Caribbean society

• Caribbean Region


  The region in the Americas which comprises the Caribbean Sea, its islands and the surrounding areas
• The Caribbean region is southeast of North America and the Gulf of Mexico, east of Central America and to the northwest of South America
• Some of the islands of the Caribbean border or are located in the North Atlantic Ocean
• The four sub-regions of the Caribbean

  • The Lesser Antilles
  • The Greater Antilles
  • The Mainland Territories of the Caribbean
  • Other territories in the region
• The Lesser Antilles


  The three smaller islands groups: the Windward Islands, the Leeward Islands and the Leeward Antilles. The Lesser Antilles is a double arc of islands that stretch from the Virgin Islands to Trinidad.
• The Greater Antilles


  The four largest islands in the Caribbean: Cuba, Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic), Jamaica and Puerto Rico
• The Mainland Territories of the Caribbean

  Belize, Suriname, Guyana and French Guiana
• Other territories in the region

  The Cayman Islands, The Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands
• Geographical definition of the Caribbean

  The area 'washed by' the Caribbean Sea, and often described as the Caribbean Basin. It comprises the Lesser Antilles, the Greater Antilles, the mainland territories of Central and northern South America, and other territories such as the Cayman Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands and The Bahamas.
• The Bahamas are not 'washed by' the Caribbean Sea and so do not fit into the strict geographical definition, yet they are accepted as part of the Caribbean
• Panama, Columbia, Belize, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Honduras are situated on the mainland of Central America, but are still included as part of the geographical definition of the Caribbean because they are washed by the Caribbean Sea
• Suriname, Guyana and French Guiana are located on the mainland of South America and border the Atlantic Ocean, which means that geographically they are considered South American and so are excluded from the geographical definition of the Caribbean
• Suriname, Guyana and French Guiana share the linguistic, historical and demographic features of Caribbean countries rather than their Latin or Central American neighbours that are not categorised as part of the Caribbean, even though they are washed by the Caribbean Sea
• 'Washed by the Caribbean Sea' is not a concrete definition for the Caribbean
• While there are certain common characteristics that define the Caribbean, the term 'Caribbean' is fluid
• The boundaries of the 'geographical' Caribbean


  • North – Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica and Puerto Rico
  • South – the coast of Columbia, Venezuela and Panama
  • East – the Lesser Antilles chain of islands
  • West – Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and Nicaragua
• The only commonality of the geographical Caribbean is that the territories are washed by the Caribbean Sea
• Geological Caribbean


  The area defined by the Caribbean Plate that shares similar seismic, tectonic and volcanic features
• The territories of much of the eastern Caribbean have been formed from the impact of plate tectonics
• The Caribbean Plate interacts with the Nazca and Cocos Plates to the west and the North American Plate to the east and north and the South American Plate to the south
• The boundaries of the geological definition of the Caribbean

  • The western edge of the Caribbean Plate lies in the Pacific, just beyond the coasts of Honduras, Costa Rica and Panama
  • The northern edge of the plate is determined by the line of the Greater Antilles, which leaves Belize, Cuba and The Bahamas as outside of the region
  • In the south, the line of the plate runs through Trinidad, northern Venezuela and Colombia, causing Guyana to be classified as extra-regional
• Historical Caribbean


  The countries that have shared experiences of European colonisation, slavery, indentureship and the plantation system
• The four leading colonial powers in the Caribbean were Spain, Holland, France and Britain, which colonised the territories from the early sixteenth century onwards
• Other colonial powers that claimed various territories in the region at different times were Denmark, Sweden and Portugal
• The common colonial influences on the territories of the Caribbean region

  • The colonial powers for the most part implemented large-scale agricultural production on plantations and imported labour first in the form of slavery and later under the indentureship system
  • The indigenous populations were adversely affected by colonisation through displacement, disease and forced labour practices virtually amounting to slavery, which all resulted in their near extinction
  • Individual territories also retained close ties to their specific colonial power, such as in language and religion
• The European powers used colonisation, slavery, the encomienda system and the plantation system to sustain the economic wealth of Europe
• These systems shaped the shared history of the Caribbean nations
• Countries that experienced colonisation were influenced by their colonisers' cultural traits
• The languages, cultural practices, religions and economic activities of Caribbean territories and states reflect those of their colonial powers
• Although colonisation is a shared feature of the 'historical' Caribbean, within this there are also fundamental differences between the territories
• Some territories have been colonised by different powers
• Political definition of the Caribbean

  The socio-economic and other groupings found in the region
• Examples of modern political socio-economic groupings in the Caribbean

  • The Association of Caribbean States (ACS)
  • The Caribbean Community (CARICOM)
• The countries that are included in the political definition of the Caribbean depends on the perspective taken
• Examples of political definitions of the Caribbean from the perspective of different colonial powers

  • For Britain during its colonial rule: The Windward and Leeward Islands, and Dominica, Trinidad, Barbados, British Honduras, Bermuda, The Bahamas, British Guyana and Belize, or The West Indies Federation
  • For other European powers during their colonial rule: The French West Indies, The Dutch West Indies, The Spanish West Indies, US colonies including Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands
• Caribbean diaspora


  The migration of Caribbean people to many countries of the world. These people, despite now living elsewhere, still identify themselves in some way with the Caribbean region.
• Aspects of the Caribbean diaspora

  • Individuals or groups from the region who have migrated to other areas outside of the Caribbean, but still consider their original country as home
  • Individuals and groups who have a connection to the region in general (natives, descendants or some other affiliation), and are influential and committed to its economic development (as opposed to assuming a specifically nationalistic approach to development focused on their home territory)
  • Descendants of people from the region who have been born outside the Caribbean and yet identify themselves based on the first generation's heritage
• Colonisation


  The settlement of a group of people who seek to take control of territories. It usually involves large-scale immigration of people to a 'new' location and the expansion of their civilisation and culture into this area.
• Slavery


  A legal institution in which individuals are owned by others who control every aspect of their lives, including what they do and where they live. Slaves are forced to work without pay because legally they are chattel, or property. Slavery arrived in the Caribbean after Britain introduced the plantation system which demanded high levels of labour. The origins of most of the slaves who were brought to the Caribbean were in West Africa.
• Indentureship


  A system where a labourer was contracted to work for a stipulated period of time, in exchange for passage and subsistence. At the end of this term he was given land, cash and also had the option to return to his homeland. The first group of indentured East Indians (over 230 Indians) arrived in Guyana on May 5th, 1838, after the abolishment of slavery in the British Caribbean.