Caribbean Studies (1)- Location of the Caribbean

8/12/2019 Caribbean Studies (1)- Location of the Caribbean

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Caribbean Studies

Module 1 : Caribbean Society and

Culture.


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Geographical Location of the

Caribbean.

The Caribbean region, located in the tropics,

extends in a broad arc of over 4000 km from

the Bahamas in the north to Guyana and

Suriname in the south. The region also

includes, based on historical factors, Belize

which is in Central America bordering Mexico

and Guatemala.


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The Lesser Antilles

The islands include Antigua and Barbuda, Trinidad and Tobago, St.

Vincent and the Grenadines, Barbados , St. Lucia, etc.


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Which islands are the Windward and

Leeward Islands ? The Windward Islands and Leeward Islands are part of the Lesser

Antilles of the Caribbean sea. The Windward Islands are part of theLesser Antilles of the Caribbean Sea. The Windward Islands aresoutheastern islands of the Caribbean and include Martinique,St.Lucia,St. Vincent , the Grenadines and Grenada. They are called the

Windward Islands because they are exposed to the wind(windward) of the northeast trade winds. (northeasterlies)

The Leeward Islands include the VirginIslands,Dominica,Guadeloupe,Montserrat,Antigua,Barbuda,St. Kitts,Nevis and Anguilla.


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Definitions of the Caribbean Region

The Geographical Caribbeanthis describesthe area washed by the Caribbean Sea and is

often described as the Caribbean Basin. Itwould therefore include most of the islands ofthe Lesser and Greater Antilles as well as themainland territories of Central America andNorthern South America such as Venezuelaand Columbia.


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NB:Notice that the territories in red all have one common feature, theyare all washed by the Caribbean Sea, even though they may speakdifferent languages.


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The Geological Caribbeanthis is not as

well-used as the other ways by which we

define the Caribbean region. However, it

shows that there are deep-seated

structural features of Caribbean geology

which also identifies commonalities. It is

the area that is defined by the Caribbean

Plate and which expresses similar tectonic,

seismic and volcanic features and

processes.


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The Caribbean Plate


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NB.The Caribbean is situated in a geologic feature

known as the Caribbean Plate which has boundaries or

margins with other plates nearby. A plate is a largepiece of crust (on which there may be both land and

ocean) and it moves in relation to other plates. On the

whole the earth is made up of six or seven plates and

many smaller ones. The Caribbean Plate is a small

plate. Other geological features of the region include

the fact that:

A) the entire Caribbean region is in an earthquake zone

B)the Lesser Antilles is made up of volcanoes, several of

which are active


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The Historical Caribbeanthis describes the area

that saw the impact of European colonization,

slavery, indentureship and the plantation system. This

refers to all the territories, so that one means by

which we can define the Caribbean is by identifying

those countries that experienced the rule of specificEuropean countries, namely the English, French,

Dutch and the Spanish. The common feature in this

definition is that they share the same historical or

cultural experiences.


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NB:The legend indicates the territories that were under the control of the various

European powers. It should be noted that Guyana (which was first under Dutch

control, then English), Surinam (which was under Dutch control) and French Guiana

(which is STILL under French control) are not represented in Fig. 3. They are apart of

the Caribbean because they share the same historical/cultural experiences as all

those which are represented in fig. 3

LEGENDENGLISHSPANISH

FRENCH

DUTCH


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The Political Caribbeanthe Caribbean

has three main government systems,

namely

A) Independent Statesthese are former

colonies which are now self-governing.

These are islands which have chosen a

method of governance that is different

from that of their colonial masters, namely

democracy or communism;


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B) Associated Statesthese are territories

which are not independent but enjoy all

the rights and privileges of the countrythat governs it;

C) Colonial Dependenciesthese ate

territories which are directly governed by

other countries but do not enjoy the

rights and privileges thats enjoyed by

inhabitants in an Associated State.


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Geographical Historical Geological

1. Guyana and the

Bahamas do not have

coastlines on the

Caribbean Sea. Yet

both countries are

commonly accepted

as part of the

Caribbean

The problem with

defining the Caribbean

according to linguistic or

European heritage, is

that, that tends to ignore

the commonalities of

Caribbean experience at

the hands of thesecolonial powers.

The western edge of the

Caribbean Plate is located

in the Pacific and includes

Honduras, Costa Rica,

Nicaragua and Panama in

the Caribbean.

2. This definition

includes countries not

normally associated

with the Caribbean

Panama, Columbia

and the other

countries of Central

America.

This definition would

include Guyana and the

Bahamas. It should also

include the French, Dutch

and Spanish speaking

countries of the

Caribbean and Central

America.

The northern edge of the

Caribbean Plate defines

much of Belize, Cuba and

the Bahamas as extra-

regional. Similarly Guyana

in the South.

Problems in defining the Caribbean

Caribbean Studies (1)- Location of the Caribbean

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