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The Caribbean or the West Indies is a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. These islands curve southward from the bottom tip of Florida to the Northwest of Venezuela in South America. There are at least 7000 islands, islets, reefs and cayes in the region. They are organized into twenty-five territories including sovereign states, overseas departments and dependencies.The name "West Indies" originates from Christopher Columbus' idea that he had landed in India when he had in fact reached the Americas. The Caribbean consists of the Greater and Lesser Antilles and is part of North America.
At one time there was a short-lived country called the Federation of the West Indies composed of the English-speaking Caribbean islands of the region.
The Caribbean area is also famous for its sea pirates. See the article piracy in the Caribbean.
1 Historical groupings
Most islands at some point were, or still are, colonies of European nations:
- British West Indies - Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, BarbadosBarbados is an island nation situated on the boundary of the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. One of the Lesser Antilles, it lies to the east of the main chain of islands. History Main article: History of Barbados Barbados was uninhabited when first, British Virgin IslandsThe British Virgin Islands are a group of islands located in the northeast Carribean. They include Tortola, Virgin Gorda, Anegada, Jost Van Dyke, Peter Island, Salt Island, Beef Island, Cooper Island, Ginger Island, Norman Island, and many other small isl, Cayman IslandsThe Cayman Islands are an overseas territory of the United Kingdom in the West Indies, comprising the islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman. First visited by Christopher Columbus on May 10, 1503 during his fourth and final voyage to the, DominicaThe Commonwealth of Dominica is a borderless country in the Caribbean, a parliamentary democracy within the Commonwealth. Unlike other former British colonies in the region, Dominica was never a Commonwealth realm with the British monarch as head of state, GrenadaThis article is about the Caribbean nation. For alternate meanings, see Grenada (disambiguation Grenada is an island nation in the Caribbean Sea including the southern Grenadines, is the second smallest independent country in the Western Hemisphere (after, JamaicaThis article is about the country. For others uses, see Jamaica (disambiguation). Jamaica is a country in the Caribbean Sea, located south of Cuba and to the west of Hispaniola, on which Haiti and the Dominican Republic are situated. Jamaica ( In Detail), MontserratMontserrat is an island in the Caribbean Sea, named after the mountain of the same name (located near Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain see Montserrat (mountain by Christopher Columbus in 1493. Montserrat is an overseas territory of the United Kingdom. Much of, Saint Kitts and NevisSaint Kitts and Nevis is an island nation in the Caribbean. Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis ( In Detail) National motto: Country Above Self Official language English Capital Basseterre Queen Elizabeth II Governor General Sir Cuthbert Sebastian Prime M, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago and the Turks and Caicos Islands
- Danish West Indies - present-day United States Virgin Islands
- Dutch West Indies - present-day Netherlands Antilles and Aruba
- French West Indies - the French overseas departements of Guadeloupe and Martinique
- Spain - Cuba, Hispaniola (present-day Dominican Republic and Haiti), Puerto Rico
The British West Indies, formerly united in the West Indies Federation, still make up a composite cricket team that successfully competes in test matches and one-day internationals. The West Indian cricket team also includes the South American nation of Guyana, a former British colony.
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