
- Little Goat Island
- Kokomo Island
- Lime Cay (part of the Port Royal Cays)
- Morant Cays
- Navy Island
- Pedro Cays
- Pigeon Island

Template:MTQ (overseas department of France)
Template:MSR (British overseas territory)
File:Flag of Navassa Island (local).svg Navassa Island (minor outlying island of the United States; also claimed by Haiti)
Antigua and Barbuda (also known as ANT) (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)
- Bonaire
  - Klein Bonaire
- Curaçao
  - Klein Curaçao
- Saba
- Sint Eustatius
- Sint Maarten (part of the island Saint Martin, shared with the overseas collectivity Saint-Martin of France)
Petrel Islands (minor outlying island of the United States; also claimed by Colombia)
Template:PRI (commonwealth of the United States)
- Puerto Rico
- Vieques
- Culebra
- Caja de Muertos
- Desecheo Island
- Mona
- Monito
Template:SBH (overseas collectivity of France; also Saint Barts)
Saint Kitts and Nevis (also known as SKN)
- Nevis
- Saint Kitts
Saint Lucia (also known as LCA)
Serranilla Bank (minor outlying island of the United States; also claimed by Colombia)
Template:SMT (overseas collectivity of France; part of the island Saint Martin, shared with the Netherlands Antilles)
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (also known as VIN) (shares the Grenadines group with Grenada)
- Baliceaux
- Battowia
- Bequia
- Canouan Island
- Mayreau
- Mustique
- Palm Island
- Petit Mustique
- Petit Saint Vincent
- Saint Vincent
- Tobago Cays
- Union Island
- Young Island
Trinidad and Tobago (also known as TRI)
- Tobago
  - Goat Island
  - Little Tobago
  - Saint Giles Island
  - Sisters' Rock
- Trinidad
  - Caledonia Island
  - Carrera
  - Chacachacare
  - Craig Island
  - Cronstadt (Kronstadt)
  - Faralon Rock
  - Gaspar Grande
  - Gasparillo (Little Gasparee or Centipede Island)
  - Huevos
  - Lenagan Island
  - Monos
  - Nelson Island
  - Pelican Island
  - Rock Island
  - Saut d'Eau
  - Soldado Rock
Template:TCA (British overseas territory)
- Grand Turk
- Middle Caicos
- North Caicos
- Parrot Cay
- Pine Cay
- Providenciales
- Salt Cay
- South Caicos
- West Caicos
- East Caicos
- Ambergris Cays
Template:VIR (unincorporated, organized territory of the United States; shares the Virgin Islands with the British Virgin Islands)
- Birsk Island
- Buck Island
- Capella Island
- Cas Cay
- Congo Cay
- Cow And Calf Island
- Dog Island
- Dry Rock
- Fish Cay
- Flat Cay
- Grass Cay
- Great Saint James
- Green Cay
- Hans Lollik Island
- Hassel Island
- Inner Brass
- Johnsons Reef
- Leduck
- Little Saint James
- Lovango Cay
- Mingo Cay
- Ningo
- Outer Brass
- Packet Rock
- Patricia Cay
- Saba Island
- Saint Croix
- Saint John
- Saint Thomas
- Savana Island
- South-West Rock
- Stranglers Island
- Thatch Cay
- Turtledove Cay
- Water Island
- Waterlemon Cay
- Welk Rock

Template:Div col end

Continental countries with Caribbean coastlines and islands[]

Template:MultiCol

Template:BLZ
- Ambergris Caye
- Belize City
- Big Creek
- Caye Caulker
- Glover's Reef
- Hicks Cays
- Lighthouse Reef
- South Water Caye
- Turneffe Islands
Colombia (also known as COL)
- Archipelago of San Andres and Providencia
- Barranquilla
- Cartagena
- Riohacha
- Santa Marta
'Not' CRI: Costa Rica (also known as CRC)
French Guinea (also known as GUF)
Template:GTM
Guyana (also known as GUY)
- Hog Island, Guyana
- Leguan Island
- Wakenaam
Honduras (also known as HON)
- Guanaja
- Roatán
- Útila
- Cayos Cochinos
- Swan Islands

Template:ColBreak

Mexico (also known as MEX)
- Quintana Roo
  - Cancún
  - Chetumal
  - Isla Contoy
  - Isla Cozumel
  - Isla Mujeres
  - Cozumel
Template:NIC
- Corn Islands
- Cayos Miskitos
- Pearl Cays
Panama (also known as PAN)
- San Blas Islands (comprising more than 1300 islands)
- Bocas del Toro (archipelago with approximately 300 islands)
Suriname (also known as SUR)
Venezuela (also known as VEN)
- Isla Margarita
- Coche Island
- Cubagua Island
- Los Monjes Archipelago
- Las Aves Archipelago
- Isla Aves
- Los Hermanos Archipelago
- Islas Los Frailes
- Los Roques Archipelago
- La Sola Island
- La Tortuga Island
- La Orchila
- Blanquilla Island
- Los Testigos Islands
- Isla de Patos

Template:EndMultiCol The nations of Belize and Guyana, although on the mainland of Central America and South America respectively, are former British colonies and maintain many cultural ties to the Caribbean. They are members of CARICOM. Nicaragua's Caribbean Coast, often referred to as the Mosquito Coast, was also a former British colony. It maintains many cultural ties to the Caribbean as distinct from the Pacific coast. Guyana participates in West Indies cricket tournaments and many players from Guyana have been on the West Indies Test cricket team. The Turneffe Islands (and many other islands and reefs) are part of Belize and lie in the Caribbean Sea. The nation of Suriname, on the mainland of South America, is a former Dutch colony and also a member of CARICOM.

Indigenous tribes[]

Arawak
Kalinago
Ciboney
Galibi
Garifuna
Igneri
Lucayan
Taino
Ciguayo
Macorix

Regionalism[]

Caribbean societies are very different from other western societies in terms of size, culture, and degree of mobility of their citizens.^[11] The current economic and political problems which the states face individually are common to all Caribbean states. Regional development has contributed to attempts to subdue current problems and avoid projected problems. From a political economic perspective, regionalism serves to make Caribbean states active participants in current international affairs through collective coalitions. In 1973, the first political regionalism in the Caribbean Basin was created by advances of the English-speaking Caribbean nations through the institution known as the Caribbean Common Market and Community (CARICOM).^[12]

Certain scholars have argued both for and against generalizing the political structures of the Caribbean. On the one hand the Caribbean states are politically diverse, ranging from communist systems such as Cuba toward more capitalist Westminster-style parliamentary systems as in the Commonwealth Caribbean. Other scholars argue that these differences are superficial, and that they tend to undermine commonalities in the various Caribbean states. Contemporary Caribbean systems seem to reflect a “blending of traditional and modern patterns, yielding hybrid systems that exhibit significant structural variations and divergent constitutional traditions yet ultimately appear to function in similar ways.”^[13] The political systems of the Caribbean states share similar practices.

The influence of regionalism in the Caribbean is often marginalized. Some scholars believe that regionalism cannot not exist in the Caribbean because each small state is unique. On the other hand, scholars also suggest that there are commonalities amongst the Caribbean nations that suggest regionalism exists. “Proximity as well as historical ties among the Caribbean nations has led to cooperation as well as a desire for collective action.”^[14] These attempts at regionalization reflect the nations' desires to compete in the international economic system.^[14]

Furthermore, a lack of interest from other major states promoted regionalism in the region. In recent years the Caribbean has suffered from a lack of U.S. interest. “With the end of the Cold War, U.S. security and economic interests have been focused on other areas. As a result there has been a significant reduction in U.S. aid and investment to the Caribbean.”^[15] The lack of international support for these small, relatively poor states, helped regionalism prosper.

Following the Cold War another issue of importance in the Caribbean has been the reduced economic growth of some Caribbean States due to the United States and European Union's allegations of special treatment toward the region by each other.

United States effects on regionalism[]

The United States under President Bill Clinton launched a challenge in the World Trade Organization against the EU, over Europe's preferential program, known as the Lomé Convention, which allowed banana exports from the former colonies of the Group of African, Caribbean and Pacific states (ACP) to enter Europe cheaply.^[16] The World Trade Organization sided in the United State's favour and the beneficial elements of the convention to African, Caribbean and Pacific states has been partially dismantled and replaced by the Cotonou Agreement.^[17]

During the US/EU dispute the United States imposed large tariffs on European Union goods (up to 100% on some imports) from the EU in order to pressure Europe to change the agreement with the Caribbean nations in favour of the Cotonou Agreement.^[18]

Farmers in the Caribbean have complained of their falling profits and rising costs. Some farmers have faced increased pressure to turn towards the cultivation of illegal-drugs which has a higher profit margin and fills the sizeable demand for illegal drugs in other parts of North America and Europe.^[19]^[20]