|Area||2,754,000 km2 (1,063,000 sq mi)|
|Land area||239,681 km2 (92,541 sq mi)|
|Density||151.5/km2 (392/sq mi)|
|Ethnic groups||Afro-Caribbean, White Caribbean, Indo-Caribbean, Chinese Caribbean, Arawak (Kalinago, Taíno)|
|Demonym||Caribbean, Caribbean person, West Indian|
|Languages||Spanish, English, French, Dutch, French Creole, English Creole, Caribbean Hindustani, among others|
|Government||13 sovereign states
17 dependent territories
|Largest cities||List of cities in the Caribbean
Santiago de los Caballeros
Santiago de Cuba
Port of Spain
|Time zone||UTC-5 to UTC-4|
The Caribbean (// or //; Spanish: Caribe; Dutch: Caraïben (help·info); Caribbean Hindustani: कैरिबियन (Kairibiyana); French: Caraïbe or more commonly Antilles) is a region that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean), and the surrounding coasts. The region is southeast of the Gulf of Mexico and the North American mainland, east of Central America, and north of South America.
Situated largely on the Caribbean Plate, the region comprises more than 700 islands, islets, reefs, and cays. (See the list.) These islands generally form island arcs that delineate the eastern and northern edges of the Caribbean Sea. The Caribbean islands, consisting of the Greater Antilles on the north and the Lesser Antilles on the south and east (including the Leeward Antilles), are part of the somewhat larger West Indies grouping, which also includes the Lucayan Archipelago (comprising The Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands) north of the Greater Antilles and Caribbean Sea. In a wider sense, the mainland countries of Belize, Guyana, and Suriname may be included.
Geopolitically, the Caribbean islands are usually regarded as a subregion of North America and are organized into 30 territories including sovereign states, overseas departments, and dependencies. From December 15, 1954, to October 10, 2010 there was a country known as the Netherlands Antilles composed of five states, all of which were Dutch dependencies. While from January 3, 1958, to May 31, 1962, there was also a short-lived country called the Federation of the West Indies composed of ten English-speaking Caribbean territories, all of which were then British dependencies. The West Indies cricket team continues to represent many of those nations.
- 1 Etymology and pronunciation
- 2 Definition
- 3 Geography, geology, and climate
- 4 Biodiversity
- 5 Demographics
- 6 Politics
- 7 Regional institutions
- 8 Cuisine
- 9 See also
- 10 References
- 11 Bibliography
- 12 Further reading
- 13 External links
Etymology and pronunciation
The two most prevalent pronunciations of "Caribbean" are KAIR-ə-BEE-ən, with the primary accent on the third syllable, and kə-RIB-ee-ən, with the accent on the second. The former pronunciation is the older of the two, although the stressed-second-syllable variant has been established for over 75 years. It has been suggested that speakers of British English prefer KAIR-ə-BEE-ən while North American speakers more typically use kə-RIB-ee-ən, although not all sources agree. Usage is split within Caribbean English itself.
The word "Caribbean" has multiple uses. Its principal ones are geographical and political. The Caribbean can also be expanded to include territories with strong cultural and historical connections to slavery, European colonisation, and the plantation system.
- The United Nations geoscheme for the Americas accords the Caribbean as a distinct region within The Americas.
- Physiographically, the Caribbean region is mainly a chain of islands surrounding the Caribbean Sea. To the north, the region is bordered by the Gulf of Mexico, the Straits of Florida, and the Northern Atlantic Ocean, which lies to the east and northeast. To the south lies the coastline of the continent of South America.
- Politically, the "Caribbean" may be centred on socio-economic groupings found in the region. For example, the bloc known as the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) contains the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, the Republic of Suriname in South America, and Belize in Central America as full members. Bermuda and the Turks and Caicos Islands, which are in the Atlantic Ocean are associate members of the Caribbean Community—as is the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, which is a full member of the Caribbean Community.
- Alternatively, the organisation called the Association of Caribbean States (ACS) consists of almost every nation in the surrounding regions that lie on the Caribbean, plus El Salvador, which lies solely on the Pacific Ocean. According to the ACS, the total population of its member states is 227 million people.
Geography, geology, and climate
The geography and climate in the Caribbean region varies: Some islands in the region have relatively flat terrain of non-volcanic origin. These islands include Aruba (possessing only minor volcanic features), Barbados, Bonaire, the Cayman Islands, Saint Croix, the Bahamas, and Antigua. Others possess rugged towering mountain-ranges like the islands of Cuba, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Dominica, Montserrat, Saba, Saint Kitts, Saint Lucia, Saint Thomas, Saint John, Tortola, Grenada, Saint Vincent, Guadeloupe, Martinique, and Trinidad & Tobago.
Definitions of the terms Greater Antilles and Lesser Antilles often vary. The Virgin Islands as part of the Puerto Rican bank are sometimes included with the Greater Antilles. The term Lesser Antilles is often used to define an island arc that includes Grenada but excludes Trinidad and Tobago and the Leeward Antilles.
The climate of the area is tropical but rainfall varies with elevation, size, and water currents (cool upwellings keep the ABC islands arid). Warm, moist tradewinds blow consistently from the east creating rainforest/semidesert divisions on mountainous islands. Occasional northwesterlies affect the northern islands in the winter. The region enjoys year-round sunshine, divided into 'dry' and 'wet' seasons, with the last six months of the year being wetter than the first half.
The waters of the Caribbean Sea host large, migratory 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 the deepest point in all of the Atlantic Ocean.
Hurricanes that sometimes 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 region sits in the line of several major shipping routes with the Panama Canal connecting the western Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean.
- The Bahamas
- Cayman Islands (United Kingdom)
- Turks and Caicos Islands (United Kingdom)
- Puerto Rico (U.S. Commonwealth)
- Leeward Islands
- U.S. Virgin Islands (United States)
- British Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
- Anguilla (United Kingdom)
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Saint Martin, politically divided between
- Saba (BES islands, Netherlands)
- Sint Eustatius (BES islands, Netherlands)
- Saint Barthélemy (French Antilles, France)
- Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Montserrat (United Kingdom)
- Guadeloupe (French Antilles, France) including
- Windward Islands
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Leeward Antilles
- British West Indies/Anglophone Caribbean – Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Bay Islands, Guyana, Belize, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Croix (briefly), Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago (from 1797) and the Turks and Caicos Islands
- Danish West Indies – present-day United States Virgin Islands
- Dutch West Indies – Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, Sint Maarten, Bay Islands (briefly), Saint Croix (briefly), Tobago and Virgin Islands
- French West Indies – Anguilla (briefly), Antigua and Barbuda (briefly), Dominica, Dominican Republic (briefly), Grenada, Haiti, Montserrat (briefly), Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sint Eustatius (briefly), Sint Maarten, St. Kitts (briefly), Tobago (briefly), Saint Croix, the current French overseas départements of Martinique and Guadeloupe (including Marie-Galante, La Désirade and Les Saintes), the current French overseas collectivities of Saint Barthélemy and Saint Martin
- Portuguese West Indies – present-day Barbados, known as Os Barbados in the 16th century when the Portuguese claimed the island en route to Brazil. The Portuguese left Barbados abandoned in 1533, nearly a century prior to the British arrival to the island.
- Spanish West Indies – Cuba, Hispaniola (present-day Dominican Republic, Haiti (until 1609 to France)), Puerto Rico, Jamaica (until 1655 to Great Britain), the Cayman Islands (until 1670 to Great Britain) Trinidad (until 1797 to Great Britain) and Bay Islands (until 1643 to Great Britain), coastal islands of Central America (minus Belize), and some Caribbean coastal islands of Colombia, Mexico, and Venezuela.
- Swedish West Indies – present-day French Saint-Barthélemy, Guadeloupe (briefly) and Tobago (briefly).
- Courlander West Indies – Tobago (until 1691)
The British West Indies were united by the United Kingdom into a West Indies Federation between 1958 and 1962. The independent countries formerly part of the B.W.I. still have a joint cricket team that competes in Test matches, One Day Internationals and Twenty20 Internationals. The West Indian cricket team includes the South American nation of Guyana, the only former British colony on the mainland of that continent.
In addition, these countries share the University of the West Indies as a regional entity. The university consists of three main campuses in Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago, a smaller campus in the Bahamas and Resident Tutors in other contributing territories such as Trinidad.
Modern-day island territories
- Anguilla (British overseas territory)
- Antigua and Barbuda (Constitutional monarchy)
- Aruba (Kingdom of the Netherlands)
- Barbados (Constitutional monarchy)
- Bonaire (special municipality of the Netherlands)
- British Virgin Islands (British overseas territory)
- Cayman Islands (British overseas territory)
- Cuba (Republic)
- Curaçao (Kingdom of the Netherlands)
- Dominica (Republic)
- Dominican Republic
- Grenada (Constitutional monarchy)
- Guadeloupe (overseas department of France) including
- Haiti (Republic)
- Jamaica (Constitutional monarchy)
- Martinique (overseas department of France)
- Montserrat (British overseas territory)
- Puerto Rico (commonwealth of the United States)
- Saba (special municipality of the Netherlands)
- Saint Barthélemy (overseas collectivity of France)
- Saint Kitts and Nevis (Constitutional monarchy)
- Saint Lucia (Constitutional monarchy)
- Saint Martin (overseas collectivity of France)
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (Constitutional monarchy)
- Sint Eustatius (special municipality of the Netherlands)
- Sint Maarten (Kingdom of the Netherlands)
- Trinidad and Tobago (Republic)
- United States Virgin Islands (territory of the United States)
Continental countries with Caribbean coastlines and islands
The Caribbean islands are remarkable for the diversity of their animals, fungi and plants, and have been classified as one of Conservation International's biodiversity hotspots because of their exceptionally diverse terrestrial and marine ecosystems, ranging from montane cloud forests to cactus scrublands. The region also contains about 8% (by surface area) of the world's coral reefs along with extensive seagrass meadows, both of which are frequently found in the shallow marine waters bordering island and continental coasts off the region.
For the fungi, there is a modern checklist based on nearly 90,000 records derived from specimens in reference collections, published accounts and field observations. That checklist includes more than 11250 species of fungi recorded from the region. As its authors note, the work is far from exhaustive, and it is likely that the true total number of fungal species already known from the Caribbean is higher. The true total number of fungal species occurring in the Caribbean, including species not yet recorded, is likely far higher given the generally accepted estimate that only about 7% of all fungi worldwide have been discovered. Though the amount of available information is still small, a first effort has been made to estimate the number of fungal species endemic to some Caribbean islands. For Cuba, 2200 species of fungi have been tentatively identified as possible endemics of the island; for Puerto Rico, the number is 789 species; for the Dominican Republic, the number is 699 species; for Trinidad and Tobago, the number is 407 species.
Many of the ecosystems of the Caribbean islands have been devastated by deforestation, pollution, and human encroachment. The arrival of the first humans is correlated with extinction of giant owls and dwarf ground sloths. The hotspot contains dozens of highly threatened animals (ranging from birds, to mammals and reptiles), fungi and plants. Examples of threatened animals include the Puerto Rican Amazon, two species of solenodon (giant shrews) in Cuba and the Hispaniola island, and the Cuban crocodile.
The region's coral reefs, which contain about 70 species of hard corals and between 500–700 species of reef-associated fishes have undergone rapid decline in ecosystem integrity in recent years, and are considered particularly vulnerable to global warming and ocean acidification. According to a UNEP report, the caribbean coral reefs might get extinct in next 20 years due to population explosion along the coast lines, overfishing, the pollution of coastal areas and global warming.
Some Caribbean islands have terrain that Europeans found suitable for cultivation for agriculture. Tobacco was an important early crop during the colonial era, but was eventually overtaken by sugarcane production as the region's staple crop. Sugar was produced from sugarcane for export to Europe. Cuba and Barbados were historically the largest producers of sugar. The tropical plantation system thus came to dominate Caribbean settlement. Other islands were found to have terrain unsuited for agriculture, for example Dominica, which remains heavily forested. The islands in the southern Lesser Antilles, Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao, are extremely arid, making them unsuitable for agriculture. However, they have salt pans that were exploited by the Dutch. Sea water was pumped into shallow ponds, producing coarse salt when the water evaporated.
Plants and animals of the Caribbean
A Green and Black Poison frog, Dendrobates auratus
The Martinique amazon, Amazona martinicana, is an extinct species of parrot in the Psittacidae family.
Anastrepha suspensa, a Caribbean fruit fly.
At the time of European contact, the dominant ethnic groups in the Caribbean included the Taíno of the Greater Antilles and northern Lesser Antilles, the Island Caribs of the southern Lesser Antilles, and smaller distinct groups such as the Guanajatabey of western Cuba and the Ciguayo of western Hispaniola. The population of the Caribbean is estimated to have been around 750,000 immediately before European contact, although lower and higher figures are given. After contact, social disruption and epidemic diseases such as smallpox and measles (to which they had no natural immunity) led to a decline in the Amerindian population. From 1500 to 1800 the population rose as slaves arrived from West Africa such as the Kongo, Igbo, Akan, Fon and Yoruba as well as military prisoners and captured slaves from Ireland, who were deported during the Cromwellian reign in England. Immigrants from Britain, Italy, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Portugal and Denmark also arrived, although the mortality rate was high for both groups.
The population is estimated to have reached 2.2 million by 1800. Immigrants from India, China, and other countries arrived in the 19th century. After the ending of the Atlantic slave trade, the population increased naturally. The total regional population was estimated at 37.5 million by 2000.
The majority of the Caribbean has populations of mainly Africans in the French Caribbean, Anglophone Caribbean and Dutch Caribbean, there are minorities of mixed-race and European peoples of Dutch, English, French, Italian and Portuguese ancestry. Asians, especially those of Chinese and Indian descent, form a significant minority in the region and also contribute to multiracial communities. All of their ancestors arrived in the 19th century as indentured laborers.
The Spanish-speaking Caribbean have primarily mixed race, African, or European majorities. Puerto Rico has a European majority with a mixture of European-African (mulatto), and a large West African minority. One third of Cuba's (largest Caribbean island) population is of African descent, with a sizable Mulatto (mixed African–European) population, and European majority. The Dominican Republic has the largest mixed race population, primarily descended from Europeans, West Africans, and Amerindians.
Larger islands such as Jamaica, have a very large African majority, in addition to a significant mixed race, Chinese, Europeans, Indian, Lebanese, Latin American, and Syrian populations. This is a result of years of importation of slaves and indentured labourers, and migration. Most multi-racial Jamaicans refer to themselves as either mixed race or Brown. The situation is similar for the Caricom states of Belize, Guyana, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago. Trinidad and Tobago has a multi-racial cosmopolitan society due to the arrival of the Africans, Indians, Chinese, Syrians, Lebanese, Native Amerindians and Europeans. This multi-racial mix has created sub-ethnicities that often straddle the boundaries of major ethnicities and include Chindian, Mulatto and Dougla.
- Arawak peoples
- Caquetio people
Spanish, English, French, Dutch, Haitian Creole and Papiamento are the predominant official languages of various countries in the region, though a handful of unique Creole languages or dialects can also be found from one country to another.
Christianity is the predominant religion in the Caribbean (84.7%). Other religious groups in the region are Hinduism, Islam, Buddhist, Rastafari, and Afro-American religions such as Santería and Vodou.
Caribbean societies are very different from other Western societies in terms of size, culture, and degree of mobility of their citizens. The current economic and political problems the states face individually are common to all Caribbean states. Regional development has contributed to attempts to subdue current problems and avoid projected problems. From a political and economic perspective, regionalism serves to make Caribbean states active participants in current international affairs through collective coalitions. In 1973, the first political regionalism in the Caribbean Basin was created by advances of the English-speaking Caribbean nations through the institution known as the Caribbean Common Market and Community (CARICOM) which is located in Guyana.
Certain scholars have argued both for and against generalizing the political structures of the Caribbean. On the one hand the Caribbean states are politically diverse, ranging from communist systems such as Cuba toward more capitalist Westminster-style parliamentary systems as in the Commonwealth Caribbean. Other scholars argue that these differences are superficial, and that they tend to undermine commonalities in the various Caribbean states. Contemporary Caribbean systems seem to reflect a "blending of traditional and modern patterns, yielding hybrid systems that exhibit significant structural variations and divergent constitutional traditions yet ultimately appear to function in similar ways." The political systems of the Caribbean states share similar practices.
The influence of regionalism in the Caribbean is often marginalized. Some scholars believe that regionalism cannot exist in the Caribbean because each small state is unique. On the other hand, scholars also suggest that there are commonalities amongst the Caribbean nations that suggest regionalism exists. "Proximity as well as historical ties among the Caribbean nations has led to cooperation as well as a desire for collective action." These attempts at regionalization reflect the nations' desires to compete in the international economic system.
Furthermore, a lack of interest from other major states promoted regionalism in the region. In recent years the Caribbean has suffered from a lack of U.S. interest. "With the end of the Cold War, U.S. security and economic interests have been focused on other areas. As a result there has been a significant reduction in U.S. aid and investment to the Caribbean." The lack of international support for these small, relatively poor states, helped regionalism prosper.
Following the Cold War another issue of importance in the Caribbean has been the reduced economic growth of some Caribbean States due to the United States and European Union's allegations of special treatment toward the region by each other. [clarification needed]
United States effects on regionalism
The United States under President Bill Clinton launched a challenge in the World Trade Organization against the EU over Europe's preferential program, known as the Lomé Convention, which allowed banana exports from the former colonies of the Group of African, Caribbean and Pacific states (ACP) to enter Europe cheaply. The World Trade Organization sided in the United States' favour and the beneficial elements of the convention to African, Caribbean and Pacific states has been partially dismantled and replaced by the Cotonou Agreement.
During the US/EU dispute, the United States imposed large tariffs on European Union goods (up to 100%) to pressure Europe to change the agreement with the Caribbean nations in favour of the Cotonou Agreement.
Farmers in the Caribbean have complained of falling profits and rising costs as the Lomé Convention weakens. Some farmers have faced increased pressure to turn towards the cultivation of illegal drugs, which has a higher profit margin and fills the sizable demand for these illegal drugs in North America and Europe.
European Union effects on regionalism
The European Union has also taken issue with US based taxation extended to US companies via the Caribbean countries.[when?] The United States has not been in favor of shutting off the practice yet, mainly due to the higher costs that would be passed on to US companies via taxation. Caribbean countries have largely countered the allegations by the OECD by signing more bilateral information sharing deals with OECD members, thus reducing the dangerous aspects of secrecy, and they have strengthened their legislation against money laundering and on conditions under which companies can be based in their nations. The Caribbean nations have also started to more closely cooperate in the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force and other instruments to add oversight of the offshore industry.
One of the most important associations that deal with regionalism amongst the nations of the Caribbean Basin has been the Association of Caribbean States (ACS). Proposed by CARICOM in 1992, the ACS soon won the support of the other countries of the region. It was founded in July 1994. The ACS maintains regionalism within the Caribbean on issues unique to the Caribbean Basin. Through coalition building, like the ACS and CARICOM, regionalism has become an undeniable part of the politics and economics of the Caribbean. The successes of region-building initiatives are still debated by scholars, yet regionalism remains prevalent throughout the Caribbean.
Venezuela's effects on regionalism
|This section requires expansion. (March 2012)|
The President of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez launched an economic group called the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas (ALBA), which several eastern Caribbean islands joined. In 2012, the nation of Haiti, with 9 million people, became the largest CARICOM nation that sought to join the union.
Here are some of the bodies that several islands share in collaboration:
- Association of Caribbean States (ACS), Trinidad and Tobago
- Caribbean Association of Industry and Commerce (CAIC), Trinidad and Tobago
- Caribbean Association of National Telecommunication Organizations (CANTO), Trinidad and Tobago
- Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Guyana
- Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), Barbados
- Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDERA), Barbados
- Caribbean Educators Network
- Caribbean Electric Utility Services Corporation (CARILEC), Saint Lucia
- Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC), Barbados and Jamaica
- Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF), Trinidad and Tobago
- Caribbean Food Crops Society, Puerto Rico
- Caribbean Football Union (CFU), Jamaica
- Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association (CHTA), Florida and Puerto Rico
- Caribbean Initiative (Initiative of the IUCN)
- Caribbean Programme for Economic Competitiveness (CPEC), Saint Lucia
- Caribbean Regional Environmental Programme (CREP), Barbados
- Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM), Belize
- Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery (CRNM), Barbados and Dominican Republic
- Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU), Trinidad and Tobago
- Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), Barbados
- Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC)
- Foundation for the Development of Caribbean Children, Barbados
- Latin America and Caribbean Network Information Centre (LACNIC), Brazil and Uruguay
- Latin American and the Caribbean Economic System, Venezuela
- Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), Saint Lucia
- United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Chile and Trinidad and Tobago
- University of the West Indies, Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago. In addition, the fourth campus, the Open Campus was formed in June 2008 as a result of an amalgamation of the Board for Non-Campus Countries and Distance Educationn, Schools of Continuing Studies, the UWI Distance Education Centres and Tertiary Level Units. The Open Campus has 42 physical sites in 16 Anglophone caribbean countries.
- West Indies Cricket Board, Antigua and Barbuda
Favorite or national dishes
- Anguilla – Rice and Peas and Fish
- Antigua and Barbuda – Fungee & Pepperpot
- Barbados – Cou-Cou and Flying fish
- Belize- Stew Chicken, rice and Beans, Fry Jacks, Johnny cake, Hudut, lobster, crab soup, Chicken escabeche, conch fritters, Gibnut, Chimole" Black dinner soup", Ceviche, Cow foot soup, oxtails with rice, curry chicken, Roti, Ducunu, Garnaches, Salbutes, Panades, Tamales, Callaloo and Saltfish, pigtail and split peas soup, Meats pies and Sere.
- British Virgin Islands – Fish and fungee
- Cayman Islands – Turtle Stew, Turtle Steak, Grouper
- Colombian Caribbean – Rice with Coconut Milk, arroz con pollo, Sancocho, Arab cuisine due to large Arab immigration
- Cuba – Platillo Moros y Cristianos, Ropa Vieja, Lechon, Maduros, Ajiaco
- Dominica – Mountain chicken, Rice and peas, Dumplings, Saltfish (dried Cod), Dashin, Plantain, Bakes (fried dumplings), Coconut Confiture, Breadfruit, Curry Goat, Cassava Farine, Oxtail and various Beef broths
- Dominican Republic – arroz con pollo topped with stewed red kidney beans, pan fried or braised beef, and side dish of green salad or ensalada de coditos, shrimp, empanadas and/or tostones, or the ever popular Dominican dish known as Mangú, which is mashed plantains. The ensemble is usually called bandera nacional, which means "national flag," a term equivalent to the Venezuelan pabellón criollo.
- Grenada – Oil-Down
- Guyana – pepperpot, cookup rice, roti and curry, methem
- Haiti – Griot (Fried pork) served with Du riz a pois or Diri ak Pwa (Rice and beans)
- Jamaica – ackee and saltfish, callaloo, jerk chicken, curry chicken
- Montserrat – Goat Water
- Puerto Rico – Yellow Rice with Green Pigeon Peas, Saltfish Stew, Roasted Pork Shoulder, Chicken Fricassée, Mofongo, Tripe Soup, Alcapurria, Coconut Custard, Rice Pudding, Guava Turnovers, Mallorca Bread.
- Saint Kitts and Nevis – Coconut dumplings, Spicy plantain, saltfish, breadfruit
- Saint Lucia – Callaloo, Dal Roti, Dried and salted cod, Green Bananas, Rice and Beans
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines – Roasted Breadfruit & Fried Jackfish
- Trinidad and Tobago – Callaloo, Doubles, Roti, Crab and dumpling, pilau
- United States Virgin Islands – Stewed goat, oxtail or beef, seafood, callaloo, fungee
- African diaspora
- Anchor coinage
- British African-Caribbean people
- Council on Hemispheric Affairs
- Culture of the Caribbean
- Economy of the Caribbean
- List of Caribbean music genres
- List of sovereign states and dependent territories in the Caribbean
- NECOBELAC Project
- Piracy in the Caribbean
- Politics of the Caribbean
- Tourism in the Caribbean
- Country Comparison :: Population. CIA. The World Factbook
- McWhorter, John H. (2005). Defining Creole. Oxford University Press US. p. 379. ISBN 0-19-516670-1.
- Asann, Ridvan (2007). A Brief History of the Caribbean (Revised ed.). New York: Facts on File, Inc. p. 3. ISBN 0-8160-3811-2.
- Standard Country and Area Codes Classifications (M49), United Nations Statistics Division
- North America Atlas National Geographic
- "North America" Atlas of Canada
- "North America". Britannica Concise Encyclopedia; "... associated with the continent is Greenland, the largest island in the world, and such offshore groups as the Arctic Archipelago, the Bahamas, the Greater and Lesser Antilles, the Queen Charlotte Islands, and the Aleutian Islands."
- The World: Geographic Overview, The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency; "North America is commonly understood to include the island of Greenland, the isles of the Caribbean, and to extend south all the way to the Isthmus of Panama."
- The Netherlands Antilles: The joy of six, The Economist Magazine, April 29, 2010
- "Carib". Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on 2008-07-11. Retrieved 2008-02-20.
inhabited the Lesser Antilles and parts of the neighbouring South American coast at the time of the Spanish conquest.
- In the early 20th century, only the pronunciation with the primary stress on the first syllable was considered correct, according to Frank Horace Vizetelly, A Desk-Book of Twenty-five Thousand Words Frequently Mispronounced (Funk and Wagnalls, 1917), p. 233.
- Ladefoged, Peter and Johnstone, Keith (2011). A Course in Phonetics. Cengage Learning. pp. 86–. ISBN 978-1-4282-3126-9.
- See, e.g., Elster, supra.
- Allsopp, Richard and Allsopp, Jeannette (2003). Dictionary of Caribbean English Usage. University of the West Indies Press. p. 136–. ISBN 978-976-640-145-0.
- Background of the business forum of the Greater Caribbean of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS) at the Wayback Machine (archived March 27, 2010). acs-aec.org
- ten Brink, Uri. "Puerto Rico Trench 2003: Cruise Summary Results". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 2008-02-21.
- Mark Spalding; Corinna Ravilious; Edmund Peter Green (10 September 2001). World Atlas of Coral Reefs. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-23255-6. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
- Littler, D. and Littler, M. (2000) Caribbean Reef Plants. OffShore Graphics, Inc., ISBN 0967890101.
- Minter, D.W., Rodríguez Hernández, M. and Mena Portales, J. (2001) Fungi of the Caribbean. An annotated checklist. PDMS Publishing, ISBN 0-9540169-0-4.
- Kirk, P. M. and Ainsworth, Geoffrey Clough (2008). Ainsworth & Bisby's Dictionary of the Fungi. CABI. ISBN 978-0-85199-826-8.
- "Fungi of Cuba – potential endemics". cybertruffle.org.uk. Retrieved 2011-07-09.
- "Fungi of Puerto Rico – potential endemics". cybertruffle.org.uk. Retrieved 2011-07-09.
- "Fungi of the Dominican Republic – potential endemics". cybertruffle.org.uk. Retrieved 2011-07-09.
- "Fungi of Trinidad & Tobago – potential endemics". cybertruffle.org.uk. Retrieved 2011-07-09.
- "North American Extinctions v. World". Thegreatstory.org. Retrieved 2010-08-23.
- "Caribbean Coral Reefs". coral-reef-info.com.
- Hoegh-Guldberg, O.; Mumby, P. J.; Hooten, A. J.; Steneck, R. S.; Greenfield, P.; Gomez, E.; Harvell, C. D.; Sale, P. F. et al. (2007). "Coral Reefs Under Rapid Climate Change and Ocean Acidification". Science 318 (5857): 1737–42. doi:10.1126/science.1152509. PMID 18079392.
- "Caribbean coral reefs may disappear within 20 years: Report". IANS. news.biharprabha.com. Retrieved 3 July 2014.
- Rogoziński, Jan (2000). A Brief History of the Caribbean. Penguin. p. 65. ISBN 978-0-452-28193-6.
- Rogoziński, Jan (2000). A Brief History of the Caribbean. Penguin. p. 356. ISBN 978-0-452-28193-6.
- Byrne, Joseph Patrick (2008). Encyclopedia of Pestilence, Pandemics, and Plagues: A-M. ABC-CLIO. p. 413. ISBN 0-313-34102-8.
- Engerman, p. 486
- The Sugar Revolutions and Slavery, U.S. Library of Congress
- To Hell or Barbados: The Ethnic Cleansing of Ireland, O'Callaghan S, Brandon Press, 2001, ISBN 0-86322-287-0.
- Engerman, pp. 488–492
- Engerman, Figure 11.1
- Engerman, pp. 501–502
- Engerman, pp. 504, 511
- Table A.2, Database documentation, Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) Population Database, version 3, International Center for Tropical Agriculture, 2005. Accessed on line February 20, 2008.
- Christianity in its Global Context
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