The Caribbean also called Caribbean (only in European Portuguese) and Caribbean America, is a region of the American continent formed by the Caribbean Sea, its islands and island states. It is also called the Antilles or West Indies, a name originated by the early European belief that the American continent was India (the term “westerns” was later added to distinguish them from the “true” region of India). Those born in the Caribbean islands are called Caribbean.
The Caribbean is located on the tectonic plate of the same name — the Caribbean Plate — which also encompasses the southern part of Central America. On the border of this plate with the South American Plate, to the east, along the Atlantic Ocean, there is a volcanically active subduction zone, which gave rise to the Lesser Antilles.
List of Caribbean Countries
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Aruba
- Bahamas
- Barbados
- Cuba
- Dominica
- Grenade
- Guadeloupe
- Haiti
- Cayman Islands
- Turks and Caicos Islands
- virgin islands
- Jamaica
- Martinique
- Puerto Rico
- Dominican Republic
- Saint Lucia
- São Cristóvão and Neves
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- Trinidad and Tobago
Antigua and Barbuda
Antigua and Barbuda is an independent country in the Americas consisting of 37 islands located between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. It consists of two large islands, Antigua and Barbuda, and six other islets: Great Bird, Green, Guinea, Long, Maiden and York; in addition to another 29 uninhabited islets. Separated by a few nautical miles, the archipelago is part of the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles in Central America; about 17° north of the equator and clile
The first inhabitants of the islands emerged about 4400 years ago, but only in 1493, they were discovered by Christopher Columbus who baptized them, and colonized them in the name of the kingdom of Spain. This status lasted until 1667, when they were sold to Great Britain, having been under British sovereignty until its independence in 1981. Since then Antigua and Barbuda has become one of the 196 countries recognized by the UN, as well as one of the last 44 monarchies today. , one of the 25 microstates (countries with an area of less than 1,000 km², and one of the sixteen kingdoms of the Commonwealth of Nations), the league of former British colonies that recognize the British monarch as head of state.
Antigua and Barbuda is also one of 46 countries that have English as their official language and one of six to adopt the Eastern Caribbean dollar as their currency. Its population in 2012 is 88,000, occupying the 175th position in the list of countries by population; of these, around 30% live in São João (Saint John’s) which, with 26,000 inhabitants, is the capital and largest city in the country.
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Aruba
Aruba is an autonomous Dutch territory in the Caribbean, off the coast of Venezuela. Besides Venezuela, its closest neighbors are Curaçao, San Martinho and the peninsula of La Guajira (Colombia). Capital: Oranjestad.
It is one of the countries that make up the Kingdom of the Netherlands, together with the Netherlands (Netherlands), Curacao and Saint Martin; Aruba has no administrative subdivisions, but for census purposes it is divided into eight regions.
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Bahamas
The Bahamas is an island country that is a member of the Caribbean community consisting of more than 700 islands, cayos and islets in the Atlantic Ocean, north of Cuba and the Spanish island (or “Hispaniola”), in which Haiti and the Dominican Republic are located. northwest of the British Overseas Territory of the Turks and Caicos Islands and southeast of the US state of Florida. Its capital is Nassau, on the island of Nova Providencia. Geographically, the Bahamas are located on the same archipelago as Cuba, Spain, and the Turks and Caicos Islands. The country’s currency is the Bahamian dollar – matched (in a 1 to 1) ratio with the US dollar.
Originally inhabited by the Lucaians, a branch of the Arawak-speaking Tainos, the Bahamas was the site of Christopher Columbus’ first landing in the New World in 1492. Although the Spaniards did not colonize many of the islands, they transported the Lucians as slaves to the island. Spanish woman almost killing the entire native population in the Bahamas. The islands remained largely unpopulated between 1513 and 1648, when British settlers from the Bermuda Islands settled on the island of Eleutheria.
The Bahamas became a crown colony in 1718, when the British clamped down on piracy. After the US War of Independence, thousands of loyalists (supporters of the British monarchy) and African slaves moved to the Bahamas and established a plantation-based economy. The slave trade was abolished in the British Empire in 1807 and many Africans freed from slave ships by the Royal Navy were placed in the Bahamas during the 19th century. Slavery itself was abolished in 1834. The descendants of these slaves constitute the majority of today’s Bahamian population.
The Bahamas is one of the richest countries in America (after the United States and Canada) in terms of GDP per capita. Located approximately 160 km off the coast of Florida, with a great climate — averaging just over 28°C — and a crystal-clear sea of turquoise waters and pearly white sand beaches, the islands of the Bahamas are a top destination world tourist attractions.
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Barbados
Barbados is a sovereign island country in the Lesser Antilles, Central America, being the easternmost country in the Caribbean. It is 34 kilometers long and 23 kilometers wide, covering an area of 432 km². It is located in the western region of the North Atlantic, 100 kilometers east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea. The countries closest to the island are Trinidad and Tobago, which is 400 kilometers to the southwest, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, which is 168 kilometers to the west. Barbados is outside the main area of the Hurricane Belt.
The nation was discovered by Spanish navigators at the end of the 15th century, coming under the domain of the Spanish Crown. Barbados is identified for the first time on a Spanish map from 1511. The Portuguese began to visit the island from 1536 onwards, but did not occupy it. The first English ship to move to the region, the Olive Blossom, arrived in Barbados in 1624. They took possession in the name of King James I. In 1627, the first permanent settlers arrived from England, making Barbados a British colony.
In 1966, Barbados became an independent state and Kingdom of the Commonwealth of Nations, retaining Queen Elizabeth II as head of state. The country has a population of 284,996 inhabitants, the majority of African descent. Despite being classified as an island in the Atlantic, Barbados is considered a part of the Caribbean, being an important tourist destination and one of the most developed islands in the region, with a Human Development Index (HDI) of 0.776, considered high by the Nations Program United for Development (UNDP). In 2011, Barbados ranked second in America (surpassed only by Canada) in the Transparency International level of the Corruption Perceptions Index. The country’s capital is Bridgetown, which is also its largest city.
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Cuba
Cuba is an island country located in the Caribbean Sea (or Caribbean Sea), in Central America and the Caribbean (sub-continent of America). It is a country that comprises the island of Cuba, as well as the Isle of Youth and several smaller archipelagos. Cuba is located in the northern Caribbean, where the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean meet. It lies east of the Yucatan Peninsula (Mexico), south of both the US state of Florida and the Bahamas, west of Hispaniola, and north of both Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. Havana is the largest city and capital; other major cities include Santiago de Cuba and Camagüey. The official area of the Republic of Cuba is 109 884 square kilometers (without territorial waters). The main island of Cuba is the largest island in Cuba and the Caribbean, with an area of 104 338 square kilometers. Cuba is the second most populous country in the Caribbean, after Haiti, with more than 11 million inhabitants.
The territory that today is Cuba was inhabited by the Ciboneis Taínos peoples from the 4th millennium BC until the Spanish colonization in the 15th century. From the 15th century, it was a colony of Spain until the Spanish-American War of 1898, when Cuba was occupied by the United States and gained nominal independence as a de facto protectorate of the United States in 1902. Being a fragile republic, in 1940 Cuba tried to strengthen its democratic system, but growing political radicalization and social conflicts culminated in a coup and subsequent US-backed dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista in 1952. Open corruption and oppression under Batista led to his ouster in January 1959 by the 26th of July Movement, which then established a dictatorship of the proletariat under the leadership of the Communist Party of Cuba, with Fidel Castro being one of its founders, elected first secretary of the central committee from 1965 to 2011. The National Assembly of Popular Power is the Legislative parliament of the Republic of Cuba and the supreme organ of state power and its current president is Esteban Lazo Hernández. The current president of the Republic of Cuba is Miguel Díaz-Canel, who is also the current first secretary of the PCC. The country was a bone of contention during the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States, and a nuclear war almost broke out during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. Cuba is one of the existing Marxist-Leninist socialist states today.
Under Castro, Cuba was involved in a wide range of military and humanitarian activities in Asia and Africa. Cuba sent more than 400,000 of its citizens to fight in Angola (1975-91) and defeated South Africa’s armed forces in conventional warfare involving tanks, planes, and artillery. The Cuban intervention in Angola contributed to the fall of the apartheid regime in South Africa. Culturally, Cuba is considered part of Latin America. It is a multi-ethnic country whose people, culture and customs derive from diverse origins, including the Taínos Ciboneis peoples, the long period of Spanish colonialism, the introduction of African slaves and a close relationship with the Soviet Union in the Cold War.
Cuba is a sovereign state and a founding member of the United Nations, the G77, the Non-Aligned Movement, the ACP Countries, ALBA and the Organization of American States. It currently has one of the only planned economies in the world, and its economy is dominated by the tourism industry and exports of skilled labor, sugar, tobacco, and coffee. According to the Human Development Index, Cuba has high human development and is ranked eighth in North America, and 72nd worldwide in 2019. It also ranks high on some national performance metrics, including health care health and education. It is the only country in the world to meet the conditions for sustainable development established by the WWF. According to the United Nations World Food Program, Cuban government policies have largely eradicated hunger and poverty.
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Dominica
Dominica is a sovereign island state constituted by the island of the same name and located in the Caribbean/Caribbean Sea, more precisely in the Lesser Antilles region. Its neighbors are two French overseas departments: Guadeloupe, to the north-northwest, and Martinique, to the southeast. It has an area of 750 km², the highest point being the Morne Diablotins, with 1,447 m. The Commonwealth of Dominica has 71,293 inhabitants, according to the 2011 census. Its capital and largest city is Roseau. Not to be confused with the Dominican Republic, located on the eastern portion of the island of Hispaniola.
Dominica is nicknamed the “Nature Island of the Caribbean” because of its unaltered natural beauty. It is the youngest island in the Lesser Antilles, still showing volcanic geothermal activity, as evidenced by the Boiling Lake hot spring. The island also features lush areas of mountainous tropical forest, home to several rare species of fauna and flora. There are some xeric areas in the western coastal areas, but the interior is rainy. The imperial parrot, the national bird, is depicted on the flag. The Dominican economy is heavily dependent on tourism, agriculture and high taxes.
Christopher Columbus named the island after the day of the week it was sighted, November 3, 1492, a Sunday (Dominica in Latin). In the century following the island’s discovery, Dominica remained isolated, serving as a haven for many Caribbeans fleeing other neighboring islands as European powers colonized the region. France formally ceded possession of Dominica to Great Britain in 1763. The latter established a small colony in the territory in 1805.
The emancipation of African slaves across the British Empire in 1834 allowed Dominica in 1838 to be the first British Caribbean colony to have a legislature controlled by a black majority. In 1896, the United Kingdom reassumed direct control of the island, turning it into a crown colony. Half a century later, from 1958 to 1962, Dominica was an integral part of the West Indies Federation, becoming one of its provinces. On November 3, 1978, it became independent.
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Grenada
Grenada is a Caribbean country, consisting of the island of the same name and the southern half of the Grenadines Islands, the largest of which is Carriacou. It has a maritime border with Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, to the northeast, and is also close to Trinidad and Tobago, to the southeast, and Venezuela, to the southwest. The country’s capital is São Jorge (Saint George’s in English).
Grenada is also known as the “Island of Spices”, because of the production of nutmeg, of which it is one of the biggest exporters in the world. Its territorial area is 344 km², with an estimated population of around 110 000 inhabitants. Grenada’s national bird is the Garnet Dove, which is on the list of critically endangered species.
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Guadalupe
Guadeloupe is an overseas department of the French Republic in the Caribbean (Caribbean), consisting of the “island of Guadeloupe”, which is actually made up of two islands, Basse-Terre and Grande-Terre, and nearby islands.
Borders are made by sea with Dominica to the south, Monserrate to the northwest and Antigua and Barbuda to the north.
Its capital is Basse-Terre, the economic capital being Pointe-à-Pitre, where most of the commerce is located, as well as the Port Autonome de la Guadeloupe.
It has the status of an administrative region, as do Martinique, Réunion, Mayotte and Guyana.
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Haiti
Haiti is a Caribbean country. It occupies a small western portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antilles archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti (“land of high mountains”) was the indigenous name of the taínos for the island.
In French the country is called La Perle des Antilles (The Pearl of the Antilles) because of its natural beauty. The highest point in the country is Pic la Selle, with an altitude of 2,680 meters. Both in area and population, Haiti is the third largest country in the Caribbean (after Cuba and the Dominican Republic), with 27,750 square kilometers and about 10.4 million inhabitants, with just under one million of them living in the capital, Port-au-Prince. French and Haitian Creole are the country’s official languages.
Haiti’s historical and ethno-linguistic position is unique for several reasons. When it gained independence in 1804, it became the first independent nation in Latin America and the Caribbean, the only country in the world established as a result of a successful slave revolt and the second republic of America. The Haitian Revolution, carried out by slaves and freed blacks, lasted nearly a decade; all the first government leaders were former slaves. The country is one of two independent nations on the American continent (along with Canada) that designates French as its official language; the other French-speaking areas on the continent are all overseas departments or collectivities of France.
Haiti is the most populous full member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). The country is also a member of the Latin Union. In 2012, Haiti announced its intention to gain associate membership in the African Union. It is the poorest country in America, measured by the Human Development Index (HDI). Political violence has occurred regularly throughout the country’s history, which has led to instability in the government. More recently, in February 2004, a coup d’état originating in the north of the country forced the resignation and exile of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. A provisional government took over with security provided by the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH).
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Cayman Islands
The Cayman Islands are a British overseas territory in the Caribbean, south of Cuba. Relatively isolated and far apart, the islands have Cuba and Jamaica, 300 km to the southeast, as their closest neighbors. They comprise Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman. The capital is George Town. Until the mid-1960s, these islands were dedicated to agriculture and fishing. Currently, this archipelago is a known tax haven. Tourism is also one of the main attractions of these islands, representing around 70% of the gross domestic product. The resident population is mostly of Afro-European origin, with around 20% Jamaican. It has a high literacy rate (98%), and the average life expectancy is 79 years.
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Turks and Caicos Islands
The Turks and Caicos Islands are a British Overseas Territory dependent on the United Kingdom. They were administered by Jamaica until 1962 and then passed to the administration of the Bahamas islands until 1973. In 1982 the United Kingdom granted the islands independence, however, the islands preferred to remain a dependent territory of the United Kingdom. The islands are one of seventeen Non-Self-Governing Territories under the supervision of the United Nations Committee on Decolonization.
In the name of the Turks it comes from an indigenous cactus, the Turk’s head (Melocactus intortus), whose scarlet upper part resembles a fez. The name Caicos may derive from caya hico, a phrase that means “chain of islands” in the language of the Lucayo indigenous people (Arawak).
The Turks and Caicos Islands are southeast of Mayaguana in the Bahamas and north of the island of Hispaniola, where Haiti and the Dominican Republic meet, in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Cockburn Town, the capital, is about 1042 kilometers (647 miles) east-southeast of Miami in the US The islands have a total area of 948 km².
Since October 17, 2016, the Governor of the islands appointed by the queen is John Freeman, who acts as head of state and supervises the work of a Legislative Council made up of 17 members (15 elected by universal suffrage). The council legislates from the city of Cockburn Town, the capital of the territory. The current head of government is Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson. Her party, the National Progressive Party won 13 of 15 seats in the last elections.
The islands’ economy is based on tourism, offshore financial services, and fishing. Most of the capital goods and food for domestic consumption are imported. The United States is the main source of tourists, representing more than three-quarters of the more than 1 million visitors that arrive annually. Three-quarters of the visitors come by boat. The main sources of government revenue also include fees from offshore financial activities and customs revenue.6 The legal tender is the US dollar and since July 2, 1991, the Turks and Caicos Islands have been an associate member of the Caribbean Community.
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Virgin islands
The Virgin Islands are an archipelago located in the Caribbean that is part of the Lesser Antilles, east of the island of Puerto Rico. They form the boundary between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The Virgin Islands are divided into three zones:
The British Virgin Islands (British Virgin Islands, in English) is a dependent territory of the United Kingdom organized as a British Overseas Territory and occupies an area of 153 square kilometers.
The US Virgin Islands (United States Virgin Islands), formerly the Danish Virgin Islands, belonging to Denmark, until 1917, when they were sold to the United States, for USD 25 million in gold. they are a dependent territory of the United States of America organized as an “unincorporated territory” and occupy an area of 346.36 square kilometers.
Additionally other sources include a third group: the Spanish Virgin Islands, or Puerto Rican Virgin Islands, (Vieques, Culebra and other smaller islands), which were colonies of Spain until 1898, are now part of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and occupy a area of 165.1 square kilometers.
Its total area is 664.46 km² and its population is 145,578 inhabitants, and the majority language in both is English, followed by Spanish and Creole.
The main source of income is tourism.
The capital of the British portion is Road Town and the capital of the American portion is Charlotte Amalie.
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Jamaica
Jamaica is an island country located in the Caribbean Sea (in European Portuguese, Caribbean Sea) which comprises the third largest island in the Greater Antilles. Jamaica is the fifth largest island country in the Caribbean (Caribbean) The indigenous peoples of the island, the taínos, called it Xaymaca in Arawak, in other words, the “land of wood and water” or the “land of springs”.
After making a Spanish possession known as Santiago, in 1655 the island came under British rule and was named “Jamaica”. The country achieved its complete independence from the United Kingdom only on August 6, 1962. With 2.8 million people, it is the third most populous English-speaking country in America, after the United States and Canada. Kingston is the country’s largest city and capital, with a population of around one million. Jamaica has a large diaspora around the world due to emigration from the country.
The country is a Commonwealth kingdom, with Queen Elizabeth II as its monarch and head of state. Its designated representative in the country is the Governor General of Jamaica, currently Patrick Allen. Jamaica’s head of government and prime minister is Andrew Holness. Jamaica is a parliamentary constitutional monarchy with legislative power vested in the national bicameral parliament, which consists of a senate and a chamber composed of representatives elected by the population.
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Martinica
Martinique is an overseas French island department in the Caribbean, with maritime borders with Dominica to the northwest, and Saint Lucia to the south. Its capital is Fort de France. It has the status of an administrative region, as do the other French overseas departments (such as Guadeloupe, Réunion, Mayotte and French Guiana). The former capital, San Pedro, became world famous after the great volcanic eruption of 1902 on Mount Pelée. On November 29, 2007, there was an earthquake measuring 7.4 on the Richter scale, which was felt in the Brazilian states of Amazonas, Pará, Rondônia, Roraima and Amapá.
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Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the northeastern Caribbean Sea. It is an archipelago between the Greater Antilles that includes the main island of Puerto Rico and a number of smaller ones, such as Mona, Culebra and Vieques. The capital and most populous city is San Juan. Its official languages are Spanish and English, although Spanish predominates. The island’s population is approximately 3.4 million. The rich local history, tropical climate, diverse natural landscapes, traditional cuisine and attractive tax incentives make it a popular destination for travelers from all over the world.
Originally populated by the Taíno people, the island was claimed in 1493 by Christopher Columbus for the Crown of Castile during his second voyage. Later, it suffered invasion attempts by the French, Dutch and British. Four centuries of Spanish colonial rule have transformed the island’s ethnic, cultural and physical landscapes, mainly with waves of African slaves and Canarian and Andalusian settlers. In the Spanish imperial imagination, Puerto Rico played a secondary but strategic role when compared to the richer colonies such as the Viceroyalty of Peru and the mainland parts of New Spain. Spain’s distant administrative control continued into the late 19th century, helping to produce a distinct Creole culture and language that blends elements of Native Americans, Africans and Iberians. In 1898, after the Spanish-American War, the United States acquired Puerto Rico along with other Spanish colonies under the Treaty of Paris.
Puerto Ricans are by law natural citizens of the United States and can move freely between the island and the mainland. As it is not a state, Puerto Rico does not have a vote in the United States Congress, which governs the territory with full jurisdiction under the Puerto Rico Federal Relations Act of 1950. As an unincorporated territory of the United States, residents of the island do not they have voting rights at the national level and do not vote for president and vice president of the United States. Congress passed a local constitution, allowing citizens in the territory to elect a governor.
A 2012 referendum showed that a majority (54% of those who voted) disagreed with the “current form of territorial status”, with transformation into a state being the preferred option among those who voted for change, although a significant number of people has not answered this question. Another referendum held on June 11, 2017, showed expressive support for state status (97.18%), although turnout was historically low (only 22.99% of registered voters). In early 2017, the Puerto Rican government debt crisis created serious problems. The debt had risen to 70 billion dollars in a period with 12.4% unemployment. Debt rose during a decade of recession. This was the second major financial crisis to affect the island after the Great Depression, when the United States Government in 1935 provided relief efforts through the Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration.
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Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western part of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making the island one of two in the Caribbean, along with São Martinho, which is shared by two countries. Both by area and population, the Dominican Republic is the second largest country in the Caribbean (after Cuba), with 48,445 square kilometers and an estimated population of 10 million inhabitants, one million of whom live in the capital, São Domingos (Santo Sunday, in Spanish).
The Taíno peoples have inhabited what is now the Dominican Republic since the 6th century. Christopher Columbus landed on the island in 1492 and formed the first permanent European settlement in America, the city of São Domingos, the country’s capital and the first capital of the Spanish Empire in the New World. After three centuries of Spanish rule, with interference from the French and Haitians, the country became independent in 1821. Governor José Núñez de Cáceres intended the country to be part of the nation of Gran Colombia, but it was quickly removed by Haiti government and by “Dominican” slave revolts. After winning the Dominican War of Independence in 1844, Dominicans experienced internal conflict over the next 72 years and also a brief return to Spanish rule. The occupation by the United States between 1916-1924, and a subsequent peaceful and prosperous 6-year period under the Horacio Vásquez Lajara government, were followed by the dictatorship of Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina, which lasted until 1961. The civil war of 1965, the last, it was closed in the country by an intervention led by the United States and was followed by the authoritarian government of Joaquín Balaguer (1966-1978). Since then, the Dominican Republic has moved towards representative democracy and has been led by Leonel Fernández for most of the time since 1996. Danilo Medina, the current president of the Dominican Republic, succeeded Fernández in 1998, winning 51% of the electorate’s vote about his opponent, former president Hipólito Mejía.
The country has the ninth largest economy in Latin America and the second largest economy in the Caribbean and Central America region. Despite being well known for agriculture and mining, the local economy is now dominated by services. The country’s economic progress is exemplified by its advanced telecommunications system and one of the best transport infrastructure on the continent. However, unemployment, government corruption, electricity grid instability and social inequality remain some of the great Dominican problems. The waves of international migration affect the Dominican Republic greatly, as it receives and sends large flows of migrants. The immigration of Haitians and the integration of Dominicans of Haitian descent are major problems in the country, and there is also a large Dominican diaspora, mainly in the United States. They contribute to national development by sending billions of dollars to their families.
The Dominican Republic is the most visited destination in the entire Caribbean. The year-round golf courses are among the main attractions on the island. As one of the most geographically diverse countries in the region, the Dominican nation has the highest Caribbean peak, Pico Duarte, as well as the region’s largest lake and lowest elevation, Lake Enriquillo. The island has an average temperature of 26 °C and great biological diversity. The country is also home to the continent’s first urban development hub Zona Colonial de São Domingos, an area declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Music and sport are of great importance in the local culture, with merengue and bachata being dance and national music, respectively, and baseball being the favorite sport.
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Saint Lucia
Saint Lucia is an island country in the Lesser Antilles, in the Caribbean (Caribbean in European Portuguese), close to Martinique, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Barbados. Its name was given by Christopher Columbus, who was there in 1502.
The first to populate the island of Saint Lucia were the Arawaks in the 3rd century BC, who were later expelled by the Caribbeans (Caraíbas in European Portuguese). Spaniards and English tried to occupy the island, but they encountered strong resistance from the native Caribbeans. In 1660, the French managed to establish themselves there, starting a long dispute with England that lasted 150 years. Because of this, the flag of possession in Saint Lucia was changed fourteen consecutive times. Through the Treaty of Paris, in 1814, Great Britain definitively assumed control of the island of Saint Lucia, although the period in which it was under French domination has left marks, including in the local language itself, a patois resulting from the mixture of dialects Africans with French.
It was developed on the island by the English the cultivation of sugar cane and, later, the introduction of cocoa. Tropical fruits are also produced, such as bananas — its main product — and coconuts.
Between 1959 and 1962, the island was a province of the West Indies Federation. Later, he was granted self-government, in 1967, and independence on December 13, 1978, as a member of the Commonwealth. Currently, the general government is in charge of Perlette Louisy, being Prime Minister Stephenson King.
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Saint Kitts and Nevis
São Cristóvão e Neves is a country in the Caribbean, located between the islands of Windward, it is a federation consisting of 14 parishes, nine located in São Cristóvão (Saint Kitts, colloquially, or Saint Christopher, officially) and five located in Neves (in English , Nevis). It is also the smallest sovereign state in America, both in terms of land area and number of inhabitants.
The capital and seat of the federal state government is Basseterre, on the island of São Cristóvão. The smaller island, Neves, is located 3 km from São Cristóvão, separated by a shallow strait that is locally called The Narrows.
Historically, the British dependency of Anguilla was also part of the federation, which at the time was known as São Cristóvão-Neves-Anguila. The islands of São Cristóvão and Neves are geographically part of the Barlavento Islands. The closest neighbors are the islands of Santo Eustáquio, Saba, São Bartolomeu, the island of São Martinho and Anguilla to the northwest; Antigua and Barbuda to the east and northeast, and Redonda and Monserrate to the southeast.
São Cristóvão e Neves was one of the first archipelagos in the Caribbean to be populated by Europeans. The island of St. Kitts received both the first British and the first French colonies in the Caribbean, and as such is sometimes referred to as “the mother colony of the West Indies”.
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Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is a Caribbean country located in the Lesser Antilles. Its territory of 389 km² comprises the island of São Vicente and the northern two-thirds of the Grenadines chain. It has maritime borders with Saint Lucia to the northeast and Grenada to the southwest, and is one of the closest countries to Barbados. British colonial influence, it is now part of the Commonwealth and CARICOM. Its capital, Kingstown, is on the island of São Vicente, and is the main urban center in the country.
With an area of 389 km², its territory consists mainly of the island of São Vicente and the remaining two-thirds of the Grenadines, which are a chain of smaller islands that extends south of the island of São Vicente, towards Grenada. The main island of São Vicente measures 18 km in length, 11 km in width and 344 km² in area. The Grenadian Islands, in its entirety, cover 60.4 kilometers, with a total area of 45 km². Most of the nation lies within the Hurricane Belt.
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Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago is a sovereign island state in the Caribbean (Caribbean in Brazilian Portuguese) located off the northeast coast of Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles. It borders Barbados to the northeast, Grenada to the northwest, and Venezuela to the south and west. It is located at the confluence of the Caribbean Sea with the Atlantic Ocean.
The country has an area of 5,128 km² and consists of the islands of Trinidad (or Trinidad), Tobago and numerous islets. Trindade Island is the largest and most populated, representing 94% of the total area and 96% of the total population.
The two islands have a tropical climate and mountainous terrain. Its location allows it to avoid the so-called “hurricane belt”, a region prone to the occurrence of the phenomenon in the Caribbean. The main city on the island of Trinidad is the country’s capital, Port of Spain (or Port of Spain) while the main city on the island of Tobago is Scarborough. With more than one million inhabitants, Trinidad and Tobago is the country with the second largest English-speaking population in the region, after Jamaica.
The island of Trinidad was a Spanish colony from the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1498 until 1797. Throughout the 16th century, Spain showed little interest in this region since its priority at that time was the extraction of precious minerals such as gold and silver. Until the 18th century, Trindade’s economy was marked by the cultivation of tobacco, cocoa, and indigenous labor. The island experienced some ineffective attempts to implement tobacco and cocoa plantations in the 17th and 18th centuries, which although opened up a certain demand for the traffic of enslaved Africans, was not successful during the period of Spanish rule.
The configuration of Trindade begins to change with the “Cedula de Poblacion” decreed in 1780 by the Spanish king. At that time, immigration to friendly nations is opened, which is marked by the intense arrival of French farmers along with slaves from their old farms. It is important to highlight that this immigration was fostered by the French Revolution (1789) and by the Haitian Revolution (1791). This explains the existence of a powerful class of Francophone landowners on an island that never belonged to France.
Due to its location, Trindade aroused the English interest, given its proximity to the other Spanish colonies with which the empire traded. In February 1797 the English empire seized Trindade.
With regard to the demographic composition of the island in the period following British rule, it can be said that the population of the colony is mainly composed of enslaved people. The 1803 census (Hollis Chalkdust) points out that in a few years the colony received a marked number of enslaved Africans and the French predominance was given both among whites and among “free people of color” – this population configuration will have implications for the Canboulay Revolt. At the beginning of the 19th century, the number of people “free of color” is greater than the number of whites and the French predominance was as much among whites as among “free people of color”.
In the first half of the 19th century, Trinidad and Tobago was immersed in debates that centered on the abolition of trafficking in Africans and the slave system.
The definitive abolition of slavery in Trindade was in 1838. In this period following the post-emancipation, debates about free work and citizenship were strengthened. Thus, the arrival of thousands of immigrants in search of better living conditions and work opportunities from other Caribbean islands followed the various incentive policies of the colonial administration. In the post-abolition period, intense social transformations took place in Trindade and reached mainly the black population in terms of their confrontation with the colonial authorities.
Trinidad, as well as Tobago, were ceded to the United Kingdom in 1802 under the Treaty of Amiens. The country gained its independence in 1962, later becoming a republic in 1976. Unlike most English-speaking Caribbean countries, the Trinitarian economy is mainly industrial, with an emphasis on the oil and petrochemical industries. Currently, the territory attracts foreign investment and has a flourishing economy, aiming to become a “Tiger of the Caribbean”, like the so-called Asian Tigers.
Its capital, Port of Spain (or Port of Spain in English), is the favorite to host the General Secretariat of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA).
Trinidad and Tobago is known for its Carnival and for being the country of origin of the steel drum, calypso, soca, chutney and limbo dance styles.