CAPE®

LOCATION AND DEFINITION OF THE

CARIBBEAN REGION AND ITS
DIASPORA
LESSON 1

Directed by
REMONE L. FOSTER, LL.B
 ABOUT CAPE® CARIBBEAN STUDIES
• CAPE ® Caribbean Studies is divided into three (3) Modules:
Module 1: Caribbean Society and Culture - Essays
Module 2: Issues in Caribbean Development - Essays
Module 3: Investigating Issues in the Caribbean – MCQ only

• Assessment:
Paper 01 – 45 Multiple Choice Questions – 15 questions per Module (90 mins) – 27%
Paper 02 – 4 Compulsory Essay Question on Module 1 and Module 2 – 33%
School Based Assessment (Internal Assessment) – 40%

What the Examiners want?

Knowledge and Comprehension – Have knowledge or understanding of the various concepts
Synthesis and Evaluation (Use of Knowledge) – present knowledge coherently and logically
Enquiry and Communication – apply the concepts and theories to various issues
 RECOMMENDED LIST
Essential
• CAPE® Caribbean Studies Syllabus – download the latest version of the syllabus

Textbooks
• Mohammed, J. Caribbean Studies: An Interdisciplinary Approach, Oxford, Macmillan Publishers Ltd., 2007.
• Students who do History and Sociology can also rely on their notes

Study Guides specifically for Exam Preparation

• Foster’s CAPE® Caribbean Studies Multiple Choice Questions & Answers
• Foster’s CAPE® Caribbean Studies Essay Questions & Answers – available Jan. 2021

When in Doubt:
• Google (with caution)
 OBJECTIVES
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to

• Define the Caribbean;

• Consider the importance of defining the Caribbean.
• Identify the Caribbean territories and subregions of the Caribbean.
 LOCATION OF THE CARIBBEAN
• The Caribbean is that area in the Americas that is surrounded by the Caribbean Sea.
• The key feature in the location of the Caribbean is the Caribbean Sea and so, in theory,
once the Caribbean Sea touches the shores of a mass of land, that land can be considered
as “Caribbean”.
• The Caribbean is situated on the Caribbean Plate which is an oceanic tectonic plate
underlying Central America and the Caribbean Sea off the north coast of South America.
The Caribbean Plate is bordered by the North American Plate, the South American Plate,
the Nazca Plate and the Cocos Plate.
• The Caribbean consists of some 700 islands, islets, reefs and cays.
• The Caribbean is located:
(a) Southeast of the Gulf of Mexico
(b) Southeast of North American mainland
(c) East of Central America
(d) North of South America
SUBREGIONS OF THE CARIBBEAN

THE GREATER ANTILLES

consists of the larger islands in the Caribbean Sea
and constitute nearly 90% of the total land area of
the entire West Indies.

• Cuba – Largest island by size and population

• Haiti – Independent
• The Dominican Republic – Independent
• Puerto Rico – Associated state of the United
States
• Cayman Islands – British Overseas Territory
• Jamaica – Lies south of Cuba
THE LESSER ANTILLES
• Arc of islands that are located between the
Greater Antilles (starting just off Puerto
Rico) and the continent of South America
• Formed mainly from volcanic eruptions
• Divided into the Leeward and Windward
Islands:
Leeward: The Virgin Islands, St. Martin, St.
Barthelemy, St. Eustatius, Saba, St. Croix,
Anguilla, St. Kitts-Nevis, Antigua, Barbuda,
Montserrat, and Guadeloupe.
Windward: Dominica, Martinique, St. Lucia,
St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Barbados,
Grenada, and Trinidad and Tobago.
 COMMON QUESTIONS
ON MULTIPLE CHOICE
• Caribbean countries in the Atlantic Ocean – Barbados and the Bahamas –
Barbados is actually located in the western Atlantic Ocean
• Archipelago located in the Atlantic – The Bahamas
• The most easternmost island in the Caribbean – Barbados
• Countries that make up the Lucayan Archipelago – The Bahamas and Turks and
Caicos
• Smallest inhabited island in the Caribbean – Sint Marteen
• Country with the largest natural asphalt in the Caribbean – Trinidad
• Largest English-speaking Island – Jamaica
• Largest Spanish speaking Island – Cuba
• Largest French speaking country - Haiti
• Country with the largest barrier reef in the Caribbean – Belize (largest barrier reef
in the Western Hemisphere)
 How to define the Caribbean?
• The Caribbean is very difficult to define and for that reason there are
several definitions:

(a) Geographical definition

(b) Historical definition
(c) Geological definition;
(d) Political definition;
(e) Diasporic definition.
 GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION
• Deals with the physical location of the Caribbean
• Concerns itself with latitude and longitude
• The most important definition of the Caribbean because it serves the practical function
of locating the Caribbean.
• Geographically the Caribbean should be those lands that are bordered by the Caribbean
Sea and rest of the Caribbean Plate/Basin
• There can be no concise geographical location for the Caribbean. This is because the
Caribbean Sea touches several land that are not considered Caribbean. Furthermore, the
Caribbean Plate falls under some Central American countries that are not considered
Caribbean.
• If that is the case, then several countries that are not normally considered Caribbean such
as Panama, Colombia and other central America countries can be included in the
Caribbean
• Furthermore, a problem arises, when countries such as Guyana, Belize and the Bahamas
which do not have coastlines on the Caribbean Sea are considered Caribbean. These
countries are considered Caribbean due to political, historical and economic factors. They
are also in close proximity with the Caribbean.
 HISTORICAL DEFINITION
• Caribbean people share a similar historical experience and so the historical definition of the
Caribbean captures the historical experiences such as plantation slavery, European
colonialism, indentureship, migration and independence.
• The Dutch, Spanish, English and French colonized the Caribbean between the 1500s and
1800s and because of this the Caribbean countries developed different identifies, customs,
beliefs and practices:

Spanish Caribbean Countries: Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic
French Caribbean Countries: Guadeloupe. Martinique. Saint-Barthélemy. Saint Martin. French
Guiana. Haiti.
English Caribbean Countries: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Cayman
Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint
Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands
Dutch Caribbean Countries: Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, Sint Maarten,
and Suriname
• Plantation systems led to the decimation of the indigenous people by the
mid 1500s, the introduction of African slaves (mid 1500s- early 1800s) and
the arrival of Asians in the post emancipation period (Chinese and Indians)
• The historical definition is important because it will allow countries such as
Guyana, Belize, Suriname and the Bahamas to be defined as Caribbean due
to their similar historical experiences with other Caribbean countries
• It can cause a division when the Caribbean is defined along linguistic and
European heritage – Spanish, French, Dutch, English. For example, many
French Caribbean countries do not associate themselves with English
Caribbean Islands despite their close proximity. However, in recent years
some have joined the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) due
to the economic benefits of being in the organization.
• The historical experiences of the Caribbean will explain why the region is
now not collectively called the “West Indies” as it was in the past. The term
“West Indies” is almost used extensively to refer to the British and former
British possessions in the Caribbean.
 GEOLOGICAL DEFINITION
• Geology refers to the earth and so the geological definition of the
Caribbean will consider the Caribbean Plate
• However, the Caribbean Plate is very expansive. Indeed, the
Caribbean Plate is a mostly oceanic tectonic plate underlying Central
America and the Caribbean Sea off the north coast of South America.
• The Northern part of the Caribbean Plate will include countries such
as Belize, the Bahamas and Guyana
• The western part of the Caribbean Plate will include countries such as
Honduras, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Panama – these are not
considered Caribbean countries
 POLITICAL DEFINITION
• The Political Definition of the Caribbean sees a further divide between
French, Spanish and English Countries; associated and independent
states; and colonial dependencies
• Politically, Martinique, Guadeloupe and French Guiana are not
Caribbean countries although they are located in the Caribbean. This is
because in the 1950s they became Overseas Departments of France.
The effect of this is that they are extensions of France in the
Caribbean.
• Puerto Rico is actually an Associated State of the United States
• The British Virgins Islands, The Cayman Islands, Montserrat and
Turks and Caicos islands are British Colonies. They can be considered
the British West Indies.
The Independent English Caribbean
• These countries are Commonwealth Countries and can be referred to
as the Anglo-phone Caribbean because they are independent
• Trinidad and Tobago, Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados,
Jamaica, Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Lucia,

The Independent Spanish Caribbean

• Cuba and the Dominican Republic

The Netherland Antilles

• Saba, Sint Maarten (shared with the French), Saint Eustatius, The
ABC Islands (Curacao, Bonaire and Aruba).
 DIASPORIC DEFINITION
• The Diasporic definition could suggest that the Caribbean is all over
the world
• The Caribbean diaspora consists of people of Caribbean descent living
outside of the region. Caribbean people live in the United States,
Canada, Europe, Latin America, Africa, Australia and Asia. They have
created a home away from home but remain true to their Caribbean
heritage, beliefs and cultures.
• This gives a cultural definition to being Caribbean.
 PRACTICE MCQs
Which of the following definitions of the Caribbean relies heavily on the existence of the
Caribbean Sea?

(A) Historical
(B) Geographical
(C) Geological
(D) Political

The Anglo-phone Caribbean are those Caribbean countries that are

(A) dependent on British aid

(B) independent of Britain
(C) associated states of Britain
(D) colonial dependencies of Britain
The definition of the Caribbean that is concerned with the practical matter of longitude and latitude is

(A) geographical
(B) geological
(C) historical
(D) diasporic

Sam is from Barbados and Mary is from St. Lucia. They met at a conference and were surprised that
they shared similar cultural practices.

The definition of the Caribbean that will help to explain this is

(A) geographical
(B) geological
(C) historical
(D) Political
Which of the following Caribbean territories is located in the Atlantic
Ocean?

(A)The Bahamas
(B) The Cayman Islands
(C) Trinidad and Tobago
(D)St. Vincent and the Grenadines
-

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