Take a look at these 10 basic facts, and find out how much you just don't know!
Montserratian Ursula Petula Barzey does an outstanding job of explaining some of the things we ought to know about the Caribbean on her travel site, from the physical geography of the nations, outlined below, to population, ethnicities, culture and festivals.
Caribbean Geography
The Caribbean is divided into four main island groups, with three groups comprising the Lesser Antilles.
The Greater Antilles
Cayman Islands, Cuba, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Puerto Rico
Lesser Antilles
Leeward Antilles - Aruba, Curacao and Bonaire
Leeward Islands - Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, British Virgin Islands, Guadeloupe, Montserrat, St Martin, Saint Martin, Saba, Saint Eustatius, Saint Barthelemy,
The Windward Islands - Barbados, Dominica, Grenada with sister island Carriacou, and Petite Martinique, Martinique, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago
In addition the nations of Belize, Bermuda, Guyana. Suriname and Venezuela are also associated with the Caribbean, Ursula Petula Barzey explains, due to their cultural, economic and political history. These nations are also included in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) which was formed in 1972 to promote integration between the states.
The article includes:
The origin of the Caribbean name - from the native tribe 'Carib', named by Columbus.
Caribbean Geography ( as above)
Cultural, political, and geographical Caribbean associations - Caricom & the Caribbean Tourism Organisation
Independent Vs Dependent rule: Independent, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Antigua & Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St Kitts & Nevis, Saint Vincent & the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago. Dependent - On France: Guadeloupe, Martinique, St Barthelemy, Saint Martin. On UK - Anguilla. Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Montserrat. and Turks & Caicos Island. On the USA - Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands. On the Netherlands: Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, Saint Maarten, Saba, Saint Eustatius.
Caribbean population - 42.5 million+ in total
Ethnicities & Culture
Caribbean or West Indies?
Languages spoken in the Caribbean - English, Spanish, French, Haiti Creole, Dutch, Papiamento
Biodiversity - 500 species of bird, 172 unique to the Caribbean. Rare species of amphibians, reptiles and mammals.
Caribbean Tourism - Contributes $56.4Bn to the region's GDP.
For more facts on culture, population, biodiversity and festivals, visit caribbeanandco.com
It is because they are members of Caricom, and also because of the history and culture of the nation as well, in the case of Guyana.
Guyana was historically a British colony, and its population is predominantly of African and Indian origin, unlike the Latin American populations in other South American countries. The culture, traditions, and peoples of Guyana are most similar to the dual island state of Trinidad and Tobago.
Read more here
Very informative. I grew up wondering why Guyana and Belize, especially being South American countries, were always considered Caribbean countries. Now I know it was because of CARICOM