Location and Definition of the Caribbean Region and its Diaspora

Geographical Location

The Greater Antilles- Jamaica, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Cuba.

The Lesser Antilles- The Leeward Antilles (Netherland Antilles), the Leeward Islands and the Windward Islands.

Leeward Islands- Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Martin, the British and the United States Virgin Islands,
Montserrat, Guadeloupe, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saba, St. Eustatius and Saint Barthélemy.

Windward Islands- Dominica, Martinique, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Barbados, Grenada and Trinidad
and Tobago.

Netherland Antilles- Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao (ABC islands), St. Martin, Saba and St. Eustatius.

Mainland Territories- Central America (Belize) and South America (Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana)

An archipelago- is a chain of islands that is usually closely related at a subterranean level.

Water bodies- include lakes and inland seas as well as gulfs and oceans. The water bodies found in the Caribbean and
its environs are the Caribbean Sea the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean.

An isthmus is a narrow neck of land separating two water bodies.

A tectonic plate is part of the earth’s crust, underlying the land and oceans that we can see.

Seismic activity refers to earth movements that affect and influence the surface of the earth.

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DEFINITIONS OF THE CARIBBEAN

In order to study Caribbean society and culture, one must have a clear understanding of the region’s location and
definition. Geography is generally used to discern the territories that define the Caribbean space. Caribbean countries
differ in that not all the region’s territories share similar geographical landscapes hence another approach is needed
to establish a more all-encompassing definition of the Caribbean. The history, culture, political and diasporic reality
of Caribbean people should be examined alongside the geographic phenomena for which the region is known.

Political

The Caribbean can also be defined by its diverse and complex political relationships. At present, the Caribbean
comprises political realities that show varying degrees of independence or political autonomy. There are many
systems of government in the Caribbean. For example, there are independent states, with Haiti being the first to
declare its independence in 1804. The majority of the British colonies gained their independence in the 20th Century,
with Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago being granted theirs in 1962.

There are countries that are colonial dependencies in the Caribbean. For example, Montserrat, British Virgin Islands
and Bermuda. Puerto Rico is an Associated State of the USA.

There are the Overseas Departments of France, which are Martinique, Guadeloupe and French Guiana. These
territories are directly ruled from France with a Prefect appointed in Paris.

The Netherland Antilles comprises former Dutch colonies. In 2010, the countries of Saba, St. Eustatius and Bonaire
elected to be ruled directly by Holland. Other Dutch territories, such as Aruba and Curacao have semi autonomy.

CARICOM is an organization, which aims to unite the Caribbean into one political entity. By granting Suriname full
status and having Cuba included, CARICOM has created a political definition for the Caribbean that goes beyond the
traditional definition of the British Commonwealth. The ACS (Association of the Caribbean States) includes countries
not originally in CARICOM. The OECS, though economic, has a political element as well.

In terms of forms of governance, communism and socialism provided the ideology for Cuba, Guyana and Grenada
(for a short period). The Westminster system of government forms the foundation of the countries formerly ruled by
Britain.

However, countries such as Guadeloupe, Martinique and French Guiana are not considered part of the political
Caribbean. They are departments of France, a status that makes them officially French territory even though they are
located in the Caribbean. Likewise, Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba are provinces of the Netherlands. Owing to this
political diversity, the concept of Caribbean citizen changes as one moves from one territory to another, as the political
reality of a person living in Martinique is quite different to that of someone from Puerto Rico. The variances of
political forms also creates difficulty in assigning any single interpretation from the political front.

Historical

A historical definition would refer to the coming of the indigenous peoples to the region, via the Orinoco River. It
would emphasize their settlement on the islands in the Greater and Lesser Antilles, as the groups evolved their identity
as Tainos and Kalinagos. It would also include the indigenous groups in the three Guianas that is British, French and
Dutch that became Suriname. The historical process that shaped territories in the Caribbean are similar. These
processes include: occupation of the area by the indigenous people, European exploration and settlement, genocide
and war waged against the indigenes, African slavery in all and Indian indentureship in some, colonialism,

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socioeconomic developments related to the plantation and independence and the forging of a free society based on
these experiences.

The West Indies was settled and conquered by European powers in the 16th and 19th centuries that is the Spanish,
British, French and Dutch. The empires claimed the countries as colonies and ruled over them, making them spaces
for trade and agriculture, especially monoculture that is sugar. They became outposts of the Empire and the colonies
were considered to exist for the benefit of the metropole. In the 20 th Century, the construct ‘Caribbean’ was more
used to describe the region.

Genocide of the indigenous peoples occurred through encomienda and repartimento systems and disease. Slavery
became the foundation for the labour systems, with the establishment of the transatlantic slave trade. Indentured
labour formed the backbone of some territories after emancipation. In terms of resistance and revolution, there existed
the Haitian Revolution, the Riots of the 1930s and the Cuban and Grenada Revolution.

The historical definition also encompasses the movement towards independence for the British colonies which
includes political enfranchisement, adult suffrage, internal self-government, Federation and independence.

However, it has been said, with some truth, that history is written by the victors, and by those who rule. Latin America
and the Caribbean are divided by differences in the culture of their colonial masters rather than by their shared history.
It is chiefly language that embodies these cultural differences and presents the major distinguishing factor between
the Caribbean and the wider Latin American region. However, on this view the history, the language and the cultural
heritage of Cuba and the Dominican Republic, and to a lesser extent Puerto Rico, ought to place them squarely with
the mainland territories of Latin America. Geography locates them in the Caribbean but history links them to the
Spanish-speaking countries of Central and South America. Even though colonization is a shared feature of the
‘historical’ Caribbean, within this there are also fundamental differences between the territories, since some territories
have been colonized by different powers.

Geographical

For some geographical definitions of the Caribbean, emphasis is placed on the sea as the claim is made that the
Caribbean lies where the lands are touched by the Caribbean Sea. With countries such as Bermuda and Turks and
Caicos outside of the space of the Caribbean Sea, it has been argued that this definition is flawed. Likewise, Barbados
is in the Atlantic Ocean.

Cartography that is latitude and longitude the Caribbean lies between 60º W to 90º W of the Greenwich Meridian.
The map also includes the region from Guyana 5º N of the Equator to 30º N to be able to include Bermuda. Again, it
can be noted that the geographical definition is flawed and not fixed.

The regions of the Caribbean include the Greater Antilles and the Lesser Antilles, an archipelago is formed through
the Bahamas and there are subdivisions of Windward and Leeward Islands.

The geographical definition includes the physical geography and water bodies. The region replete with mountain
ranges, rivers, limestone plains and marine life. However, a strict physical geographical definition limits the
understanding of the Caribbean. Mexico shares the physical but not the cultural and historically-narrated identity of
what is called the Caribbean.

However, the map also shows the region as stretching from near the equator to beyond 25ºN. This northernmost limit
is debatable and is sometimes extended 30ºN to accommodate Bermuda. Thus, even geographically, the idea of the
‘Caribbean Basin’ and even the coordinates of latitude and longitude are interpreted subjectively. The territory of

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Belize in Central America is a large landmass that is nevertheless considered as ‘Caribbean’ as any of the islands.
The Geographic conception of the Caribbean is based on a view of the Caribbean Sea as a basin with the surrounding
territories representing the limits of the basin, However, this definition is not comprehensive in that it would exclude
countries that are normally accepted as Caribbean countries, such as Guyana, Barbados, Bermuda and the Bahamas.
Barbados and Guyana are located to the east of the Caribbean Basin, in the Atlantic Ocean. The Bahamas are further
north, off the coast of Florida. Bermuda is located in the Atlantic Ocean. Thus, there are some countries, which have
long considered being part of the Caribbean but are excluded if a strict geographical definition is applied. Guyana is
considered Caribbean although it borders the Atlantic Ocean rather than the Caribbean Basin, because the social and
cultural experiences of its people are similar to those of the people of the islands of the Caribbean Sea. Countries such
as Mexico, Honduras, Panama or Nicaragua may thus be perceived by West Indian Peoples as belonging to the Latin
American mainland and not the Caribbean at all. Even though they may have a coast on the Caribbean Sea.

Geological

Often included in the geographical definition of the Caribbean, a geological definition would emphasize the
movements of the earth that occurred 140 million years ago. Geologists argue that the archipelago would have been
connected originally, possibly to the range of mountains in the Andes.

In determining how the region evolved, geologists demonstrated that the Caribbean plate is a small plate, which
moved under the larger North American plate. Volcanic activities and other tectonic activities occurred, resulting in
the formation of such areas as the Greater and Lesser Antilles.

The Caribbean Plate has major plate boundaries in the north (Puerto Rico, Haiti and Dominica Republic) and in the
south (Trinidad and Tobago). Dangers are also posed by the western edge of the plate in the Pacific Ocean, which is
off the West coast of Central America where destructive earthquakes have occurred. The Caribbean can experience
earthquake, which can measure 5, 6, or 7 and above on the Richter scale.

The Caribbean Plate has been described as a hotbed for tectonic activities with countries or a zone of seismic activity
as the 2010 Haiti earthquake demonstrated. Rockslides, landslides and mudslides, which may occur after an
earthquake, can be destructive and result in loss of crops, animals and life.

Volcanoes have been integral to the description of the Caribbean. The Caribbean has both active and inactive
volcanoes. In 1902 Mt Pelée, which is in Martinique, erupted destroying the town and killing 20,000 people who
lived there. In 1995, Soufrière Hills in Montserrat erupted spewing pyroclastic flows, destroying the capital Plymouth.
Many thousands of residents of the island have been relocated.

While the Caribbean Plate is a significant entity on which to build our conception of a Caribbean region, it does not
include Guyana, the Bahamas, and much of Cuba. Like geography, then geology alone cannot give us a
comprehensive organizing framework to define the Caribbean.

Diasporic

A diaspora is a people or group of migrants who have a homeland in another part of the world to which they share an
emotional attachment. The diaspora has been created through the numerous migratory movements that occurred since
1838 as many hundreds of thousands of West Indians sought labour beyond the places of their birth. The people of
the Caribbean who, even though they have established themselves outside of the region by migrating to other
countries (mainly the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada), retain strong familial, emotional, cultural ties

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to the region. It is futile to attempt to represent the Caribbean diaspora on a map as the links would intersect and
connect across the globe. This population of Caribbean people, which is scattered throughout the world creating
communities in metropolitan countries, especially the United States and Europe, is referred to as the Caribbean
diaspora and should be included in any discussion about Caribbean identity. These people may not live within the
geographic confines of the Caribbean but because they make efforts to maintain, their “Caribbeaness” consider
themselves part of Caribbean society.

With the migration to territories such as British Guiana and Trinidad in the 19th Century, national Diasporas, such as
the Barbadian, Antiguan and Kittitian Diasporas were formed. With the migration to non-British spaces such as Cuba,
Panama and Costa Rica, the construct of the West Indies diaspora was formed, as the speaking of English and the
coming from the region became the main ingredient for identity formation.

With the major migrations in the second half of the 20th century to the United Kingdom, USA and Canada, and the
increased use of the construct ‘Caribbean’, the term diaspora was formed.

The West Indian/Caribbean diaspora refers to communities living away from the region who claim the region as
‘home’, as their point of origin. They may have been born in the region, for example, the first generation of migrants.
They could also be descendants of those who first migrated, that is, second and third generations.
Consequently, although they physically live in another country, they claim another ‘home’ in the region.

The Caribbean diaspora can be found in Munich, Toronto, Leeds and Atlanta, for example, wherever West
Indian/Caribbean people migrated. Those who were born in the non-Caribbean region sometimes hyphenate their
claim and state that they are, for example, American-Jamaican. Another practice is to only assert the claim to the
Caribbean or place the Caribbean as their first point for identity for example Antiguan-British. Third generation
individuals who are descendants of more than one country of the region and who are living in the diaspora sometimes
claim three identities for example British-Bajan-Lucian.

Diaspora brings to the fore the creation of a description that is very fluid and not fixed. It is a lived experience as
many Caribbean nationals from the region regularly travel to metropolitan countries and do not stay in hotels, but
stay at the home of family members that is first generation migrants and/or their descendants. They also find
themselves taking up key items from the region, such as foodstuff and rum as they deliver ’home’ to their relatives
‘over and away’.

However, a part of your Caribbean identity, whether you are an East Indian in Guyana, a Rastafari in Jamaica, or a
Barbadian in Canada, is the problematic relationship that you have developed with your original culture and
homeland. Whether you value it and continue to make links with it in a public and visual way, or whether you do not
think much about it, describes how you have chosen to deal with a challenging issue of Caribbean identity. The
debates that arise in Caribbean countries about an ethnic group being more loyal to a foreign country than their
Caribbean country of citizenship are outcomes of a colonial condition that goes back to the original purposes of
bringing people here from all over the world.