The West IndiesThe West Indies

Pages 213-219Pages 213-219

OverviewOverview

• The West Indies has more than 30 countries with a total regional population of 33 million scattered over 2,000 square miles of ocean!

Mountaintop IslandsMountaintop Islands

• Three archipelagos make up the West Indies:– The Bahamas– The Greater Antilles

(Cuba,Jamaica,Hispaniola,and Puerto Rico)– The Lesser Antilles (everything else!)

An archipelago is a group of islands.

Mountaintop IslandsMountaintop Islands

• Many West Indian islands are part of an underwater chain of mountains formed by volcanoes.– A typical volcanic island has central highlands

ringed by the coastal plains.– Other islands are actually limestone

mountains pushed up from the ocean floor.

West IndiesWest Indies

ClimateClimate• The West Indies lie in

the tropics.• Most islands have a

fairly constant tropical savanna climate.

• The Caribbean Sea and wind affect the climate.

• Why are many islands in the West Indies not good for farming?

The Economy of the West IndiesThe Economy of the West Indies

• Tourism and farming are the most important economic activities.

• Commercial crops include sugarcane, bananas, coffee, and tobacco.

• Each island often depends on one major crop.

Why would this be an economic danger?

EconomyEconomy

CubaCuba

• Most farmers in Cuba work on cooperatives. • Top sugar producer.• Communist government - struggles with it’s economy.• Fidel Castro took control of Cuba’s government in 1959 in a military coup.• America put an embargo on Cuba when it took over American holdings in

Cuba and allied with the Soviet Union.

JamaicaJamaica

• English is the spoken language.• Many Jamaicans speak Creole which is a

mixture of African languages and English, French and Spanish.

HispanolaHispanola

• Made up of 2 countries on one island: Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

• Haiti is 95% African ancestry. • Civil war in Haiti has left the country’s economy in ruins.• In the Dominican Republic, many people sell goods in the free

trade zone.

Puerto RicoPuerto Rico

• Puerto Rico is a commonwealth of the US.• It partly governs itself, but it is under US protection. • Puerto Ricans are citizens of the US.• Became a part of the US after the Spanish American

War in 1898.