WELCOME
TO THE HISTORY OF
THE CARIBBEAN
The Caribbean (Dutch: Cariben or Caraïben, or more commonly Antillen; French: Caraïbe or more commonly Antilles; Spanish: Caribe) is a region of the Americas consisting of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (most of which enclose the sea), and the surrounding coasts. The region is located southeast of North America, east of Central America, and to the north and west of South America.
The Caribbean (Dutch: Cariben or Caraïben, or more commonly Antillen; French: Caraïbe or more commonly Antilles; Spanish: Caribe) is a region of the Americas consisting of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (most of which enclose the sea), and the surrounding coasts. The region is located southeast of North America, east of Central America, and to the north and west of South America.
THE GEOGRAPHY
OF
THE CARIBBEAN
The geography and climate in the Caribbean region varies from one place to another. Some islands in the region have relatively flat terrain of non-volcanic origin. Such islands include Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Bonaire, the Cayman Islands or Antigua. Others possess rugged towering mountain-ranges like the islands of Cuba, the British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Hispaniola, Jamaica, Montserrat, Puerto Rico, Saba, Saint Kitts, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago.
DIAGRAM OF THE
TRADEWINDS IN ACTION
Ten facts about the Caribbean!
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The Caribbean is home to the shortest runway in the world - The Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport (SAB) is on the former Netherlands Antilles island of Saba.
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Jamaica has the highest concentration of churches in the world.
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Three million indigenous Caribbean people vanished in just 50 years.
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The region only has two seasons - dry and rainy.
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The Caribbean is home to the smallest shared landmass in the world. The island of St. Maarten / St. Martin is the smallest inhabited island on Earth and it is shared by two nations.
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Real life “Pirates of the Caribbean” could become governor! Pirate Henry became Governor of Jamaica by 1682.
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Cuba is the biggest island in the Caribbean.
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The Caribbean has a Boiling Lake. Over 2,600 feet above sea level on Dominica, you will find a seething cauldron of volcanic activity – the Boiling Lake!
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The Caribbean has the largest natural deposit of asphalt in the world.
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English sailors needed butter to sail to the Caribbean.
THE CLIMATE OF THE REGION
The climate of the region mainly ranges between sub-tropical to tropical and depends a great deal upon location in proximity to the tradewinds from the Atlantic. The tradewinds blow towards the Eastern Caribbean islands heading northwest up the chain of Windward islands.
When the tradewinds arrive close to the island of Cuba they tend to be overcome by other minor jet streams across the Caribbean region.
In the waters of the Caribbean Sea, the region can be found to host migratory, large schools of fish, turtles and coral reef formations.
The Puerto Rico trench, located on the fringe of the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea just to the north of the island of Puerto Rico, is said to be the deepest point in the entire Atlantic Ocean.
In the majority of cases, hurricanes which at times batter the region usually strike northwards of Grenada, and to the west of Barbados. The principal hurricane belt arcs to northwest of the island of Barbados in the Eastern Caribbean.
THE COUNTRIES OF THE CARIBBEAN
There are 30 main islands that form the Caribbean region - they are listed below. To go the specific island that you would like to learn the history of, please click on the national flag of the country or click on the countries listed below.
Please note - the Caribbean is a vast region and we simply couldn't list all the many islands that actually form part of the region. For a full breakdown of every island in the region - please follow this link.
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Trinidad and Tobago
