Professional Documents
Culture Documents
CARIBBEAN STUDIES
The Caribbean Region is a large area and because of this there is much
diversity from main land territories to islands and archipelagoes. This
diversity is often masked by people from both inside and outside the region.
Studying the location of the Caribbean helps us to better appreciate the
diversity that co-exists with, and must underline, common Caribbean
experiences.
There is no one way to define the Caribbean. It is generally believed that the
Caribbean is a melting pot. This concept refers to the combination of a
variety cultures, people and experiences all coming together to form one
unique culture. In light of this, we can safely say that Jamaicas motto Out of
many, one people, aptly describes the make up of the Caribbean region.
There are three ways by which we can define the Caribbean. These are:
i. The Geographical Caribbean 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 the mainland territories of Central
Fig. 1 America and Northern South America such as Venezuela and
Columbia.
[1]
NB: Notice that the territories in red all have one common feature, they are
all washed by the Caribbean Sea, even though they may speak
different languages.
ii. The Geological Caribbean this is not as well-used as the other
ways by which we define the Caribbean region. However, it shows
that there are deep-seated structural features of Caribbean geology
which also identifies commonalities. It id the area that is defined by
the Caribbean Plate and which expresses similar tectonic, seismic
and volcanic features and processes.
iii. The Historical Caribbean this describe the area that saw the
impact of European colonization, slavery, indentureship and the
plantation system. This refers to all the territories, so that one
means by which we can define the Caribbean is by identifying those
countries that experienced the rule of specific European countries,
namely the English, French, Dutch and the Spanish. The common
feature in this definition is that they share the same historical or
cultural experiences.
[2]
Fig. 3
LEGEND
ENGLISH
SPANISH
FRENCH
NB: The legend indicates the territories that were under the control of the various
European powers. It should be noted that Guyana (which was first under
Dutch control, then English), Surinam (which was under Dutch control) and
French Guiana (which is STILL under French control) are not represented in
Fig. 3. They are apart of the Caribbean because they share the same
historical/cultural experiences as all those which are represented in fig. 3
iv. The Political Caribbean the Caribbean has three main government
systems, namely
(a) Independent States these are former colonies which are now self-
governing. These are islands which have chosen a method of
governance that is different from that of their colonial masters, namely
democracy or communism;
(b) Associated States these are territories which are not independent but
enjoy all the rights and privileges of the country that governs it;
(c) Colonial Dependencies these ate territories which are directly
governed by other countries but do not enjoy the rights and privileges
thats enjoyed by inhabitants in an Associated State.
Fig. 4
LEGEND
Independent
States
Associated
State
[3]
Problems in defining the Caribbean
[4]
move to release the stress of the movement and friction with the other
plate.
The San Andreas Fault, along the west coast of North America, passing
through San
Francisco is such a margin. In the Caribbean
two major transform margins delineate the
northern and the southern boundaries of
the Caribbean Plate. A majority of epicentres
are associated with these transform margins.
An epicenter is the point on the earths
surface where an earthquake is felt most
intensely. This is because it is directly
above the deep-seated origin of the earthquake, the focus.
Earthquakes then pose an environmental hazard to Caribbean
countries along the transform margins.
[5]
5. Environmental Disaster: refers to the realization of such a disaster
(#4).
[6]