Caribbean Island

20 May 2009 @ 01:39 pm EDT

When you look at a map, the Caribbean doesn't look all that impressive. You see a bunch of little specks of land surrounded by large swaths of water. Those little pieces of land include places that aren't always household names like Montserrat, Anguilla, and Saint Kitts and Nevis. Lest we forget Turks and Caicos Island.

While some of the names may not be familiar, the fact is that the Caribbean is a popular vacation region. Those little dots on the map often turn out to be island paradises. There are more than 7,000 islands, islets, reefs, and cayes in the Caribbean, after all, and many of them are sparsely populated and stunningly beautiful.

Aruba

Aruba,Travelling Pooh,flickr

Capital: Oranjestad
Population: 105,000
Official Language: Dutch
Currency: Aruban Florin
Location: 20 Miles north of Venezuela and west of Bonaire and Curacao

Amerigo Vespucci first came across Aruba in 1499 and the island was colonized by Spain for over a century. Since 1647 Aruba has been under Dutch administration other than a brief occupation by Britain from 1799-1802 and 1805-1816. In 1986 the island gained independence from the Netherlands Antilles.
Aruba enjoys one of the highest standards of living in the Caribbean and the lowest crime rate. It's economy flourishes on Tourism, Oil Processing, Agriculture and Manufacturing

Barbados,Land of the Lost,flickr

Barbados

Population: 279,000 (90 % of African descent)
Capital City: Bridgetown
Currency: Barbadian Dollar
Official Language: English
Location: Barbados is the furthest southeast of any of the islands in the Caribbean

Barbados is an independent state within the Commonwealth of Nations and has been since 1966. Once a major stopping off point in the African slave trade in the 17^th and 18^th centuries, it is now influenced by a very heavy English influence and it is nicknamed “Little England.” The main driving forces for the economy are sugarcane, manufacturing, offshore banking and tourism.
Barbados is also ranked 23^rd in the world for literacy rate and ranked 31^st out of 177 nations according to the UN Human Development Index.

Cayman Islands

Fevi in Cayman,flickr

Population: 50,000
Capital City: Georgetown
Currency: Cayman Dollar
Official Language: English
Location: The Cayman Islands are due south of Cuba and about 150 miles from the most southern part of Florida.
First discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1503, the Cayman Islands along with Jamaica were ceded to England in 1670. The islands became a separate British Overseas Territory in 1962 .The majority of the Islands' economic activity revolves around tourism and offshore banking.
The Cayman Islands enjoy the highest standards of living in the Caribbean but have been affected by hurricanes more than any other region.

Grenada

Grenada,jimg944,flickr

Population: 104,000
Capital City: St. George’s
Currency: East Caribbean Dollar
Official Language: English

Christopher Columbus first saw the island in 1498. In 1650 the French took control and eventually ceded it to the United Kingdom in 1762. Grenada gained independence from the U.K. in 1974.
Tourism and spices are the leading source of economic income, so much so that Grenada is known as the “Isle of Spice”.

St. Kitts

St. Kitts,slack12,flickr

Population: 43,000

Capital City: Basseterre

Currency: East Caribbean Dollar

Official Language: English

Location: Geographically St. Kitts and Nevis is part of the Leeward Islands. To the north-northwest are the islands of St. Eustatius, Saba, Saint Barthelemy and St. Martin. Northeast of St. Kitts is Antigua and Barbuda.

St. Kitts was the first British Colony in the West Indies in 1624. In 1983 St. Kitts and Nevis achieved independence and is the newest sovereign nation in the Americas. It is also the smallest in terms of population and land area.

Literacy Rate is above 98% and unemployment is among the lowest in the Caribbean at 4.3%.

St. Lucia

lyng883,flickr

Population: 161,000
Capital City: Castries
Currency: East Caribbean Dollar
Official Language: English, French Creole, Spanish
Location: The island of St. Lucia is located 21 miles north of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, lies northwest of Barbados and south of Martinique

St. Lucia, named for St. Lucy of Syracuse, was first discovered by Europeans around 1500. After going to war with France 14 different times over the 17th and 18th century over the island, Great Britain took complete control in 1814. Finally, on February 22, 1979 St. Lucia became an independent state of the Commonwealth of Nations.

The economy of St. Lucia revolves largely around their tourism services and local agriculture.

St. Maarten

708718,flickr

Population: 85,000

Capital City: Phillipsburg/Marigot

Currency: Netherlands Antillean Gulden

Official Language: Dutch, French, English

Location: 180 Miles east of Puerto Rico

St. Maarten/St. Martin has a very interesting history. It is the smallest inhabited sea island that is divided between two nations. The two sides were first divided into Dutch and French sides in 1648. For most of the 18th century it was handed off between the Dutch, French and English as were many of the Caribbean islands. In 1816 the French and Dutch zones resumed as they are today.

The local economy is predominantly based on tourism and retail shopping.

Turks & Caicos

vladdythephotogeek,flickr

Capital: Cockburn Town

Population: 32,000

Official Language: English

Currency: US Dollar

Location: Consists of 2 groups of islands south of Bahamas, the Turks and the Caicos

The Turks and Caicos islands were passed back and forth between Bermuda and the Bahamas in the 18th and 19th century because of the tremendous salt trade. The British government eventually assigned control to the Bahamas until the mid 1840’s. Since that point, it has largely been under British control, but Canada has at times shown interest in annexing the islands.

The majority of the industry, tourism, and economy in the chain of islands takes place on Providenciales. The government seat is in Grand Turk, but Providenciales is where everything truly takes place.

Both islands have economies that largely revolve around Tourism, Fishing, and Offshore Banking.

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