Locating and Defining the Caribbean

The Caribbean

Location and Definition

Map of the Caribbean

Caribbean Sub Regions

Lesser Antilles

Greater Antilles

Sun, Sand & Sea

Carnival

Rally Round The West Indies

Locating The Caribbean

• Most common perception only includes the islands washed by the Caribbean Sea

• Common historical links and heritage

• Common deep structures/ processes, for example the Caribbean Plate

• Political systems

How do we define the Caribbean?

• Are we Caribbean citizens or are we citizens of our prospective countries?

• Does our culture define us

• Is there a Caribbean society?

• How do persons outside the region perceive the Caribbean?

Definition (con’t)• Most people in the Caribbean identify themselves as Trinidadians,

Jamaicans etc. There is constant debate among scholars about what definition must be used in order to define the region.

• However, sometimes the society and culture of a people define and locate where they live more than a physical or geographic feature

• As a result, there are particular features individual use when describing the Caribbean: Diversity of the people, culture, history and others

• Persons outside of the region ought to be educated about our region beyond it being a tourist destination for sun, sand and sea.

Geography & Geology• A geographic basis for defining the Caribbean is a familiar idea. This is

based on the concept of a ‘Caribbean Basin’

• The central identifying feature is the Caribbean sea and the traditional definition usually describes the region as “the lands washed by the Caribbean Sea.”

• Is this enough to use to describe the region?

Geography• Another geographical definition uses lines of longitude and latitude to locate

the region

• Some maps show the Caribbean stretching from 60 degrees West to 90 degrees West (of the Greenwich Meridian)

• Others show the region stretching from near the Equator to beyond 25 degrees North. (Guyana lies 5 degrees North of the Equator)

• Even this creates confusion as it is sometimes extended to 30 degrees North to accommodate Bermuda.

Geography• We often hear about the Caribbean as an archipelago of islands; however

The Lesser Antilles forms a chain of small islands that exhibit similar volcanic features. The Greater Antilles is an older archipelago of much larger islands. The Bahamas is also an archipelago.

• The water bodies found in the Caribbean are the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean.

• There is also the possibility to use sub regions in a definition as the region is very large. The Lesser Antilles is further subdivided into the Windward and Leeward Islands.

• It is therefore evident that to define the Caribbean using a geographical definition alone is not comprehensive and is far too subjective.

Geographic Definition

• This describes the area washed by the Caribbean Sea and is often described as the Caribbean Basin. It would therefore include most of the islands of the Lesser and Greater Antilles as well as mainland territories in Central America (Costa Rica, Belize, Panama, Honduras) and Northern South America such as Colombia and Venezuela. The common link here is the Caribbean Sea.

The Caribbean Plate

Geological Definition• This is not as common as the geographical definition

• The defining feature is the Caribbean Plate, which has marked boundaries or margins where it meets other plates

• Much of the Caribbean region lies on the Caribbean Plate, one of the smaller plates to be found on the Earth’s crust.

• This defines the Caribbean in terms of tectonic activity, which refers to earth movements that impact and influence the surface of the earth

• Examples of tectonic activity are earthquakes, volcanic activity and mountain activity.

• Since these directly and indirectly affect humans, we must become more aware of this, but these activities are not enough to describe the region.

Geological Definition

• This is not used as frequently as other definitions in referring to the Caribbean. However, it shows that there are deep seated structural features of Caribbean geology which also identify commonalities. It is the area that is defined by the Caribbean Plate and which experiences similar tectonic, seismic and volcanic features and processes.

Example of Tectonic Activity

History of the Region• History emphasizes how and what people define as their space• In the West Indies, historical and cultural ties are viewed as more important

than geography in defining the region for some individuals.• There are many historical processes which bind the region together: • Occupation of the region by the indigenous peoples• European exploration and settlement• Genocide• African slavery• Indentureship• Colonialism• Plantation Society• Independence• The historical definition to most individuals represents the best possible

guide in defining the region.

Historical Definition

• This 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 way of defining the Caribbean is to identify those countries that experienced the rule of specific European countries. Thus, the Caribbean may be defined as being broken up into the English, French, Dutch and Spanish speaking countries and territories.

The Atlantic Slave Trade

Spanish Conquest

East Indian Immigration

Chinese Immigrants

The Political Caribbean• There are “many Caribbeans” if one uses this definition as the political

entities comprising the region are diverse and show varying stages in achieving political autonomy.

• There is a notion of a Caribbean citizen or CARICOM citizen, but this is not a reality

• Many countries are politically independent with different forms of governance, eg. Communism, Socialism

• Haiti was the first country in the Caribbean to achieve independence through revolution in 1804, being described as a Black Republic.

• Members of the Commonwealth

• Colonies

• Overseas Departments

• Diversity of the region is evident from the political arrangements which exist today

Caribbean Identity and Culture

• With all our diversity, can we have a Caribbean identity?

• What is a Caribbean identity?

• Should we state that even though we are diverse, there is much that binds us together which leads to the creation of a Caribbean culture?

• Our Caribbean culture is made up of a mixture of all the cultures of the different ethnic groups that migrated here.

• “We strive to be ourselves, not Englishmen or Africans or Indians or Chinese, but West Indians.”

- Sir Arthur Lewis

Readings• Understanding The Contemporary Caribbean Chapters 2, 3 & 4

• Cape Caribbean Studies Study Guide Chapters 2 & 3

• Cape Caribbean Studies (Jennifer Mohammed) Chapter 1

Assignment• Account for the conflicting conceptions of a place called ‘The Caribbean’

(30 mks)

• Due Date: Friday 30th September, 2010