Definitions of the Caribbean Region
Location and Definitions of the Caribbean
Origin of Caribbean
— The word ‘Caribbean’ is said to be derived from the indigenous people’s name for themselves, ‘Carib’. The term ‘West Indies’ which is often used interchangeably with Caribbean is the name given to the region by Christopher Columbus in 1492. — As with the inexact name of the region so to is there little agreement on what area is included within the Caribbean. Different criteria are used to define the region. THE GEOGRAPHICAL CARIBBEAN
This term describes the area washed by the Caribbean Sea and is often described as the Caribbean Basin. The Caribbean Sea has been defined as an area between 9 and 22 degrees North and 60 and 89 degrees West.
With these coordinates the Caribbean would be bounded to the south by the coast of Venezuela, Columbia and Panama, to the west by Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala
Belize and Mexico, to the north by Cuba Jamaica and Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico and to the east by the Lesser Antilles chain of island. The common link is the
Caribbean Sea.
THE HISTORICAL CARIBBEAN
This describes the area that experienced European colonization, slavery, indentureship and the plantation system. Since all Caribbean countries were affected by these institutions, it has become typical to identify a
Origin of Caribbean
— The word ‘Caribbean’ is said to be derived from the indigenous people’s name for themselves, ‘Carib’. The term ‘West Indies’ which is often used interchangeably with Caribbean is the name given to the region by Christopher Columbus in 1492. — As with the inexact name of the region so to is there little agreement on what area is included within the Caribbean. Different criteria are used to define the region. THE GEOGRAPHICAL CARIBBEAN
This term describes the area washed by the Caribbean Sea and is often described as the Caribbean Basin. The Caribbean Sea has been defined as an area between 9 and 22 degrees North and 60 and 89 degrees West.
With these coordinates the Caribbean would be bounded to the south by the coast of Venezuela, Columbia and Panama, to the west by Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala
Belize and Mexico, to the north by Cuba Jamaica and Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico and to the east by the Lesser Antilles chain of island. The common link is the
Caribbean Sea.
THE HISTORICAL CARIBBEAN
This describes the area that experienced European colonization, slavery, indentureship and the plantation system. Since all Caribbean countries were affected by these institutions, it has become typical to identify a