PHYSICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE GEOGRAPHY

1. The Caribbean, long ago called the West Indies, includes the islands which extend from Florida, southeastwardly to South America.
2. The largest are Cuba, Haiti/Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico (meaning rich port).
3. The Caribbean are celebrated for their hot climate, turquoise waters, and beautiful sandy beaches. However, they also suffer from destructive hurricanes and earthquakes. Hurricanes are most frequent in August, September, and October.
4. The climate is dry in winter and rainy in the summer. Snow is unknown.
5. The productions, which are abundant, include sugar, coffee, tobacco, cotton, corn, mahogany, dye-woods, drugs, pineapples, oranges, and bananas.
6. The languages spoken include Spanish, French, and English.
7. Fish, turtles, parrots, reptiles, and insects are numerous.
8. One important city is Havana, Cuba, which is noted for its exportation of sugar, molasses, tobacco, and cigars.
9. As of 2020, the population of Cuba (about 11.3 million) is close to that of Ohio. Some Cuban people are of Spanish descent.

ASSOCIATIONS

1. Caribbean members of the British Commonwealth include Jamaica, the Bahamas, Barbados, St. Vincent, Trinidad, Antigua, and others.
2. The United States Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico are United States territories.
3. To France belong Guadeloupe and Martinique.
4. To the Netherlands belong Curaçao, Sint Maarten, Aruba.

HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY

1. The existence of Caribbean, or West Indies, were discovered from the perspective of Europe, in 1492.
2. The natives lived in bark huts and obtained their food by hunting and fishing. They were nearly all killed or driven from the islands by the invading Spaniards.
3. Spain claimed ownership over Cuba until the Spanish-American War. In accordance with the resultant peace treaty, Spain ceded Cuba to the United States. Cuba gained official independence from the United States in 1902.
4. Also as a result of the Spanish-American War, Puerto Rico became a territory of the United States. Puerto Ricans became United States citizens in 1917.
5. The first Spanish colony in America was founded on Hispaniola, the island of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Haiti occupies the western part, where Haitian Creole and the French language are spoken, and the Dominican Republic the remaining part, where Spanish is predominant.

MAPWORK

Find the following island countries on the map of the Caribbean:

• Cuba
• Haiti
• Dominican Republic
• Puerto Rico
• Jamaica
• Trinidad and Tobogo
• Guadeloupe
• Martinique
• Bahamas
• Barbados
• St. Lucia
• Aruba
• Virgin Islands

Find the following bodies of water on the map of the Caribbean:

• Atlantic Ocean
• Pacific Ocean
• Caribbean Sea
• Gulf of Mexico
• Sargasso Sea