You are Caribbean, and as a good chauvinist, you are interested in everything that directly or indirectly affects your island and its neighbors.
You are not lucky enough to be part of the first group, but you dream of (re)departing for the little pieces of paradise that are the Caribbean islands.
In any case, I deduce that the concept You like Plume Evasion, and I will do everything to meet your expectations. 😉
But before getting to the heart of the matter, I suggest we do a little... refresher. Indeed, when we talk about the Caribbean, the first image that comes to mind is a white sand beach with translucent turquoise water, and a sunset on the horizon (that's what you saw, right? Admit it). And rightly so! But it is clear that the most basic facts about the Caribbean islands are very little known to the general public. We only know the most publicized islands, and sometimes we can even confuse the names of some of them.
This lack of knowledge is surprising and alarming given that the region receives more than 30 million visitors per year, not including cruise passengers!
Plume Evasion's mission is to help rectify the situation. And I'll start with a few facts to know:
The Caribbean is named after the indigenous Carib tribes who came up the island chain from South America. They resisted invasion by Christopher Columbus and his men and were consequently labeled as aggressive and wrongly accused of being cannibals. Columbus named them the "Carib Tribe" and over time the name of the region evolved to "Caribbean". There are approximately 3,000 Caribs remaining on the island of Dominica today.
The Caribbean region is located southeast of the Gulf of Mexico and the North American continent and measures approximately 1,000 miles (1,600 km) from north to south and over 2,500 miles (4,020 km) from east to west. It is largely ocean and the Caribbean region includes approximately 7,000 islands, cays, reefs and cays in and around the Caribbean Sea. The topography of the Caribbean region is varied: coral reefs, mountains, rainforests, low-lying plantations, valleys, waterfalls and volcanoes.
Only about 2,% of the Caribbean region is inhabited, so when most people talk about the Caribbean region, they are referring to about 32 countries. They range in size from 110,000 km² for Cuba to 13 km² square for the island of Saba. Saba has the world's shortest runway for commercial airlines, at just 400 meters long, with one side flanked by high hills and cliffs that drop into the sea at each end.
The region is made up of the “Antilles”. The latter is divided into two groups: the Greater Antilles (these are, in order of size, the islands of: Cuba, Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic), Jamaica and Puerto Rico) and the Lesser Antilles. The Lesser Antilles are in turn defined into two subsets:
– the Leeward Islands. These islands include: the ABC islands dependent on the Kingdom of the Netherlands: Aruba, Bonaire (Netherlands Antilles), Curaçao (Netherlands Antilles) and the Federal Dependencies of Venezuela: Isla La Blanquilla, Isla Los Hermanos, Margarita Island, Los Roques Archipelago, Isla Los Testigos, Isla La Tortuga.
– The Windward Islands which include among others the French departments and communities (Guadeloupe, Martinique, Guyana, Saint-Martin and Saint-Barthélemy), Saint-Thomas, Saint-John, Antigua, Barbados, Dominica, Saint-Vincent, Grenadine, Margarita…..
Other countries are also associated with the Caribbean region, mainly because of their cultural, economic and political history. These include the island of Bermuda, located in the North Atlantic Ocean, just 1070 km from the state of North Carolina in the United States, and Belize, also located on the North American continent. Finally, Guyana, Suriname and Venezuela, three independent countries located on the North Atlantic coast of South America. All five are members of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) which was established in 1972 to promote economic integration and cooperation among member states.
With the exception of Cuba, which has a one-party political system, all other countries now have two or more parties. Some are independent democracies, such as Haiti, which became the world's first black republic and the first country in the Western Hemisphere to abolish slavery after breaking free from France on January 1, 1804. Others are still dependent territories of France, the United States, and the United Kingdom.
Dependencies of France: Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint-Barthélemy, Saint-Martin
Dependencies of the Netherlands: Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Sint-Maarten, Saba, Saint Eustatius
US Dependencies: Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands
UK Dependencies: Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Montserrat and Turks and Caicos
More than 42.5 million people live in the thirty main islands. Many live in large islands such as Cuba (11.4 million), Haiti (10.8 million), the Dominican Republic (10.6 million), Jamaica (2.8 million) and Trinidad and Tobago (1.3 million). At the other end of the spectrum are St. Martin with 31,500 inhabitants, the British Virgin Islands with 30,600 inhabitants, Anguilla with nearly 15,000 inhabitants and Montserrat with 5,200 inhabitants.
The first inhabitants of the Caribbean region came from the South American continent over 7,000 years ago and were members of the Mayan, Taino, and Kalinago tribes who settled the various islands of the Caribbean region. When Europeans began colonizing the Caribbean region, the indigenous population was decimated by disease and warfare. The majority of the 42.5 million people who live in the Caribbean region are descendants of the 5 million West African slaves. Today, you will also find other ethnicities in the Caribbean, including East Indians, Chinese, Syrians, Lebanese, Jews, Portuguese, Europeans, Native Americans, and various mixes and combinations that make the culture and traditions very diverse. The long history of colonization by European powers, including the Spanish, English, French, and Dutch, has given rise to a diverse culture in the region. But each country has its own traditions and history.
The Caribbean region is sometimes called the "West Indies". This term was originally used by Christopher Columbus to refer to the islands he claimed for the Spanish crown. He also believed he had reached India, and so named this group of islands the West Indies to distinguish it from the East Indies. The term "West Indies" was later adopted by other European colonizers, so that some Caribbean countries are considered former members of the British, French, Dutch, or Danish West Indies.
The most widely spoken languages are English and Spanish. In total, there are six main languages spoken, and some islands such as Puerto Rico and Haiti have more than one official language:
English : Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, Puerto Rico, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, Sint-Maarten, St. Vincent & Grenadines, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks & Caicos and the US Virgin Islands.
Spanish : Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico
French : Guadeloupe, Haiti, Martinique, Saint-Barthélemy, French Guiana and Saint-Martin
Haitian Creole : Haiti
Dutch : Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, Saint Eustatius, Sint-Maarten, Suriname
Papalization : Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao
In addition to the official languages, variations of Creoles and patois are also found on most islands.
The plant and animal life of the Caribbean is very diverse and exceptional. There are over 500 species of birds, including 172 species that are found nowhere else in the world. In addition, 189 different species of amphibians, 497 species of reptiles and 164 mammals live in the Caribbean region. There are also many coral reefs, including the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef, which is the largest marine habitat in the Caribbean.
10. One of the major facts is that tourism is one of the major sectors in most Caribbean islands. Contributing over $56.4 billion to the region, or $14.9 billion of GDP, it is important that visitors return to the region. Not just for the sun, sand and sea, but for much more. The region’s rich history, biodiversity, attractions and cultural events provide visitors who explore it with an enriching experience.
So, now that the basics are laid, you can start your journey. In the meantime, tell me what you learned and how much you want to go there.
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