Caribbean

{|align=right bgcolor=#dddddd | colspan="2" | [[image:Central_america.jpg|thumb|365px|Central America and the Caribbean [http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/reference_maps/pdf/central_america.pdf (detailed pdf map)]]] |} 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 the Indies (then meaning all of south and east Asia) when he had in fact reached the Americas. The Caribbean consists of the Greater and Lesser Antilles 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. The Caribbean area is also famous for its sea pirates. See the article piracy in the Caribbean. == 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 departements 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 territories of the Caribbean == ''See also: Caribbean South America, Caribbean_basin'' * (Great Britain dependency) * **Antigua **Barbuda * (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands) * **Abaco **Andros, Bahamas **Cat Island, Bahamas **Eleuthera **Grand Bahama **New Providence, with the capital Nassau, Bahamas. * * (Great Britain dependency, shares the Virgin Islands with the U.S. Virgin Islands.) * (Great Britain dependency) ** Cayman Brac ** Grand Cayman, with the capital George Town, Cayman Islands ** Little Cayman * is not a Caribbean country, but has some islands in the Caribbean sea: ** San Andres and Providencia * * * (shares the Grenadines group with Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) ** Petite Martinique ** Carriacou * (overseas ''department'' of France) ** Basse-Terre ** Grande-Terre ** Iles des Saintes *** Terre de Haut *** Terre de Bas ** Marie-Galante ** Iles de la Petite Terre ** La D�sirade ** Saint-Barth�lemy, also ''Saint Barts'' ** Saint-Martin (part of the island Saint Martin shared with the Netherlands Antilles; note the dash) * Hispaniola ** ** * is not a Caribbean country, but has some islands in the Caribbean sea: ** Islas de Bahia *** Guanaja *** Roatan ** Swan Islands * * (overseas department of France) * is not a Caribbean country, but has some islands in the Caribbean sea: ** Canc�n ** Isla Mujeres ** Isla Cozumel * (Great Britain dependency) *Navassa Island (US insular area) * (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands) ** Bonaire ** Cura�ao ** Saba ** Sint Eustatius ** Sint Maarten (part of the island Saint Martin shared with Guadeloupe) * is not a Caribbean country, but has some islands in the Caribbean sea: ** Corn Islands * (commonwealth associated with US) * **Saint Kitts **Nevis * * (shares the Grenadines group with Grenada) ** Bequia ** Canouan Island ** Mustique ** Palm Island ** Saint Vincent (island) ** Union Island ** Young Island * ** Tobago ** Trinidad and Tobago * (Great Britain dependency) ** Grand Turk ** Providenciales * (territory of the United States, 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 Caribbean_Community. The Turneffe islands (and many other islands and reefs) are part of Belize and lie in the Caribbean Sea. == Native American Tribes == * Arawak * Carib * Ciboney * Garifuna * Lucayan * Taino ==See also== * African diaspora * British Afro-Caribbean community * Caribbean English * Caribbean medical education * CONCACAF * Council on Hemispheric Affairs * History of the Caribbean * Indo-Caribbean * List of islands in the Caribbean * Music of the Caribbean * Politics of the Caribbean * List_of_popular_tourist_regions#Tourism_in_Caribbean * West Indies Federation ===Regional Institutions=== ''Here are some of the bodies that several islands share in collaboration'': * ACP_countries * Association_of_Caribbean_States * Caribbean_Community * Caribbean_Development_Bank * CDERA * Caribbean_Hotel_Association * Caribbean_Programme_For_Economic_Competitiveness * Caribbean_Regional_Negotiating_Machinery * Caribbean_Tourism_Organisation * Latin_American_and_Caribbean_Internet_Addresses_Registry * Organisation_of_Eastern_Caribbean_States * ECLAC Caribbean Americas nds:Karibik

Caribbean

{| align=center class="toccolours" |- | bgcolor="#c0c0f0" width="500" align=center | Countries of the world in the Caribbean |- | align=center style="font-size: 90%;" | Anguilla | Antigua and Barbuda | Aruba | Bahamas | Barbados | Bermuda | British Virgin Islands | Cayman Islands | Cuba | Dominica | Dominican Republic | Grenada | Guadeloupe | Haiti | Jamaica | Martinique | Montserrat | Netherlands Antilles | Puerto Rico | Saint Kitts and Nevis | Saint Lucia | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | Trinidad and Tobago | Turks and Caicos Islands | U.S. Virgin Islands |}

Caribbean

==Move page== This should be moved to West Indies, as in every single encyclopedia. --User:Cantus 08:24, 6 Apr 2004 (UTC) :West indies are a subset of the Caribbean Islands, considering the Honduran Islands are not in WI User:Dominick 10:34, 6 Apr 2004 (UTC) ==Reversion== I have reverted two revisions, which changed those islands that are currently "British dependencies" to being "British Empire dependencies". This is incorrect. Those islands certainly were once part of the "British Empire", and I guess it is arguable (but contentious) that they still are part of a British Empire, although personally I think that is a rather obsolete concept. The islands have never been dependencies of the British Empire; that translates roughly to the islands being dependencies of a colony of Britain. Maybe the US Virgin Islands were once such (if their dependent status predates 1777, which I doubt) but the islands affected by this change are all direct dependencies of Britain. -- User:Chris j wood 10:49, 14 Sep 2004 (UTC) == namechange west indies into carribean == I have a question: Is there someone who knows why the name: west indies had changed into Carribean? I need this kind of information for my history course, but teacher didn't want to explain this. Thanxxxx Let me know!! == Re: namechange west indies into caribbean == West Indies = the European name of the area. i.e. "West" of Europe. Caribbean = the name the Amerindians called the region. To people in the Caribbean they aren't "west" of anybody except for Europe. It's an identity thing mostly, plus out of respect for the Amerindians that live there before was another reason. Keep in mind the island of St. Kitts had even legally changed their name from 'St. Christorpher' (which more then likely came from Christopher Columbus.) Becareful with that double "r" spelling. I know in 'Caribbean English' we always stress the "r" and as such, some now spell Caribbean it like that. But it's supposed to be single "r" double "b". Cheers. User:CaribDigita 21:29, 7 Feb 2005 (UTC) :Don't say that too broadly - ''we'' Caribbean people (down in Trinidad) under-pronounce our r's like English-speakers should ;) And we say Cuh-RIBB-e-un (like the English), not CAH-rib-be-an (like the Americans). :I wouldn't go so far as to say "Caribbean" was an indigenous name - it came from "Carib", which may have been a Taino/Arawak word for the Caribs, but not their own word for themselves. User:Guettarda 21:45, 7 Feb 2005 (UTC) :: In all fairness, I was merely displaying empathy with the original author. I must say it's true there are dialects. ;-) In Jamaica principally I find that the 'r' is very stressed and it's mostly websites from the same said location, where I find the double 'r' most. (However in more recent times you can find more web sites adding the mispelled version too as a redirect.) But you know even in Trin-bago I can draw upon an example being the musician Bunji Garlin, he is known for having a very 'Jamaican' flavor to much of his music. In his music you will hear that stressed "r" too. ::The main too ways I hear 'Caribbean' pronounced is "Kar-ree-bean" "Ka-rib-bee-an" (In this example I replaced the 'c' with 'k' simply because 'c' in many other languages has a different sound. 'K' tends to be more standard.) ::According to one theory, "Caribbean" came from the "Carib" indians, which were supposedly, (not only the more agressive of all the other tribes but) they named the entire Caribbean Sea the "Caribbean". As I understood it though they went further, and even called the mainland coast of Central America a part of the "Caribbean" too though. User:CaribDigita 03:42, 8 Feb 2005 (UTC) :::From what I have read (and I have spent too much time reading about this recently) "Carib" and "Cannibales" was what the Taino told Columbus their neighbours to the south were called. The Caribs called themselves Kallinago, Karipuna and Karinya...from which probably comes Garifuna. :::Bunji, like a lot of his contemporaries, sings with a semi-Jamaican accent. I wasn't making a real distinction though - I know the Trinidadian accent lacks a lot of the sounds present in the rest of the Caribbean. Of course Bajan is pretty distinctive too, but it shares the stressed r's. I get the impression (based on an overly small sample size, of course) that "upper class" Bajans speak very differently to the rest of the population. I had one lecturer in UWI, Oliver Headley, who had an accent that was just great to listen to. Of course he was a great lecturer...he would get to the point where he realised he had lost most of the class...he would acknowledge the fact, and then switch to something totally new. User:Guettarda 14:15, 8 Feb 2005 (UTC) ::::I probably haven't studied as much about this specific topic as others here. From the examples I've picked up primarily, from UWI professors as well. A few of the other examples off the top of my head of pre-columbus names of geography which have lived-on include; I believe-- "Iere" which was formerly the name for Trinidad. ::::Jamaica I think was formerly called "Xaymaca"(spelling?). I don't recall which of the tribes was responsible for this name though. ::::Then there's "Carenage" or sometimes spelled "Careenage" i've read is also a name left behind by the peoples that had been long-time resident in the region all along. I want to suspect that probably in interior parts of Guyana one can also find many places named by the indigenious Amerindian tribe as well. I believe the indeginous people in our region have had a huge impact / effect on the names we use today. ::::Wasn't the native plant Tobacco, also one way Tobago got it's name? I feel if this is all accurate then we may indeed be calling a decent amount of places by their indig. names. User:CaribDigita 00:59, 9 Feb 2005 (UTC) Trinidad and the Greater Antilles are actually full of Amerindian names - in Trinidad - Chacachacare, Chaguaramas, Mucurapo, Curepe, Tunapuna, Tacarigua, Piarco, Arima, Chaguanas, Caripachaima, Naparima, Guayaguayare... Trinidad was Iere or Kairi (which actually mean different things). Tobacco comes from the word for the pipe the Arawaks smoked, not for tobacco. Carenage is a French word, careenage is the English equivalent I believe, where you clean and repair ships. Haiti is the Taino word, Puerto Rico was Boqueron...Puerto Rico is full of Taino place names. Don't know much about the case in Guyana (except, of course, the name of the country), but Roraima if nothing else. Sure there are in the Lesser Antilles too, though not to as great an extent. User:Guettarda 02:21, 9 Feb 2005 (UTC) Some more - the obvious ones - hammock, canoe, hurricane, both yucca (for the root) and cassava (for the bread), manatee, savanna. Cuba, Jamaica - both derived from Taino words. Mammey (mammey apple), Gonaive in Haiti was ''Guanahibes'', Manac (if you know the palm), Roucou (annato, but we use the Carib word in Trinidad)... User:Guettarda 02:29, 9 Feb 2005 (UTC) == West Indies vs Caribbean == While I know this isn't the proper distinction, I use the term "West Indian" to refer to what might be considered the former "British West Indian" - as a term for someone from the English-speaking Caribbean, someone from one of the countries that make up the WIndies cricket team. Guyana is thus part of the West Indies, even though it doesn't touch the Caribbean Sea. (It's also part of Caricom, of course). Caribbean is a broader term, which includes the Spanish-speaking islands. And the French and Dutch islands fall somewhere in-between - less foreign than the Spanish islands, but less familiar than the English-speaking islands. Although in some ways the French islands as more familiar than Jamaica. Both "West Indies" and "Caribbean" have their usage, non-identical, but if you have to pick one I would go with the broader term, Caribbean. User:Guettarda 14:29, 8 Feb 2005 (UTC) :I basically agree with this distinction. As I use the terms, the Spanish islands (and some of Central America) are part of the Caribbean, but not part of the West Indies. The British islands are definitely part of the West Indies. The French islands are also part of the West Indies (and refer to themselves at times as the FWI). Same with the Dutch islands and former Danish islands. In general, I prefer the term "Caribbean" over "West Indies" when discussing the geographic region. "West Indies" is less inclusive and has more colonial, political, and socio-cultural connotations. :-- User:Gruepig 19:57, 8 Feb 2005 (UTC) I second the opinion of Gruepig. I have only just last week engaged in a discussion with some colleagues in which I was told that the term West Indies is most appropriately used to describe the entire Caribbean. I was only able to concede that the term was once used for that express purpose but in this day has come to have a less exclusive meaning and quite often distinctly refers to British Commonwealth nations or British Dependant territories. My only question in retrospect is: Which is the more preferable definition of the term West Indies, in this, the 21st Century?? --User:Rkstaylor 15:48, 2 Jun 2005 (UTC) == British West Indies?, Anglophone Caribbean?, other, or Leave it be???? == I was just looking glancing through the Caribbean article and there's something that catches my eye. It's the portion about the "British West Indies". And it states that "British West Indies" are countries that were or still *are*, a part of Britain? Is this a point of view case? I'm wondering if there's anything supportive of that? There's a couple of common-situations I can think of which runs contradictory to this. In the Turks and Caicos Islands. (They are South-east of the Bahamas; that island group is still attached to the United Kingdom.) Or even British Virgin Islands (north-east of Puerto Rico, also part of the UK still.) When people from both of these locations sign their international letters/mail or post the mail-addresses I've seen put will read: --Address-- Turks and Caicos, "British West Indies" British Virgin Islands, "B.W.I" etc. or "Royal West Indies", or "B.W.I" etc.(Writers' prefference.)? What that tells me is internationally they are making a statement that those islands are still cery much a part of the "British West Indies". However in the independent states, (the ones which were once a part of Britain) they too in the *past* had signed as "British West Indies" however since independence I believe many if not all simply sign as: For example: --Address-- "(''Jamaica''), West Indies" or (''Jamaica''), W.I. ? Does anyone here in a current *non*-British possesion still write "B.W.I" or still see this in usage anywhere today? I believe even BWIA (British West Indian Airways) which is located in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago just calls themselves "BWIA West Indies Airways" today. Which effectively makes the past acronym B.W.I.A. irrelivent to be broken down any longer. Now "BWIA" is simply a brand name. Further, am I not mistaken that the independent former British Colonies are called "Anglophone Caribbean" or "English speaking Caribbean"? The Caribbean Music templates of Wikipedia support this idea as well, of an "Anglophone Caribbean" and and also another self-defined "British Caribbean" See Example: Soca_music I reason that there is definantly still a "British West Indies". To the point that they sign their international mail this way. But independent islands I believe only usually sign their mail as (''Island Name''), West Indies? I'm not certain if anyone in an independent Caribbean island could continue to sign their mail "B.W.I." and always assume it would be routed correctly? Perhaps I'm delving too far into this, should I just leave it alone? =) User:CaribDigita 23:02, 9 Apr 2005 (UTC) ---- Let me begin by first admitting that I no longer live in Trinidad. However, I have in the past sent letters to and from the island in which the address (also return) bore at its very end, in print, W.I. (West Indies) After reading your comments I am inclined to agree that there certainly is still a British West Indies, with the only addition being that I also believe that the British West Indies is more commonly and recently known simply as the West Indies. I am glad that you brought this topic up and I hope that further discussion is fostered in this manner to help shed some more light on the actual understandings that some folks have of the matter. I myself, personally use the term West Indies to refer to the English speaking Caribbean. --User:Rkstaylor 16:15, 2 Jun 2005 (UTC) :Usage of ''Trinidad, W.I.'' is a relic from the old ''Trinidad, BWI'' - it has no official status, just a cultural relic. If you have ever recived letters from Germany (in Trinidad) it's a definite hindrance (since the German postal service tends to send it to Wisconsin, though we have recieved things that went through the Philippines. On the other hand, ''Trinidad and Tobago'' gets there all the time. :There ''are'' British West Indies - British Virgin Islands, Montserrat, etc. Some of them use BWI, some don't. But I have never seen it used for any of the independent countries. User:Guettarda 18:03, 2 Jun 2005 (UTC) Its interesting that mail from Germany could go to Wisconsin, presumably as a mix up, especially as they have a reputation for being on top of it all. Of course it should be no surprise that my letters bearing ''Trinidad, W.I.'' coming from the UK have never (presumably!!) gone to Wisconsin. While its very true that ''Trinidad, W.I.'' is a cultural relic I wonder how much "official status" such matters have had ever since the departure of colonial powers? Not just in the Caribbean but in other regions also. --User:Rkstaylor 16:35, 8 Jun 2005 (UTC) :In America WI = Wisconsin. The US Post Office knows the difference. It may have changed in the last few years, but the local clerks in the German PO were quite clueless. :As for "official status" - 1961-1976 the name of the country was simply "Trinidad and Tobago", and it was a monarchy. Since 1976 it has been the "Republic of Trinidad and Tobago" (or, with regards to marine right, the "Archipelagic Republic of Trinidad and Tobago"). Government correpondence carries OT&TGS (On Trinidad and Tobago Government Service), and the technocrats abbreviate the government as GOTT or GoRTT. I have never seen an official document with "Trinidad, W.I.", although oddly, when government forms ask for "Nationality" there aren't enough blocks for "Citizen of Trinidad and Tobago" - you have to put "Trinidadian" or "Tobagonian". Always struck me as ironic. :I can't speak for the other islands. You should ask User:CaribDigita about Barbados. User:Guettarda 16:49, 8 Jun 2005 (UTC) ::To Rkstaylor. You may indeed be correct about the British West Indies, in them making a move towards just West Indies as well. Last I knew the term "British West Indies" rested with them, wheather they've continued it, or retired it I do not know. In many of the other islands address standardisation is trying at best on the "West Indies" part alone. As can be seen below: "West Indies" addresses from reputable sources. -- *Caribbean Court of Justice [http://www.caribbeancourtofjustice.org/ www.caribbeancourtofjustice.org/] - "Trinidad and Tobago, W.I." *Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago [http://www.ttparliament.org/contact.htm www.ttparliament.org/contact.htm] - "Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies" *Univesity of the West Indies, Jamaica [http://mona.uwi.edu/ mona.uwi.edu/] - "Jamaica, West Indies" *Eastern Caribbean Securities Exchange (ECSE) [http://www.ecseonline.com/Feedback.asp www.ecseonline.com/Feedback.asp] "St. Kitts, W.I" "British West Indies" addresses from reputable sources. -- *Government Information Unit - Monserrat(uk) [http://www.giu.gov.ms/contact.htm www.giu.gov.ms/contact.htm] - "Government of Montserrat, B.W.I" *Organisation of Caribbean States - Caribbean Planners Network (Note** only UK territories still use B.W.I -- If at all.) [http://www.oecs.org/cpn/profplan.htm www.oecs.org/cpn/profplan.htm] *Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (Note** Same as above see adddresses) [http://www.cfatf.org/eng/orgchart/ www.cfatf.org/eng/orgchart/] *Royal West Indies resort "Turks and Caicos Islands, British West Indies" [http://www.royalwestindies.com/ www.royalwestindies.com] User:CaribDigita 01:45, 10 Jun 2005 (UTC) Thank you very much for your insights. Wikipedia scholars are fast becoming a priceless resource... User:CaribDigita & User:Guettarda Thank you both, very kindly. --User:Rkstaylor 15:57, 16 Jun 2005 (UTC) ==Am I in the Caribbean?== My understanding is that living in La Ceiba on the north Caribbean coast of Honduras I am in the Caribbean, yet according to the article only the islands of Guanaja, etc are in the Caribbean. I disagree, User:SqueakBox 18:25, Jun 2, 2005 (UTC) :Yes and no, would probably be the best answer. Caribbean is more commonly resticted to the ''insular'' Caribbean. Sometimes, for historical-political reasons it includes Belize and Guyana, sometimes Suriname, French Guiana. On the other hand, the Association of Caribbean States uses a definition which includes everyone bordering the Caribbean Sea (plus Guyana and Suriname). :I think you should add that distinction to the article - ''sometimes'' resticted to the insular Caribbean, sometimes used for the entire Caribbean coast. User:Guettarda 18:32, 2 Jun 2005 (UTC) ::(Facetious answer - go down to the beach, put your foot in the water, and the answer is an unequivocal ''yes''!) User:Guettarda 18:37, 2 Jun 2005 (UTC)

Caribbean

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Caribbean

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Caribbean
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Caribbean
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Caribbean-geo-stub
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Caribbean-stub
Caribbean1.wav
Caribbean2.wav
Caribbeanmusic
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Caribbean_Basic_Trade_and_Partnership_Act
Caribbean_Basin
Caribbean_basin
Caribbean_Basin_Initiative
Caribbean_Basin_Trade_and_Partnership_Act
Caribbean_Basin_Trade_Partnership_Act
Caribbean_Blue
Caribbean_Carnival
Caribbean_Community
Caribbean_Community
Caribbean_community
Caribbean_Community_and_Common_Market
Caribbean_Community_and_Common_Market
Caribbean_Coot
Caribbean_coot
Caribbean_countries
Caribbean_Court_Of_Justice
Caribbean_Court_of_Justice
Caribbean_cuisine
Caribbean_Cup
Caribbean_Development_Bank
Caribbean_Development_Company
Caribbean_English
Caribbean_English
Caribbean_English_language
Caribbean_Examinations_Council
Caribbean_Expressions_In_Britain_'Exhibition'
Caribbean_Flamingo
Caribbean_Flamingo
Caribbean_food
Caribbean_geography_stubs
Caribbean_Green
Caribbean_Hermit_Crab
Caribbean_Hermit_Crab
Caribbean_hermit_crab
Caribbean_hermit_crab
Caribbean_Islands
Caribbean_islands
Caribbean_islands
Caribbean_Junior_College
Caribbean_Lowlands
Caribbean_Martin
Caribbean_martin
Caribbean_Monk_Seal
Caribbean_monk_seal
Caribbean_music
Caribbean_music
Caribbean_music
Caribbean_music_in_the_United_Kingdom
Caribbean_nation
Caribbean_National_Forest
Caribbean_Nations_Cup
Caribbean_Plate
Caribbean_Sea
Caribbean_Sea
Caribbean_sea
Caribbean_South_America
Caribbean_Star_Airlines
Caribbean_stubs
Caribbean_Stud
Caribbean_Stud_Poker
Caribbean_Stud_Poker
Caribbean_stud_poker
Caribbean_stud_poker
Caribbean_Sun
Caribbean_Sun_Airlines
Caribbean_University
Caribbean_University_College
Caribbean_World_Series