Caribbean Islands

identify and describe common traits that define cultures and culture regions (13A)

​Early Peoples of the Caribbean Islands

• Taino - (also called the Arawak) - farmed on the islands of the Greater Antilles: Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola and Puerto Rico

• Carib - lived in the Lesser Antilles and were the most feared warriors of the Caribbean

​Christopher Columbus

• On October 12, 1492 arrived in the Bahamas.

• He called the people he met “Indians” because he thought he was in the East Indies.

• He opened the way for European sailing ships to come to the Americas.

• Europeans changed the way of life for the Caribbean peoples.

  • Many died from diseases carried by the Europeans.

  • Europeans also overworked and or starved the Caribbean peoples.

• The Spanish set up colonies in Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. The French settled what is now Haiti and some smaller islands. The British and Dutch also had island colonies.

^{Puerto Rico was given to the United States when Spain lost the Spanish-American War in 1898. (Commonwealth)}

The biggest challenge the Caribbean Islands face is to develop economically.

Poverty and unemployment are constant challenges.

People in the Caribbean Islands support themselves in many different ways; tourism is the main source of income.

Another important source of income is remittances. A remittance is money sent back to the homeland by people who migrated someplace else to make money

Cuba is the only country in the Caribbean with a communist government.

​

In reality, the economy is run by a powerful government under the control of the Communist Party.

​

Cuba’s economy is very poor, and conditions are worse now than they were in the 1980s.

​

Cuba’s people have little political freedom. The U.S. has many refugees from Cuba who flee Cuba in search of a better life.

Individuals or businesses choose what to produce, and when to produce it. They make decisions based on what they think consumers will want to buy.

Free Enterprise countries are not without problems. Poverty, unemployment and wide spread disease still hinder these areas.

Trinidad and Tobago is one of the most successful free enterprise economies. Haiti is the poorest.