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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
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