Transcript definitions of the caribbean region

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 country with the specific
European power that dominated it. The Caribbean
now has, in addition to indigenous Amerindian
cultural roots, strong cultural ties with Europe,
Africa and Asia.
Geological Caribbean
 It is the area that is defined by the
Caribbean Plate and which experiences
similar tectonic, seismic, and volcanic
features.
Political Caribbean
 For political purposes the concept of CARICOM is used to
define the Caribbean. But this definition was limited to the
eleven island states and territories and two mainland
countries until Suriname and Haiti were added to the
grouping in 1995 and 2000 respectively
 A more recent definition is based on the Association of
Caribbean States (ACS) formed in 1994. This definition
incorporates all the countries in Central America including
Mexico and Panama, all the countries in South America
and all the islands in and around the Caribbean Sea as well
as Bahamas and Barbados.
Girvan (cited in Benn and Hall, 2000), posits four
notions of the Caribbean:
 The Caribbean as the island chain lying in the Caribbean
Sea.
 The Caribbean as Basin comprising the countries in and
around the Caribbean Sea.
 The Caribbean as an ethno-historic zone comprising the
islands and adjacent coastal communities in South and
Central America which share a similar history, culture and
ethnicity.
 Most recent, the Caribbean as a transnational community
that embraces the Caribbean diaspora overseas.
Problems in Defining the Caribbean
 Geographical: This definition includes countries
not normally associated with the Caribbean –
Panama, Colombia and other countries of Central
America.
On the other hand , Guyana, Barbados and the
Bahamas do not have coastlines on the Caribbean
Sea. Yet these countries are commonly accepted as
part of the Caribbean.
 Historical : This definition would include
Guyana and the Bahamas. It should also
include the French, Dutch and Spanish
speaking countries of the Caribbean and
Central America.
 The problem with defining the Caribbean
according to linguistic or European heritage
is the tendency to ignore the similar
experiences of each island by the colonial
power.
 Geological: The northern edge of the
Caribbean Plate defines much of Belize,
Cuba, the Bahamas and Guyana as extraregional.
 However, the western edge of the Caribbean
Plate is located in the Pacific and includes
Honduras, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and
Panama in the Caribbean.