CAPE Caribbean Studies - Location and Definition of the Caribbean Region

Vocabulary practice flashcards defining key subregions, geographic terms, historical concepts, and specific territory characteristics for CAPE Caribbean Studies Module 1.

Caribbean Plate

An oceanic tectonic plate underlying Central America and the Caribbean Sea off the north coast of South America, bordered by the North American, South American, Nazca, and Cocos Plates.

Greater Antilles

The subregion consisting of the larger islands in the Caribbean Sea (Cuba, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Cayman Islands, and Jamaica), which constitutes nearly 90% of the total land area of the entire West Indies.

Lesser Antilles

An arc of islands located between the Greater Antilles (starting just off Puerto Rico) and the continent of South America, formed mainly from volcanic eruptions.

Leeward Islands

A northern division of the Lesser Antilles comprising the Virgin Islands, St. Martin, St. Barthelemy, St. Eustatius, Saba, St. Croix, Anguilla, St. Kitts-Nevis, Antigua, Barbuda, Montserrat, and Guadeloupe.

Windward Islands

A southern division of the Lesser Antilles comprising Dominica, Martinique, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Barbados, Grenada, and Trinidad and Tobago.

Leeward Antilles

A group of islands along the northern coast of South America, including Aruba, Curaçao, Bonaire, Isla la Tortuga, and Isla de Margarita.

Lucayan Archipelago

An archipelago located in the Atlantic Ocean that consists of The Bahamas and Turks and Caicos.

Geographical Definition of the Caribbean

The definition concerned with the physical location, latitude, and longitude of lands bordered by the Caribbean Sea and resting on the Caribbean Plate or Basin.

Historical Definition of the Caribbean

The definition that defines the region through shared historical experiences, such as plantation slavery, European colonialism, indentureship, migration, and independence.

Geological Definition of the Caribbean

The definition of the Caribbean defined by the boundaries and extent of the Caribbean tectonic plate.

Political Definition of the Caribbean

The definition that divides Caribbean territories by political status, including independent states, associated states, colonial dependencies, and overseas departments.

Diasporic Definition of the Caribbean

A cultural definition encompassing people of Caribbean descent living outside the region who remain connected to their Caribbean heritage, beliefs, and cultures.

Anglophone Caribbean

The independent English-speaking Commonwealth countries in the Caribbean, including Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and St. Lucia.

Overseas Departments of France

Caribbean territories such as Martinique, Guadeloupe, and French Guiana that became integrated political extensions of France in the 1950s.

West Indies

A historical term that is currently used almost extensively to refer to the British and former British possessions in the Caribbean region.

Barbados

The easternmost island in the Caribbean, located in the western Atlantic Ocean.

Sint Maarten

The smallest inhabited island in the Caribbean, shared between the Dutch and the French.

Trinidad

The Caribbean island nation containing the region's largest deposit of natural asphalt.

Belize Barrier Reef

The largest barrier reef in the Caribbean and the entire Western Hemisphere, located off the coast of Belize.

Cuba

The largest island in the Greater Antilles by size and population, and the largest Spanish-speaking island in the Caribbean.

Haiti

An independent nation located in the Greater Antilles that is the largest French-speaking country in the Caribbean.

Puerto Rico

An island territory in the Greater Antilles that functions politically as an Associated State of the United States.