-.

LOCATION AND DEFINITION OF THE CARIBBEAN REGION

Geographical Location

Greater Antilles

• Cuba • Jamaica
• Hispaniola [Haiti & Dominican • Puerto Rico
Republic]
Lesser Antilles

Windward Islands • \A ~Jt, 0i~'-)

(Mf ,~~~D\\,\'~ ~
• GrenadaA ~wt \J\ o~dtft • Dominica
• St. Vince~t and the~~nadines --\lL \~.,o;)t • Guadeloupe [Fr.]
• .
St . Luc,a ~ l w~ t~ v1zr Martm,que
. . [F r. 1
d • •

Leeward Islands ~J:J/h•"

l~~~)
• Antigua and Barbuda • Virgin Islands [U.S.A -st. John, St.
• St. Kitts and Nevis Croix, St. Thom3 &§ i. - Tortola,
• Montserratt Virgin Gorda, Anegada, Jost Van
' '
• Anguilla Dyke]
l
• St. Barts [Fr.]
.:J.
.
'l'-'~~
•
M "('(\\
5\:. \\J\
\ . •

Netherland Antilles \f\

• Aruba • Curacao • Saba

• Bonaire • St. Maarten • St. Eustatius
Mainland Territories

• Guyana • Suriname
• Belize • Ca 11erme l{-. ~ ~ d,K'\a.,
Other territories

• Bahama Islands Isla de Providencia • Isla de San Andres [Colombia]

• Barbados • Isle of Youth [Cuba]
• Cayman Islands • Trinidad and Tobago
• Isla de la Bahia [Honduras] • Tuneriffe Islands [Belize]
• Isla de las Reques [Venezuela] • Turks and Caicos Islands
Definitions of the Caribbean Region

There are many definitions for the Caribbean and each by thems
elves is limited and subjective.
They can be classified under the following heading:
1
I~~\vld
e • I ~ \:i b~
GEOGRAPHICAL Ail ~· \ ~ Lo"" ~ d-{_ d
.. ' I r~w\() \_,( \ ,
1~

.. .
• Trad1t1onally this definition implies that the Caribbean .t s the
land areas which has its
coastline washed by the Caribbean Sea. This is because geogr
aphically th centra
identifying feature for the Caribbean is the Caribbean Sea; it is
surrounded by the
mainland territories ·of Central and South America.
• Coordinates can be used to define the Caribbean.

LINES OF LATITUDE
• This is an imaginary line which makes it easier to give exact/abso
lute location. These are
parallel drawn from east to west. They go around the Equator
northwards to the North
Pole and·southwards to the South Pole. They tell the positio11
of a place it,it.i.s..la.cated. ~
north or south of the Equ~ . These linesare numb~red in degre
es up to 90 degrees - \.-,. J
north and 90 degrees south . These lines divide the world into
the Northern and wV(fi:,") rY""
Southern Hemisphere. Some important Lines of Latitude are:
The Tropic of Cancer [23 ~ \• -\ f,
degrees North], Tropic of Capricorn [23 ½ degrees South], Arctic
North] and the Antarctic Circles [66 ½ cJ.egrees North]. The area
Circle [66 ½ degrees _J \;1""' ~,{,
between the Tropic of
Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn is known as the 'I!!Y!.f>_s' ...
Jamaica is located wit~in
this zone, and so is a tropical country with a tropicctrc'fimate@
located north of the equator, between 5 degrees north and 25
aribbean land masses
degrees north I
j re I~ _
1 'olV
. ::,.J · Ga,rwJ
LINES OF LONGITUDE
• These are lines sometimes referred to as meridians; th~.. c.e..s;
i lawru.r:em~ orth.-t o.so.y,th
and they meet at the North and South Poles:i"heseTnes are half
circles rur\l\mg'from
pole to pole. These lines are numb- ---...J.
ered in aegrees ea.sUo...w,est ..from a zero_[O] degree
line called the Prime/Greenwich Meridian. They are numbered
from Odegrees to 180
degrees east or west. ~ er ~in_es o..!_ Longi t~ te~ ho,.YDi [to t h!LW~a9 r ea_g
they are from the_! rime M~ -·
• "osing coordinates the Caribbean is located between 60 degrees W
the Greenwich Meridian. --- --- --- and 9~r.e ._es..W of

• 1he region could also stretch from 5 degrees N of the Equator

[Guyana] to 30 degrees N
[Bermuda]. Copy map on pg. 4 in Mohammed
• The Caribbean has many archipelagos, such as: The Greater Antille
s, Lesser Antilles and
the Bahamas. In addition the Lesser Antilles is further broken
into the Leeward and
Windward islands.
• The Windward islands are the ones to the south : Grenada, St.
Vincent and the
Grenadines, St. Lucia, Martinique, Dominica and Guadeloupe
 St. Kitts, Nevis and
• The l~ar d Islands are the ones to the north and include: Antigua,
Montserrat.
rd as both groups
•There i~ rio reas~n the islands are separated into Windward and Leewa
are impacted bythe prevailing north-east trade winds
etely ~ashed by the
~ • ~he shores of Guyana, Barbados and the Bahamas are not compl
~ .uJ Caribb~an Sea, as they are bordered by the Atlantic Ocean; but they
are considered to
Afl~ c
~ ~ be Caribbean. Then there is the case of Bermuda pg 5 in Mohammed ~
ole.- 1S •n
\y ~
washed by the
The shores of Mexico, Honduras, Panama, B; lize and Nica~agua are
geographically
Caribbean Sea, but they are not considered to be Caribbean.,... are they
Caribbean?
s wash4:_djty.lhe
• Therefore, in all cases it is not applicable to use the concept of "shore
ean. -
Caribbean Sea" as the' only cenfral organizing theory to define the Caribb

GEOLOGICAL

Caribbean Plate.
• The Caribbean is defined as the area of the re~ion encom eassed by the
Caribbean
The Caribbean Plate is a feature that,.is sometimes used to define the
• ~~ nean feature that is part of the Earth's cr~t ~n_d _OJ1}./Y.b.khJand_ao..d
__?Cean:_are fo~. Copy map on pg. 7 in Mohammed Ay\)t\, d1'{. '2-
crust and much of
• The Caribbean Plate is among the smaller plates found on t he earth's
the Caribbean region lies on the, Caribbean Plate
ce the surface of
• Tectonic Activity: r~fers to earth's movements that,impact and influen
les of tectonic
the earth. Earthquakes, volcanic activity and mountain building are examp
other plates .
activities that occur along plate margins as they move and interact with
; thus the western
• The ..w.es.tem etjgE:_o f the Caribbean-Plate extends to the Pacific Ocean
sive as
edge of the Plate illustra t es that surface geography may not be as expan
subterranean geography
some traditionally ·
• The Caribbean Plate though it extends to the Pacific Ocean excludes

-
included Caribbean territory such as Guyana, Bahamas and Cuba.
HISTORICAL

• ~istory is a useful tool to help define the Caribbean, and thus territories tbat.share th.:.
common history/experience in the Caribbean can be defined as ~gru,. Therefore
ffie Caribbean could be defined as territories that share a common bond of hist orical
experiences through discovery, conquest and colonization by the Europeans.
1
• Using history to define the Caribbean by taking into account: long and continuous
occupation over t ime, sense of belonging to a place aIon~ with building a way of
life/culture ·
• Though G~a and B~amon g others may not be considered geographically
Caribbean, but th~y share in the Caribbean historical experience ..Which inclu_de <(
t/]}11/V\ 1fV1
settlement by Indigenous peoples_ , Euro~ean _exploration and settlement , Africa~
slavery, emancipat ion and independence etc. .
~r~-evtc,fl..,
Though South and Central America [Latin America] share these experiences, they are
. still considered distinct and separate from the Caribbean
• A reason for the distinction is that the Caribbean has varied legacies from the different
European colonizers such as: Britain, France, Holland and Spain. While Latin America's
heritage is only rooted in the Iberian Peninsula [Spain and Portugal].
'
• \j...Ysing that logic would exclude, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Cuba; as -
...,. historical experience links them ·w ith Latin America, as geography is linking them to the
Caribbean.
• The Caribbean territories are often grouped as British West Indies, French West Indies,
Dutch Antilles and Spanish-speaking West Indies. W~ ~ hey are gw ped as suc.b_
geographical location/p roximity '!,Vere not considered, only historical ties. Thus the
grouped territories developed relationships with each other without considering the
I
other groups.
• Thus historical ~ Eu.r..o p.e.a.oJegac.y_a.r:id...cultur.e-as..inJangu.age..ace...s.9metimes mor~
;'~~~t tha ~ ggggragh¥1r1-defin ingJh!;! Caribbean. "
 • Politically the Caribb· . . .
ean 1s very diverse, and each territory is at varying stages of political
autonomy from European colonizers.
• The Caribbean with a sim~l1
1 1caI 'd
----'-.........~ e po1·t· · · ,, •
I entity 1s POLY an ideal by Caribbean visiona r~
nd st
a iv
atesmen. They ideal would want a Caribbean citize n/C~M citizen.
• T e ribbean can be look~ tas being mo;oli tically stabl~h an other areas;
althou~, hey have had thei air sha~e of diet to~s, _revo_lution, med interventions and
coup d etat. These have been orad1c and hav hm1ted impact o the region has a
whole -
, ' ~ current ly the Caribbean territories are mostly politically independent with varyi~g forms
~ ::/ of governance. For example Guyana [formal name the Cooperative Republic of Guyana],
J2;"~ --f the _commonwealth of Dominica and Trinida_d are re_ggt>lics; however Guyana utilizes •
, - _~ ~~t prmc1ples. While Cuba 1s a communist country
u~j • Haiti was the first, country in the Caribbean to achieve independence through a
<-
revolution in 1804 and is a republic, where the head of state is not a monarch but a
president
.:-
• Some t~rritories mfilD.t_aio a relationship with forrT!,_fil ·m~tr.QBQJ.is despite achieving
independence, such as Jamaica, which employs the constitutional monarchical system.

I
These territories are considered to be part of the Commonwealth: worldwide group of
territories that were once part of the British Empire. These independent territories still
recognize the monarch as head of state [governor general]
• The Dutch territories: Aruba, Curacao, Bonaire, Saba, Sint Eustatius and Sint Maartin
[shared territory with France] are self-go_~!:_l"~g. However, the Kingdom of the
Netherlands is responsible for the foreign policy of the territories and all matters of
defence. The Dutch monarch is the h~d ~f ~t~-te ; nd represented by a ~overno1-rhu~
they could be seen as colonies .

.
I
\
•
-
T~pu blic of Suriname was once part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands; but today
they are a fully i~end~ t state .
• Britain c:urrently has colonies in the Caribbean: Anguilla, British Virgin lsla~dsJTortola,
Virgin Go~da, Anegada and Jost Van Dyke], Montserrat, Turks and Caicos Islands, The .
Cayman Islands and Ber~uda. However, Anguilla is described as an associated state and

I is fully self-g overn i~erm uda because of its long history as a colony and
economic prosperity enj~ys more auntonomy than other British overseas territory
I • The French territories are considered to be part of France/department. They are
~sider ed to be Departement d'Outre-M~r [overseas department1-a-n-d""they include:
Cayenne[French Guiana], Guadeloupe, Martinique,St. Martin, Marie Galante, La
Desirade and lies des Saintes.
 · . d d t and the U.S is
• Puerto _Rico and the U.S Virgin Islands are not fully in epen en
responsible for their foreignaffairs- .
~ The many 'Caribbeans' arise from this diversity in political arrangements. This diversity
is liked to historical legacy and efforts by Caribbean people to gain independence or
develop and maintain close ties with metro.Qolis for growth and developm.e.nt.
T ere are several attempts to organize and group the territories of the Caribbean
politically; for example CARICOM: i,ndependent English-speaking territories of the
Caribbean, as well as Haiti, Suriname and the Netherland Antilles
• _QECS (1981]: Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St.
Vincent and the Grenadines, along with Montserrat, Anguilla and the British Virgin
Islands. Their goal is to create a single economic sp~

Activity pg. 12 in Mohammed

DIASPORIC

Diaspora is a term given to people who are scattered across the globe and are away from where
they belong/homeland.
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 Appe,ndif. I
MODULE 1: CARIBBEAN SOCIETY AND CULTURE

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