The Caribbean (/ËŒkærɪˈbiË É™n,kəˈrɪbiÉ™n/, locally
/ˈkærɪbiæn/; Spanish: El Caribe; French: les Caraïbes; Haitian
Creole: Karayib; Dutch: De Caraïben; Papiamento: Karibe) is a region
of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some
surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean
Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean) and the surrounding coasts. The
region is southeast of the Gulf of Mexico and the North American
mainland, east of Central America, and north of South America.Situated
largely on the Caribbean Plate, the region has more than 700 islands,
islets, reefs and cays (see the list of Caribbean islands). Island
arcs delineate the eastern and northern edges of the Caribbean Sea:
the Greater Antilles on the north and the Lesser Antilles on the south
and east (which includes the Leeward Antilles). They form the West
Indies with the nearby Lucayan Archipelago (The Bahamas and the Turks
and Caicos Islands), which are sometimes considered to be a part of
the Caribbean despite not bordering the Caribbean Sea. On the
mainland, Belize, Nicaragua, the Caribbean region of Colombia,
Cozumel, the Yucatán Peninsula, Margarita Island, and The Guianas
(Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Guayana Region in Venezuela, and
Amapá in Brazil) are often included due to their political and
cultural ties with the region.A mostly tropical geography, the
climates are greatly shaped by sea temperatures and precipitation,
with the hurricane season regularly leading to natural disasters.
Because of its tropical climate and low-lying island geography, the
Caribbean is vulnerable to a number of climate change effects,
including increased storm intensity, saltwater intrusion, sea-level
rise and coastal erosion, and precipitation variability. These weather
changes will greatly change the economies of the islands, and
especially the major industries of agricultural and tourism.The
Caribbean was occupied by indigenous people since at least 3600 BC.
When European colonization followed the arrival of Columbus, the
population was quickly decimated by brutal labor practices,
enslavement and disease and on many islands, Europeans supplanted the
native populations with enslaved Africans. Following the independence
of Haiti from France in the early 19th century and the decline of
slavery in the 19th century, island nations in the Caribbean gradually
gained independence, with a wave of new states during the 1950s and
60s. Because of the proximity to the United States, there is also a
long history of United States intervention in the region.
/ˈkærɪbiæn/; Spanish: El Caribe; French: les Caraïbes; Haitian
Creole: Karayib; Dutch: De Caraïben; Papiamento: Karibe) is a region
of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some
surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean
Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean) and the surrounding coasts. The
region is southeast of the Gulf of Mexico and the North American
mainland, east of Central America, and north of South America.Situated
largely on the Caribbean Plate, the region has more than 700 islands,
islets, reefs and cays (see the list of Caribbean islands). Island
arcs delineate the eastern and northern edges of the Caribbean Sea:
the Greater Antilles on the north and the Lesser Antilles on the south
and east (which includes the Leeward Antilles). They form the West
Indies with the nearby Lucayan Archipelago (The Bahamas and the Turks
and Caicos Islands), which are sometimes considered to be a part of
the Caribbean despite not bordering the Caribbean Sea. On the
mainland, Belize, Nicaragua, the Caribbean region of Colombia,
Cozumel, the Yucatán Peninsula, Margarita Island, and The Guianas
(Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Guayana Region in Venezuela, and
Amapá in Brazil) are often included due to their political and
cultural ties with the region.A mostly tropical geography, the
climates are greatly shaped by sea temperatures and precipitation,
with the hurricane season regularly leading to natural disasters.
Because of its tropical climate and low-lying island geography, the
Caribbean is vulnerable to a number of climate change effects,
including increased storm intensity, saltwater intrusion, sea-level
rise and coastal erosion, and precipitation variability. These weather
changes will greatly change the economies of the islands, and
especially the major industries of agricultural and tourism.The
Caribbean was occupied by indigenous people since at least 3600 BC.
When European colonization followed the arrival of Columbus, the
population was quickly decimated by brutal labor practices,
enslavement and disease and on many islands, Europeans supplanted the
native populations with enslaved Africans. Following the independence
of Haiti from France in the early 19th century and the decline of
slavery in the 19th century, island nations in the Caribbean gradually
gained independence, with a wave of new states during the 1950s and
60s. Because of the proximity to the United States, there is also a
long history of United States intervention in the region.
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