Caribbean

The Caribbean (pronounced /ˌkærɨˡbiːən/ or /kəˈrɪbiən/;[2] Dutch: Cariben or Caraïben; French: Caraïbe or Antilles; Spanish: Caribe) is a region consisting of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (most of which enclose the sea), and the surrounding coasts. The region is located southeast of the Gulf of Mexico and Northern America, east of Central America, and to the north of South America. Situated largely on the Caribbean Plate, the region comprises more than 7,000 islands, islets, reefs, and cays. These islands, called the West Indies, generally form island arcs that delineate the eastern and northern edges of the Caribbean Sea.[3] These islands are called the West Indies because when Christopher Columbus landed here in 1492 he believed that he had reached the Indies (in Asia). The region consists of the Antilles, divided into the larger Greater Antilles which bound the sea on the north and the Lesser Antilles on the south and east (including the Leeward Antilles), and the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands, which are in fact in the Atlantic Ocean north of Cuba, not in the Caribbean Sea. Geopolitically, the West Indies are usually reckoned as a subregion of Central America[4][5][6][7] and are organised into 27 territories including sovereign states, overseas departments, and dependencies. At one time, there was a short-lived country called the Federation of the West Indies composed of ten English-speaking Caribbean territories, all of which were then UK dependencies. The region takes its name from that of the Carib, an ethnic group present in the Lesser Antilles and parts of adjacent South America at the time of European contact.[8] In the English-speaking world, someone from the Caribbean is usually referred to as a "West Indian," although the phrase "Caribbean person" is sometimes used. Contents[hide] 1 Definition 2 Demographics 3 Geography and climate 4 Biodiversity 5 Historical groupings 6 Modern day island territories 7 Continental countries with Caribbean coastlines and islands 8 Indigenous tribes 9 Regionalism

9.1 United States effects on regionalism 9.2 European Union effects on regionalism

10 Regional institutions 11 See also 12 References 13 Further reading 14 External links