The Caribbean or the West Indies is a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea, is an ocean adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean and lies south of the Gulf of Mexico. According to COUNTRYAAH, the Caribbean consists of the Greater Antilles, the Lesser Antilles and the Bahamas, and is part of North America. To the south it is bounded by Venezuela, Colombia and Panama, to the west by Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, Belize and Mexico part of the Yucatán Peninsula, to the north by the Greater Antilles (Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica and Puerto Rico) and to the east of the Lesser Antilles. The Caribbean Sea covers about 2,754,000 km². The deepest point of the sea is the Cayman Canal, between Cuba and Jamaica, 7,500 meters below sea level.

Greater Antilles

CUBA
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC OF
HAITI
JAMAICA
PUERTO RICO (US FREE STATE)

Lesser Antilles

US VIRGIN ISLANDS (US Virgin Islands, American)
ANGUILLA (British)
ANTIGUA and BARBUDA
ARUBA (of the Netherlands)
BARBADOS
BERMUDA
BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS (Virgin Islands, British)
CAYMAN ISLANDS (UK)
DOMINICA
GRENADA
GUADELOUPE (France)
MARTINIQUE (France)
MONTSERRAT (British)
NETHERLANDS ANTILLES (in common with the Netherlands)
SAINT KITTS and NEVIS
SAINT LUCIA
SAINT VINCENT and the GRENADINES
TRINIDAD and TOBAGO
TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS (British)

Antigua and Barbuda

Antigua and Barbuda is an island state in the Caribbean, consisting of the two islands of Antigua and Barbuda. South of the island state is the island of Guadeloupe, to the southwest the island of Montserrat and to the west Saint Kitts and Nevis.

TIMELINE:

3100 BCE – Antigua was populated by Native American hunters and gatherers, and was followed by the Saladoid people who came from areas of present-day Venezuela.

1100 BCE – Most residents left the island i.a. due to lack of fresh water.

1493 – The island is “rediscovered” by Christoffer Columbus, and he names the largest island, Antigua, after a church in Seville, Spain.

Bermuda (British)

Bermuda is an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean that is part of the British Overseas Territory in the North Atlantic, located east of the United States. The capital is Hamilton. The islands are part of a large coral reef.

TIMELINE:

1492 – When Columbus first arrives at the Sargasso Sea and the area later known as the Bermuda Triangle, he writes down the observation of a strange light (October 11) and teasing compass readings.

1505 – Spanish captain Juan de Bermúdez discovers an archipelago east of the United States in the North Atlantic. They were named after him, and were uninhabited at the time of discovery and were annexed to the Spanish Empire without him ever setting foot on the island because of the many coral reefs.

1609 – The English ship, Sea Venture, with Admiral Sir George Somers, sailed from Plymouth to Jamestown, Virginia on 2 June. The ship was captured in the storm on June 24, and Somers deliberately operated the ship in the reef off Bermuda, after three days of fighting. 150 people and 1 dog survived.

1612 – Virginia Company sends 60 settlers to Bermuda; established St. George as the capital; sold the island to the Bermuda Company.

1616 – Slaves are brought to Bermuda.

1684 – The British government takes control of the Bermuda Company, making the island British.

1815 – The capital was moved from St. George to Hamilton.

1834 – Slavery is abolished.

1941 – US leases large parts of the island for 99 years; the construction of military installations began.

1959 – Blacks boycott cinemas, forcing owners to end segregation.

1973 – A British politician and governor of Bermuda, Richard Sharples, and his aide are assassinated near his official residence, Government House, on March 10 by a militant Black Power group called the Black Beret Cadre.

1977 – Buck Burrows and Larry Tackly are convicted and hanged for the murder of Sharples and his accomplice; a revolt broke out. Read here.

1995 – US and British navies close bases on the island.

Northern Mariana Islands

The Northern Mariana Islands is an area in the Pacific Ocean east of the Philippines that belongs to the United States. The Northern Mariana Islands consist of all the islands in the Marianas archipelago, except for the southernmost island, Guam. The area is technically an independent state in alliance with the United States.

TIMELINE:

1521 – The islands have been inhabited for millennia, but was “discovered” by Ferdinand Magellan during the first jordomsejlning, after which they were s panske colonies until 1899 when they were transferred to Germany.

1941 – During World War I, the islands passed to Japan which retained them until they were conquered by the United States during fierce fighting in 1944 during World War II.

1977 – The islands formally become an independent state in alliance with the United States.

Cayman Islands (British)

The Cayman Islands is an overseas territory belonging to the United Kingdom located in the western Caribbean Sea and consisting of the islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman.

The capital of the Cayman Islands / Cayman Islands is called George Town.

For the most part, the Cayman Islands were uninhabited until the late 17th century. When the existence of the islands was revealed, a race began to become a temporary home for pirates, refugees, sailors, slaves and reportedly also a few deserters from Oliver Cromwell’s army in Jamaica.

Local records show that Isaac Bodden was the first person born on the Grand Cayman around 1661, and thus also the first permanent settler. Today, most Caymanians are of African and English descent, with significant racial mix.

The islands have never levied income tax, capital gains tax, or wealth tax, making them a popular tax haven.

TIMELINE:

1503 – Christopher Columbus was the first to spot the islands on May 10 on his fourth and final voyage to America. He named them Las Tortugas after the many sea turtles that swam in the sea.

1586 – The first recorded English visitor to the Grand Cayman was Sir Francis Drake, who christened them the Cayman Islands.

1655 – The islands along with nearby Jamaica come under British control after Jamaica was taken from the Spaniards by Oliver Cromwell’s army.

1655-1671 – Pirates, known as pirates, sail in the Caribbean with permission from their lands to collect riches for their land. Cayman Brac and Little Cayman were colonized before Grand Cayman settlements fell for the pirates’ looting.

1670 – Spain officially hands over islands, including Jamaica, to Britain under the Treaty of Madrid.

1672 – The first settlers arrive near Bodden Town.

18th century – The first permanent settlers arrived in the islands.

1708 – Britain renames the islands Cayman Islands.

1713-1714 – Peace of Utrecht ends piracy.

1794 – ” Wreck of the Ten Sail ” is a historic event that took place at the eastern end of Grand Cayman on February 8. Ten ships that were part of a convoy en route from Jamaica to the United States and Britain sank on the surrounding reef.

1835 – Slaves are liberated.

1863 – Cayman Islands become a Jamaican dependency and administered by a designated commissioner.

1877 – Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman come under joint administration.

1932 – A hurricane hits Cayman Brac on November 8 and 9, killing 109 people and wiping out all habitats. Read more here and here.

1937 – First cruise ships arrive on the islands.

1954 – First aerodrome constructed.

1957 – The first recreational diving company is established.

1959 – Cayman Islands join the West Indies Federation, which dissolves in 1962.

1962 – Jamaica declares independence, forcing the Cayman Islands to vote for British rule.

1971 – The title of Administrator is changed to the title of Governor.

2004 – On September 11, Hurricane Ivan wreaked havoc on the Grand Cayman, exceeding $ 2.85 billion. dollars in damages. Only two people were killed. It took two years to return to the state before the hurricane hit.

2006 – Thousands of small parasitic wasps were released to fight island-jumping insects that destroyed crops.

2010 – British police were brought in to help tackle the gang crime problem and maintain the area’s reputation for safety; on April 6, a British science expedition discovered the world’s deepest underwater volcanic hydrothermal vents.

Caribbean countries