DO NOT EDIT--Changes must be made through “File info” CorrectionKey=TX-A SECTION The Caribbean 3 70°W Gulf of TEKS 1A, 1B, 2B, 3D, 15A, 15B, Islands Mexico 18A B a ATLANTIC OCEAN 80°W Tropic of Cancer h a m What You Will Learn… a If YOU lived there... s Cuba Main Ideas You are a young sailor on Christopher Columbus’s second voyage 1. The history of the Caribbean to the New World. The year is 1493. Now that your ship is in the islands includes European 20°W Caribbean Sea, you are sailing from island to island. You have seen 20°W colonization followed by inde- St. Dominque Puerto pendence. volcanoes and waterfalls and fierce natives. Columbus has decided Jamaica Hispaniola Rico 2. The culture of the Caribbean to establish a trading post on one of the islands. You are part of the Antigua islands shows signs of past St. Croix St. Kitts colonialism and slavery. crew who will stay there. Guadeloupe Nevis 3. Today the Caribbean islands N have distinctive governments Dominica What do you expect in your new home? W E with economies that depend Martinique S on agriculture and tourism. Caribbean Sea St. Lucia St. Vincent Barbados Curacao 60°W The Big Idea Aruba BUILDING BACKGROUND In the late 1400s and early 1500s, Grenada The Caribbean islands have a European nations began to compete for colonies. Sailing for Spain, Tobago rich history and culture influ- Christopher Columbus made four voyages to the Americas. He and enced by European colonization. his men discovered and explored many islands. Key Terms and Places dialect, p. 226 commonwealth, p. 227 History refugee, p. 227 When Christopher Columbus discovered America in 1492, he Havana, p. 228 actually discovered the Caribbean islands. These islands now cooperative, p. 228 include 13 independent countries. The countries themselves show the influence of those first European explorers. HRW-MS Geography Maps Early History mg7fvs_islmap009aa Use the graphic organizer online European Colonies in the Caribbean 1763 to organize your notes on the Christopher Columbus first sailedfinal pass--6/24/05 into the Caribbean Sea from Caribbean islands. Spain in 1492. He thought he had reached the Indies, or the islands near India. Therefore, he called the Caribbean islands the West Indies and the people who lived there Indians. Spain had little interest in the smaller Caribbean islands, but the English, French, Dutch, and Danish did. In the 1600s and 1700s, these countries established colonies on the islands. They built huge sugarcane plantations that required many work- ers. Most Caribbean Indians had died from disease, so Europe- ans brought Africans to work as slaves. Soon Africans and people of African descent outnumbered Europeans on many islands. 224 CHAPTER 9 DO NOT EDIT--Changes must be made through “File info” CorrectionKey=TX-A European Colonies in the Caribbean, 1763 70°W Place European countries Gulf of each left their own mark on the HRW Middle SchoolMexico Geography B a ATLANTIC OCEAN islands they colonized. mg7fvs_islmap009ba 80°W Tropic of Cancer h a 1. Identify Who ruled Jamaica? European Colonies in the Caribbean m a 2. Contrast How did Spanish Locator s colonies differ from Dutch Final pass--6/20/05 Cuba colonies? 20°W 20°W St. Dominque Puerto Jamaica Hispaniola Rico Antigua British French St. Croix St. Kitts Danish Spanish Guadeloupe Nevis Dutch N Dominica 0 100 200 Miles W E Martinique 0 100 200 Kilometers S Caribbean Sea St. Lucia Projection: Azimuthal Equal-Area St. Vincent Barbados Curacao Aruba 60°W Grenada Tobago HRW-MS Geography Maps B IOGRAPHY mg7fvs_islmap009ca European Colonies in the Caribbean 1763 Toussaint-L’Ouverture Legend (c. 1743–1803) IndependenceFinal pass--6/20/05 A slave revolt led by Toussaint-L’Ouverture Toussaint-L’Ouverture was born a slave. (too-sahn loo-ver-toor) eventually helped A few years after he gained his freedom, a slave revolt broke out in Haiti. Tous- Haiti win independence from France in saint soon realized the rebels did not have very good lead- 1804. Along with independence came free- ers, so he went on to form an army of his own. He proved dom for the slaves in Haiti. Ideas of indepen- to be an excellent army general. He later became a popu- HRW-MS Geography Maps dence then spread throughout the Americas. lar governor of Haiti, gaining the respect of both black mg7fvs_islmap009aa By the mid-1800s, the Dominican and white people on the island. European Colonies in the Caribbean 1763 final pass--6/24/05 Republic had gained independence. The United States won Cuba from Spain, but Cuba gained independence in 1902. The still French possessions. Each has its own other Caribbean countries did not gain elected government and is also represented independence until more than 40 years in the French government. Most people on later, after World War II. At that time, these islands seem not to wish for indepen- the Europeans transferred political power dence from their ruling countries. peacefully to most of the islands. Many Caribbean islands still are not READING CHECK Identifying Points of View independent countries. For example, the Why might an island’s people not be interested islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe are in gaining independence? CENTRAL AMERica AND THE CARIBBEAN 225 DO NOT EDIT--Changes must be made through “File info” CorrectionKey=TX-A Culture Festivals and Food Today nearly all Caribbean islands show People on the Caribbean islands celebrate signs of past colonialism and slavery. These a variety of holidays. One of the biggest signs can be seen in the region’s culture. and most widespread is Carnival. Carnival is a time of feasts and celebration before People, Languages, and Religion the Christian season of Lent begins. People Most islanders today are descended either usually celebrate Carnival with big parades from Europeans or from Africans who and fancy costumes. Festivals like Carnival came to the region as slaves, or from a mix- often include great music. FOCUS ON ture of the two. Some Asians also live on Caribbean food and cooking also READING the islands. They came to work on planta- reflect the region’s past. For example, What words in slave ships carried foods as well as people the paragraph on tions after slavery ended in the region. food signal Languages spoken in the region reflect to the Caribbean. Now foods from Afri- comparison? a colonial heritage. Spanish, English, or ca, such as yams and okra, are popular French as well as mixtures of European there. Also, in Barbados, people eat a dish and African languages are spoken on called souse, which is made of pigs’ tails, many islands. For example, Haitians speak ears, and snouts. This dish was developed French Creole. Creole is a dialect , or a among slaves because slaveholders ate the regional variety of a language. best parts of the pig and gave slaves the The region’s past is also reflected in the leftovers. Another popular flavor on the religions people practice. Former French islands, curry, was brought to the region by and Spanish territories have large numbers people from India who came as plantation of Catholics. People also practice a blend workers after slavery ended. of Catholicism and traditional African READING CHECK Generalizing How does religions. One blended religion is Santería. Caribbean culture reflect African influences? Languages of the Caribbean Language Countries Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, English Trinidad and Tobago Saint Kitts and Nevis, Grenada, Creole English Jamaica, Bahamas Creole French Haiti, Dominica, Saint Lucia Cuba, Puerto Rico, Dominican Spanish Republic Interpreting Charts What language do people speak in Barbados? 226 CHAPTER 9 DO NOT EDIT--Changes must be made through “File info” CorrectionKey=TX-A CONNECTING TO the Arts Caribbean Music The Caribbean islands have produced many unique styles of music. For example, Jamaica is famous as the birthplace of reggae. Merengue is the national music and dance of the Dominican Republic. Trinidad and Tobago is the home of steel-drum and calypso music. Here, a band in the Grenadines performs on steel drums. Steel-drum bands can include as few as 4 or as many as 100 musicians. The instruments are actually metal barrels like the kind used for shipping oil. The end of each drum is hammered into a curved shape with multiple grooves and bumps. Hitting different-sized bumps results in different notes. Drawing Inferences What role might trade have played in the development of steel-drum music? The Caribbean Islands Today Haiti Many Caribbean islands share a similar Haiti occupies the western part of the history. Still, each island has its own island of Hispaniola. Haiti’s capital, Port- economy, government, and culture. au-Prince, is the center of the nation’s lim- ited industry. Most Haitians farm small Puerto Rico plots. Coffee and sugarcane are among Once a Spanish colony, Puerto Rico today Haiti’s main exports. is a U.S. commonwealth. A commonwealth Haiti is the poorest country in the is a self-governing territory associated with Americas. Its people have suffered under another country. Puerto Ricans are U.S. a string of corrupt governments during citizens, but they do not have voting rep- the last two centuries. Violence, political resentation in Congress. unrest, and poverty have created many Overall, Puerto Rico’s economy has political refugees. A refugee is someone benefitted from U.S. aid and investment. who flees to another country, usually for Still, wages are lower and unemployment political or economic reasons. Many Hai- is higher on the island than in the United tian refugees have come to the United States. Many Puerto Ricans have moved to States.