The Caribbean^[3] is a region Region is most commonly a geographical term that is used in various ways among the different branches of geography. In general, a region may be seen as a collection of smaller units or as one part of a larger whole (as in "the New England region of the United States"). Regions can be defined by physical characteristics, human consisting of the Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean situated in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded to the southwest by the Central American countries of Panama, to the west by Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, Belize, and Mexico, to the north by The Greater Antilles , and to the east by the Lesser Antilles, its islands An island or isle (/ˈaɪl/) is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls are called islets. A key or cay is another name for a small island or islet. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot, /ˈaɪ.ət/. A grouping of geographically or geologically related (most of which enclose the sea), and the surrounding coasts. The region is located southeast of the Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico is the eleventh largest body of water in the world. Considered a smaller part of the Atlantic Ocean, it is an ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and and Northern America Northern America is the northernmost region of the Americas, and is part of the North American continent. It lies directly north of the region of Middle America; the land border between the two regions coincides with the border between the United States and Mexico. Geopolitically, according to the scheme of geographic regions and subregions used, east of Central America Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. Central America is considered to be part of the Mesoamerican biodiversity hotspot, excluding the southern portions of Panama, and to the north of South America South America is the southern continent of America, situated in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east by the Atlantic Ocean; North America and the Caribbean Sea lie to the northwest.

Situated largely on the Caribbean Plate The Caribbean Plate is a mostly oceanic tectonic plate underlying Central America and the Caribbean Sea off the north coast of South America, the region comprises more than 7,000 islands, islets As suggested by its origin as islette, an Old French diminutive of "isle", use of the term implies small size, but little attention is given to drawing an upper limit on its applicability, reefs In nautical terminology, a reef is a rock, sandbar, or other feature lying beneath the surface of the water, and cays A cay is a small, low-elevation, sandy island formed on the surface of coral reefs. Cays occur in tropical environments throughout the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans (including in the Caribbean and on the Great Barrier Reef and Belize Barrier Reef), where they provide habitable and agricultural land for hundreds of thousands of people. Their. These islands, called the West Indies, generally form island arcs An island arc is a type of archipelago formed as one oceanic tectonic plate subducts under another and produces magma at depth below the over-riding plate. An island arc that develops along the edge of a continent may be known as a volcanic arc, though most people find the distinction of little benefit that delineate the eastern and northern edges of the Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean situated in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded to the southwest by the Central American countries of Panama, to the west by Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, Belize, and Mexico, to the north by The Greater Antilles , and to the east by the Lesser Antilles.^[4] These islands are called the West Indies because when Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus was an Italian navigator, colonizer, and explorer whose voyages across the Atlantic Ocean led to general European awareness of the American continents in the Western Hemisphere. With his four voyages of exploration and several attempts at establishing a settlement on the island of Hispaniola, all funded by Isabella I of landed there in 1492 he believed that he had reached the Indies The Indies is a term that has been used to describe the lands of South and Southeast Asia, occupying all of the present India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, and also Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Brunei, Singapore, the Philippines, East Timor, Malaysia and Indonesia. In a more restricted sense, the Indies can (in Asia Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.6% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 4 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population. During the 20th century Asia's population nearly quadrupled).

The region consists of the Antilles The Antilles islands form the greater part of the West Indies in the Caribbean. The Antilles are divided into two major groups: the "Greater Antilles" to the north and west, including the larger islands of Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic), and Puerto Rico; and the smaller "Lesser Antilles" on the, divided into the larger Greater Antilles The Greater Antilles are one of three island groups in the Caribbean. Comprising Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola , and Puerto Rico, the Greater Antilles constitute almost 90% of the land mass of the entire West Indies which bound the sea on the north and the Lesser Antilles The Lesser Antilles, also known as the Caribbees, are part of the Antilles, which together with the Bahamas, the Turks and Caicos Islands, and Greater Antilles form the West Indies. The islands are a long partly volcanic island arc, most of which wrap around the eastern end of the Caribbean Sea on the western boundary with the Atlantic Ocean, and on the south and east (including the Leeward Antilles The Leeward Antilles are a chain of islands in the Caribbean – specifically, the southerly islands of the Lesser Antilles along the southeastern fringe of the Caribbean Sea, just north of the Venezuelan coast of the South American mainland. The Leeward Antilles, while among the Lesser Antilles, are not to be confused with the Leeward Islands (), and the Bahamas The Bahamas (pronounced /ðə bəˈhɑːməz/ ), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an English-speaking country consisting of 29 islands, 661 cays, and 2,387 islets (rocks). It is located in the Atlantic Ocean north of Cuba, Hispaniola (Dominican Republic and Haiti) and the Caribbean Sea, northwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and and the Turks and Caicos Islands Coordinates: 21°30′18″N 71°45′14″W / 21.505°N 71.754°W The Turks and Caicos Islands are a British Overseas Territory consisting of two groups of tropical islands in the West Indies, the larger Caicos Islands and the smaller Turks Islands, known for tourism and as an offshore financial centre, which are in fact in the Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about 106,400,000 square kilometres , it covers approximately twenty percent of the Earth's surface and about twenty-six percent of its water surface area. The first part of its name refers to the Atlas of Greek mythology, making the Atlantic the " north of Cuba The Republic of Cuba (pronounced /ˈkjuːbə/ ; Spanish: República de Cuba, pronounced [reˈpuβlika ðe ˈkuβa] ( listen)) is an island country in the Caribbean. It consists of the island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second, not in the Caribbean Sea.

Geo-politically, the West Indies are usually regarded as a sub-region A subregion is a conceptual unit which derives from a larger region or continent and is usually based on location. Cardinal directions, such as south or southern, are commonly used to define a subregion of North America North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and in the western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific Ocean; South America lies to the southeast^[5][6][7][8] and are organized into 27 territories including sovereign Sovereignty is the quality of having supreme, independent authority over a territory. It can be found in a power to rule and make law that rests on a political fact for which no purely legal explanation can be provided. The concept has been discussed, debated and questioned throughout history, from the time of the Romans through to the present day, states A sovereign state is a political association with effective internal and external sovereignty over a geographic area and population which is not dependent on, or subject to any other power or state. While in abstract terms a sovereign state can exist without being recognised by other sovereign states, unrecognised states will often find it hard to, overseas departments An overseas department is a department of France that is outside metropolitan France. They have the same political status as metropolitan departments. As integral parts of France and the European Union, overseas departments are represented in the National Assembly, Senate, and Economic and Social Council, vote to elect European Parliament (MEP),, and dependencies A dependent territory, dependent area or dependency is a territory that does not possess full political independence or sovereignty as a State. Between January 3, 1958, to May 31, 1962, there was a short-lived country called the Federation of the West Indies The West Indies Federation, also known as the Federation of the West Indies, was a short-lived Caribbean federation that existed from January 3, 1958, to May 31, 1962. It consisted of several Caribbean colonies of the United Kingdom. The expressed intention of the Federation was to create a political unit that would become independent from Britain composed of ten English English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into South-East Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria. Following the economic, political, military, scientific, cultural, and colonial influence of Great Britain and the United Kingdom from the 18th century, and of-speaking Caribbean territories, all of which were then UK The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland[note 7] is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of the island of Ireland, and many small islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK with a land dependencies.

The region takes its name from that of the Carib Carib, Island Carib, or Kalinago people, after whom the Caribbean Sea was named, live in the Lesser Antilles islands. They are an Amerindian people whose origins lie in the southern West Indies and the northern coast of South America, an ethnic group An ethnic group is a group of people whose members identify with each other, through a common heritage that is real or assumed- sharing cultural characteristics This shared heritage may be based upon putative common ancestry, history, kinship, religion, language, shared territory, nationality or physical appearance. Members of an ethnic group are present in the Lesser Antilles The Lesser Antilles, also known as the Caribbees, are part of the Antilles, which together with the Bahamas, the Turks and Caicos Islands, and Greater Antilles form the West Indies. The islands are a long partly volcanic island arc, most of which wrap around the eastern end of the Caribbean Sea on the western boundary with the Atlantic Ocean, and and parts of adjacent South America South America is the southern continent of America, situated in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east by the Atlantic Ocean; North America and the Caribbean Sea lie to the northwest at the time of European contact.^[9]

Contents 1 Definition 2 Geography and climate 2.1 Historical groupings 2.2 Modern day island territories 2.3 Continental countries with Caribbean coastlines and islands 3 Biodiversity 4 Demographics 4.1 Indigenous tribes 4.2 Language 4.3 Religion 5 Politics 5.1 Regionalism 5.1.1 United States effects on regionalism 5.1.2 European Union effects on regionalism 6 Regional institutions 7 Culture 7.1 Cuisine 7.1.1 Favorite or National dishes 8 See also 9 References 10 Further reading 11 External links

Definition

Central America Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. Central America is considered to be part of the Mesoamerican biodiversity hotspot, excluding the southern portions of Panama and the Caribbean.

The word "Caribbean" has multiple uses. Its principal ones are geographical Geography is the study of the Earth and its lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes (276-194 B.C.). Four historical traditions in geographical research are the spatial analysis of natural and and political Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to behavior within civil governments, but politics has been observed in other group interactions, including corporate, academic, and religious institutions. It consists of "social relations involving authority or power" and refers to. The Caribbean can also be expanded to include territories with strong cultural and historical connections to slavery Slavery is a system in which people are the property of others. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand wages. In some societies it was legal for an owner to kill a slave; in others it was a crime to kill a slave, European colonisation The start of the European colonization of the Americas is typically dated to 1492, although there was at least one earlier colonization effort. The first known Europeans to reach the Americas were the Vikings during the 11th century, who established several colonies in Greenland and one short-lived settlement at L'Anse aux Meadows (51°N) in the and the plantation A plantation is a large farm or estate, usually in a tropical or subtropical country, where crops are grown for sale in distant markets, rather than for local consumption. The term plantation is informal and not precisely defined system.

• Physiographically, the Caribbean region is mainly a chain of islands surrounding the Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean situated in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded to the southwest by the Central American countries of Panama, to the west by Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, Belize, and Mexico, to the north by The Greater Antilles , and to the east by the Lesser Antilles. To the north is the Caribbean Sea bordered by the Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico is the eleventh largest body of water in the world. Considered a smaller part of the Atlantic Ocean, it is an ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and, the Straits of Florida The Straits of Florida, Florida Straits, or Florida Strait is a strait located south-southeast of the North American mainland, generally accepted to be between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean, and between the Florida Keys and Cuba. The strait carries the Florida Current, the beginning of the Gulf Stream, from the Gulf of Mexico, and the Northern Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about 106,400,000 square kilometres , it covers approximately twenty percent of the Earth's surface and about twenty-six percent of its water surface area. The first part of its name refers to the Atlas of Greek mythology, making the Atlantic the " which lies to the East and Northeast; the coastline of the continent of South America South America is the southern continent of America, situated in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east by the Atlantic Ocean; North America and the Caribbean Sea lie to the northwest lies to the south.
• Politically, "Caribbean" may be centred on socio-economic groupings found in the region. For example the block known as the Caribbean Community The Caribbean Community , is an organization of 15 Caribbean nations and dependencies. CARICOM's main purposes are to promote economic integration and cooperation among its members, to ensure that the benefits of integration are equitably shared, and to coordinate foreign policy. Its major activities involve coordinating economic policies and (CARICOM) contains both the Co-operative Republic of Guyana Guyana (pronounced /ɡaɪˈænə/ gye-AN-ə), officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana and previously known as British Guiana, is a state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana has been a former colony of the British, Dutch and for a brief period, the French. It is the only state of 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.^[10] The Caribbean has 7001 islands.

Geography and climate

Detail of tectonic plates from: Tectonic plates of the world.

The geography and climate in the Caribbean region varies. Some islands in the region have relatively flat terrain of non-volcanic origin. These islands include Aruba (possessing only minor volcanic features), Barbados, Bonaire, the Cayman Islands, Saint Croix, The Bahamas or Antigua. Others possess rugged towering mountain-ranges like the islands of Cuba, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Dominica, Montserrat, Saba, Saint Kitts, Saint Lucia, Saint Thomas, Saint John, Tortola, Grenada, Saint Vincent, Guadeloupe, Martinique , 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. The region enjoys year-round sunshine, divided into 'dry' and 'wet' seasons, with the last six months of the year being wetter than the first half.

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.^[11]

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.

Historical groupings

Main article: History of the Caribbean Political Evolution of Central America and the Caribbean from 1700 to present. The mostly Spanish-controlled Caribbean in the sixteenth century.

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, Belize, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, 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 Barthélemy and Saint Martin (France).
• Portuguese West Indies – present-day Barbados, known as Os 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, Haiti(until 1609 to France), Puerto Rico, Jamaica (until 1655 to Great Britain), the Cayman Islands(until 1670 to Great Britain) Trinidad (until 1797 to Great Britain) and Bay Islands (until 1643 to Great Britain), with coastal Island of Central America (Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama) and South America (Venezuela and Colombia).
• Swedish West Indies – present-day French Saint-Barthélemy and Guadeloupe (briefly).
• Courlander West Indies – Tobago (until 1691)

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.

Modern day island territories

Islands in and near the Caribbean Main article: List of islands in the Caribbean See also: Caribbean South America and Caribbean basin

• Anguilla (British overseas territory)
• Antigua and Barbuda
• Aruba (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)
• Bahamas
• Barbados
• British Virgin Islands (British overseas territory)
• Cayman Islands (British overseas territory)
• Cuba
• Dominica
• Dominican Republic
• Grenada
• Guadeloupe (overseas department of France)
• Haiti
• Jamaica
• Martinique (overseas department of France)
• Montserrat (British overseas territory)
• Netherlands Antilles (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)
• Puerto Rico (commonwealth of the United States)
• Saint Barthélemy (overseas collectivity of France)
• Saint Kitts and Nevis
• Saint Lucia
• Saint Martin (overseas collectivity of France)
• Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
• Trinidad and Tobago
• Turks and Caicos Islands (British overseas territory)
• United States Virgin Islands (territory of the United States)

Continental countries with Caribbean coastlines and islands

Belize Ambergris Caye Belize City Big Creek Caye Caulker Glover's Reef Dangriga Hicks Cays Hopkins Lighthouse Reef Placencia Punta Gorda St. George's Caye South Water Caye Turneffe Islands Colombia Archipelago of San Andres and Providencia Barranquilla Cartagena Riohacha Santa Marta Costa Rica Guatemala Guyana Honduras Guanaja Roatán Útila Cayos Cochinos Swan Islands Mexico Quintana Roo Cancún Chetumal Isla Contoy Isla Cozumel Isla Mujeres Cozumel

Nicaragua Corn Islands Cayos Miskitos Pearl Cays Panama Kuna Yala Islands (comprising more than 1300 islands) Bocas del Toro Archipelago (archipelago with approximately 300 islands) Venezuela 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

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.

Biodiversity

This section requires expansion.

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.^[12] 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 Haiti, and the Cuban crocodile. The hotspot is also remarkable for the diversity of its fauna.

Saona Island, Dominican Republic

Demographics

Beach in Tobago

The population of the Caribbean is estimated to have been around 750,000 immediately before European contact, although lower and higher figures are given. After contact, genocide and disease led to a decline in the Native American population.^[13][14] From 1500 to 1800 the population rose as slaves arrived from West Africa^[15] such as the Kongo, Igbo, Akan, Fon and Yoruba as well as military prisoners and captured slaves from Ireland, who were deported during the Cromwellian reign in England.^[16] Immigrants from Britain, Italy. France, Spain, the Netherlands, Portugal and Denmark also arrived, although the mortality rate was high for both groups.^[17]

The population is estimated to have reached 2.2 million by 1800.^[18] Immigrants from India, China, and other countries arrived in the 19th century.^[19] After the ending of the Atlantic slave trade, the population increased naturally.^[20] The total regional population was estimated at 37.5 million by 2000.^[1]

Puerto Cruz beach in Margarita Island, Venezuela

The majority of the Caribbean (of the lesser Antilles and Jamaica) has populations of mainly Africans in the French Caribbean, Anglophone Caribbean and Dutch Caribbean, there are minorities of mixed-race and European peoples of Dutch, English, French, Italian, and Portuguese ancestry. Asians, especially those of Chinese and Indian descent, form a significant minority in the region and also contribute to multiracial communities. All of their ancestors arrived in the 19th century as indentured laborers.

The Spanish-speaking Caribbean have primarily mixed race, African, or European majorities. Puerto Rico and Cuba (largest Caribbean island) have a European majority with a mixture of Spaniards–European, Native Americans, and some West African. Cuba has a third of its population of African decent, with a sizable Mulatto (mixed African–European) population. The Dominican Republic has a largely mixed majority who are primarily descended from West Africans and Spaniards, with some Native Americans.

Trinidad and Tobago has a multi-racial cosmopolitan society due to the arrival of the Africans, Indians, Chinese, Syrians, Lebanese, Native Amerindians and Europeans. This multi-racial mix has created sub-ethnicities that often straddle the boundaries of major ethnicities and include Chindian and Dougla.

Indigenous tribes

• Arawak
• Taíno
• Kalinago
• Ciboney
• Ciguayo
• Galibi
• Garifuna
• Igneri
• Lucayan
• Macorix

Language

Spanish, English, French, Dutch, Haitian Creole and Papiamento are the predominant official languages of various countries in the region, though a handful of unique Creole languages or dialects can also be found from one country to another.

Religion

See also: :Category:Religion in the Caribbean

The largest religious groups in the region are: Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Rastafari, Santería, and Voodoo among others.

Politics

Regionalism

Caribbean societies are very different from other Western societies in terms of size, culture, and degree of mobility of their citizens.^[21] 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).^[22]

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.”^[23] 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.”^[24] These attempts at regionalization reflect the nations' desires to compete in the international economic system.^[24]

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.”^[25] 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.^[26] The World Trade Organization sided in the United States' favour and the beneficial elements of the convention to African, Caribbean and Pacific states has been partially dismantled and replaced by the Cotonou Agreement.^[27]

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.^[28]

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 sizable demand for these illegal drugs in North America and Europe.^[29][30]

European Union effects on regionalism

The European Union has also taken issue with US based taxation extended to US companies via the Caribbean countries. The EU instituted a broad labeling of many nations as tax havens by the France-based OECD. The United States has not been in favor of shutting off the practice yet, mainly due to the higher costs that would be passed on to US companies via taxation. Caribbean countries have largely countered the allegations by the OECD by signing more bilateral information sharing deals with OECD members, thus reducing the dangerous aspects of secrecy, and they have strengthened their legislation against money laundering and on the conditions under which companies can be based in their nations. The Caribbean nations have also started to more closely cooperate in the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force and other instruments to add oversight of the offshore industry.

One of the most important associations that deal with regionalism amongst the nations of the Caribbean Basin has been the Association of Caribbean States (ACS). Proposed by CARICOM in 1992, the ACS soon won the support of the other countries of the region. It was founded in July 1994. The ACS maintains regionalism within the Caribbean on issues which are unique to the Caribbean Basin. Through coalition building, like the ACS and CARICOM, regionalism has become an undeniable part of the politics and economics of the Caribbean. The successes of region-building initiatives are still debated by scholars, yet regionalism remains prevalent throughout the Caribbean.

Regional institutions

Here are some of the bodies that several islands share in collaboration:

• Association of Caribbean States (ACS), Trinidad and Tobago
• Caribbean Association of Industry and Commerce (CAIC), Trinidad and Tobago^[31]
• Caribbean Association of National Telecommunication Organizations (CANTO), Trinidad and Tobago^[32]
• Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Guyana
• Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), Barbados
• Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency (CDERA), Barbados
• Caribbean Educators Network,^[33]
• Caribbean Electric Utility Services Corporation (CARILEC), Saint Lucia^[34]
• Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC), Barbados and Jamaica
• Caribbean Food Crop Society
• Caribbean Football Union (CFU)
• Caribbean Hotel Association (CHA), Puerto Rico^[35]
• Caribbean Initiative (Initiative of the IUCN)
• Caribbean Programme for Economic Competitiveness (CPEC), Saint Lucia
• Caribbean Regional Environmental Programme (CREP), Barbados^[36]
• Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM), Belize^[37]
• Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery (CRNM), Barbados and Dominican Republic^[38]
• Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU), Trinidad and Tobago^[39]
• Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO), Barbados
• Inter-American Economic Council (IAEC), Washington, D.C.
• Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), Saint Lucia
• Latin American and Caribbean Internet Addresses Registry (LACNIC), Brazil and Uruguay
• United Nations - Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Chile and Trinidad and Tobago
• University of the West Indies, Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago^[40]. In addition, the fourth campus, the Open Campus was formed in June 2008 as a result of an amalgamation of the Board for Non-Campus Countries and Distance Educationn, Schools of Continuing Studies, the UWI Distance Education Centres and Tertiary Level Units. The Open Campus has 42 physical sites in 16 Anglophone caribbean countries.
• West Indies Cricket Board, Antigua and Barbuda^[41]

Culture

Cuisine

Main article: Caribbean cuisine

Favorite or National dishes

See also: National_dish#Country-Dish.2FFood

• Anguilla - Rice and Peas and Fish
• Antigua and Barbuda - Fungee & Pepperpot
• Bahamas - Crack Conch with Peas and Rice^[42]
• Barbados - Cou-Cou and Flying fish
• British Virgin Islands - Fish and fungee
• Cayman Islands - Turtle Stew
• Cuba - Platillo Moros y Cristianos, Ropa Vieja, Yuca, Maduros, Ajiaco
• Dominica - Mountain chicken
• Dominican Republic - arroz con pollo topped with stewed red kidney beans, pan fried or braised beef, and side dish of green salad or ensalada de coditos, camarones, empanadas and/or tostones, or the ever popular Dominican dish known as Mangú which is mashed plantains. The ensemble is usually called bandera nacional, which means "national flag", a term equivalent to the Venezuelan pabellón criollo.
• Grenada - Oil-Down
• Guyana - beef/chicken/potatoe curry and roti, catahar, callaloo, dhal and rice, plantains, white pudding, pumpkin and rice, okra, pepperpot, catfish curry
• Haiti - Griot (Fried pork) served with Du riz a pois or Diri ak Pwa (Rice and beans)
• Jamaica - ackee and saltfish, callaloo
• Montserrat - Goat Water
• Puerto Rico - Arroz con gandules with roasted pork shoulder, arroz con pollo, Mofongo, and Many Fried Food, Commonly made In the Beaches and Coast like, Alcapurrias, bacalaito, piononos.
• Saint Kitts and Nevis - Coconut dumplings, Spicy plantain, saltfish, breadfruit
• Saint Lucia - Green Bananas & Dried and salted cod
• Saint Vincent and the Grenadines - Roasted Breadfruit & Fried Jackfish
• Trinidad and Tobago - Doubles, Roti, Crab and dumpling, Pelau
• United States Virgin Islands - Kallaloo, fish and fungee
• Venezuela - pabellón criollo.

See also

	Caribbean portal
	Puerto Rico portal

Main article: List of Caribbean-related topics

• African diaspora
• British Afro-Caribbean community
• Caribbean Spanish
• Caribbean English
• History of the Caribbean
• Indo-Caribbean
• Music of the Caribbean
• Piracy in the Caribbean
• Politics of the Caribbean
• Tourism in Caribbean

Geography:

• Islands of the Caribbean
• Caribbean Sea
• Americas (terminology)
• List of Indigenous Names of Eastern Caribbean Islands
• Middle America (Americas)
• Mountain peaks of the Caribbean

Organisations:

• West Indies Federation
• CONCACAF
• Council on Hemispheric Affairs

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Table A.2, Database documentation, Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) Population Database, version 3, International Center for Tropical Agriculture et al., 2005. Accessed on line February 20, 2008.
2. ^ McWhorter (2005). Defining Creole. Oxford University Press US. p. 379. ISBN 0195166701. http://books.google.com/books?id=zdxJJVY54nYC&pg=PT387.
3. ^ Pronounced /ˌkærɨˈbiːən/ or /kəˈrɪbiən/. Both pronunciations are equally valid; indeed, they see equal use even within areas of the Caribbean itself. Cf. Royal Caribbean, which stresses the second syllable, and Pirates of the Caribbean, which stresses the first and third. In each case, as a proper noun, those who would normally pronounce it a different way may use the pronunciation associated with the noun when referring to it. More generic nouns such as the Caribbean Community are generally referred to using the speaker's preferred pronunciation. Spanish: Caribe; Dutch Caraïben (help·info); French: Caraïbe or more commonly Antilles
4. ^ Asann, Ridvan (2007). A Brief History of the Caribbean (Revised ed.). New York: Facts on File, Inc.. pp. 3. ISBN 0816038112.
5. ^ Standard Country and Area Codes Classifications (M49), United Nations Statistics Division
6. ^ North America Atlas National Geographic
7. ^ "North America" Atlas of Canada
8. ^ "North America". Britannica Concise Encyclopedia; "... associated with the continent is Greenland, the largest island in the world, and such offshore groups as the Arctic Archipelago, the Bahamas, the Greater and Lesser Antilles, the Queen Charlotte Islands, and the Aleutian Islands."
9. ^ "Carib". Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on 2008-07-11. http://www.webcitation.org/5ZDatLUlv. Retrieved 2008-02-20. "inhabited the Lesser Antilles and parts of the neighbouring South American coast at the time of the Spanish conquest."
10. ^ Background of the business forum of the Greater Caribbean of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS)
11. ^ Uri ten Brink. "Puerto Rico Trench 2003: Cruise Summary Results". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/03trench/welcome.html. Retrieved 2008-02-21.
12. ^ North American Extinctions v. World
13. ^ p. 486, A Population History of the Caribbean, Stanley L. Engerman, pp. 483–528 in A Population History of North America, edited by Michael R. Haines and Richard Hall Steckel, Cambridge University Press, 2000, ISBN 0-521-49666-7.
14. ^ Stacy Goodling, "Effects of European Diseases on the Inhabitants of the New World", Millersville University
15. ^ The Sugar Revolutions and Slavery, U.S. Library of Congress
16. ^ To Hell or Barbados: The Ethnic Cleansing of Ireland, O'Callaghan S, Brandon Press, 2001, ISBN 0863222870.
17. ^ pp. 488–492, Engerman.
18. ^ Figure 11.1, Engerman.
19. ^ pp. 501–502, Engerman.
20. ^ pp. 504, 511, Engerman.
21. ^ Gowricharn, Ruben. Caribbean Transnationalism: Migraton, Pluralization, and Social Cohesion, Lanham: Lexington Books, 2006. pp. 5
22. ^ Hillman, Richard S., and Thomas J. D'agostino, eds. Understanding the Contemporary Caribbean, London: Lynne Rienner, 2003. pp. 150
23. ^ Hillman, Richard S., and Thomas J. D'agostino, eds. Understanding the Contemporary Caribbean, London: Lynne Rienner, 2003. pp. 165
24. ^ ^{a b} Serbin, Andres. "Towards an Association of Caribbean States: Raising Some Awkward Questions", Journal of Interamerican Studies and World Affairs (2004): pp. 1
25. ^ Hillman, Richard S., and Thomas J. D'agostino, eds. Understanding the Contemporary Caribbean, London: Lynne Rienner, 2003. pp. 123
26. ^ The U.S.-EU Banana Agreement See also: "Dominica: Poverty and Potential". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/caribbean/news/story/2008/05/080516_sanders190508.shtml. Retrieved 2008-12-06.
27. ^ WTO rules against EU banana import practices
28. ^ No truce in banana war
29. ^ World: Americas St Vincent hit by banana war
30. ^ Concern for Caribbean farmers
31. ^ CAIC
32. ^ "CANTO Caribbean portal". Canto.org. http://www.canto.org. Retrieved 2008-12-06.
33. ^ "Caribbean Educators Network". CEN. http://www.caribbeaneducatorsnetwork.com. Retrieved 2008-12-06.
34. ^ "Carilec". Carilec.com. http://www.carilec.com. Retrieved 2008-12-06.
35. ^ http://www.caribbeanhotels.org
36. ^ "Caribbean Regional Environmental Programme". Crepnet.net. http://www.crepnet.net. Retrieved 2008-12-06.
37. ^ "Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism". Caricom-fisheries.com. http://www.caricom-fisheries.com. Retrieved 2008-12-06.
38. ^ "Official website of the RNM". Crnm.org. http://www.crnm.org. Retrieved 2008-12-06.
39. ^ http://www.c-t-u.org
40. ^ "University of the West Indies". Uwi.edu. http://www.uwi.edu. Retrieved 2008-12-06.
41. ^ "West Indies Cricket Board WICB Official Website". Windiescricket.com. http://www.windiescricket.com. Retrieved 2008-12-06.
42. ^ http://www.caribbeanamericanfoods.com/?page=island_dishes

"Diversity Amid Globalization" 4th edition. Rowntree, Lewis, Price, Wyckoff.

Further reading

• Develtere, Patrick. 1994. "Co-operation and development: With special reference to the experience of the Commonwealth Caribbean" ACCO, ISBN 90-334-3181-5
• Gowricharn, Ruben. Caribbean Transnationalism: Migraton, Pluralization, and Social Cohesion. Lanham: Lexington Books, 2006.
• Henke, Holger, and Fred Reno, eds. Modern Political Culture in the Caribbean. Kingston: University of West Indies Press, 2003.
• Heuman, Gad. The Caribbean: Brief Histories. London: A Hodder Arnold Publication, 2006
• Hillman, Richard S., and Thomas J. D'agostino, eds. Understanding the Contemporary Caribbean. London: Lynne Rienner, 2003.
• de Kadt, Emanuel, (editor). Patterns of foreign influence in the Caribbean, Oxford University Press, 1972
• Knight, Franklin W.. The Modern Caribbean. na: The University of North Carolina Press, 1989.
• Kurlansky, Mark. 1992. A Continent of Islands: Searching for the Caribbean Destiny. Addison-Wesley Publishing. ISBN 0-201-52396-5
• Langley, Lester D. The United States and the Caribbean in the Twentieth Century. London: University of Georgia Press, 1989.
• Maingot, Anthony P. The United States and the Caribbean: Challenges of an Asymmetrical Relationship. Westview P, 1994.
• Ramnarine, Tina K., "Beautiful Cosmos: Performance and Belonging in the Caribbean Diaspora". London, Pluto Press, 2007
• Serbin, Andres. "Towards an Association of Caribbean States: Raising Some Awkward Questions." Journal of Interamerican Studies and World Affairs (2004): 1-19. (This scholar has many articles referencing the politics of the Caribbean)

External links

Find more about Caribbean on Wikipedia's sister projects:
	Definitions from Wiktionary
	Textbooks from Wikibooks
	Quotations from Wikiquote
	Source texts from Wikisource
	Images and media from Commons
	News stories from Wikinews
	Learning resources from Wikiversity

• Caribbean at the Open Directory Project
• Wikitravel - The Caribbean
• Digital Library of the Caribbean
• Federal Research Division of the U.S. Library of Congress: Caribbean Islands (1987)
• West Indies papers Miscellaneous personal and estate records, 1663–1929, University of Bristol Library Special Collections
• LANIC Caribbean country pages

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