
What 4 islands make up the Greater Antilles?
What are the 7 Caribbean islands?
- Greater Antilles. the most-visited region in the Caribbean. …
- Haiti. Port-au-Prince, capital city of Haiti. …
- Leeward Islands. the northern islands of the Lesser Antilles chain. …
- Guadeloupe. Basse-Terre, capital city of Guadeloupe. …
- Saint Barthélemy. …
- Sint Eustatius. …
- Windward Islands. …
- Martinique.
What is the official language for the Greater Antilles?
Languages. Languages spoken in the Greater Antilles are mostly colonial languages, along with some Creole influence. Spanish is the main language in Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. Haiti has a Creole language, Haitian Creole, as one of its official languages, alongside French. English is the main language in Jamaica and the Cayman ...
Is the Greater Antilles made up mainly of coral?
What is the difference between Greater and Lesser Antilles? The Lesser Antilles are located in the southern end of the Caribbean Sea, closer to South America. Furthermore, the Greater Antilles are made up of continental rock whereas the Lesser Antilles are mostly comprised of coral islands or volcanic rock.
What does Greater Antilles mean?
pl n. the Greater Antilles a group of islands in the Caribbean, including Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola, and Puerto Rico. What does Greater Antilles mean in geography? Greater Antilles, the four largest islands of the Antilles (q.v.)—Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico—lying north of the Lesser Antilles chain.

What are the Greater Antilles?
HispaniolaGrand CaymanIsla de MonaCubaPuerto Rico IslandLittle CaymanGreater Antilles/Islands
What is considered the Lesser Antilles?
The Caribbean island grouping known as the Lesser Antilles consists of three smaller island groups—the Windward Islands, the Leeward Islands, and the Leeward Antilles—and includes all the small islands in the Caribbean south of Puerto Rico.
What are the 5 Greater Antilles?
The Greater Antilles, made up of the larger islands to the north and west, include Cuba, the Cayman Islands, Jamaica, Hispaniola (Haiti on the west and the Dominican Republic on the east) and Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico, the smallest of the four main islands, is a U.S. Commonwealth.
How many countries are in the Greater and Lesser Antilles?
13 countriesThe Antilles consists of 13 countries and 14 dependent regions. Its largest cities include Havana, Port-au-Prince, and Santo Domingo. Cuba is located in the UTC-5 time zone, while Barbados is located in the UTC-4 time zone.
How many countries are in the Greater Antilles?
Six island states share the region of the Greater Antilles, with Haiti and the Dominican Republic sharing the island of Hispaniola....Greater Antilles.Greater Antilles Grandes Antilles (in French) Antillas Mayores (in Spanish)Island States6 Cayman Islands Cuba Dominican Republic Haiti Jamaica Puerto RicoArea8 more rows
What islands make up the Lesser Antilles?
AntiguaSaint MartinSaint VincentNevisTobagoSaint KittsLesser Antilles/Islands
Which country is part of the Lesser Antilles?
A number of other islands—Trinidad and Tobago, off the northeastern coast of Venezuela, and the east-west island chain from Margarita Island to Aruba, off the northern coast of Venezuela—are physiographically part of the South American continental shelf but are usually included in definitions of the Lesser Antilles.
Why is it called the Greater Antilles?
The Greater Antilles include the largest islands (Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola, and Puerto Rico), the Lesser Antilles all being much smaller. The name Antilia originally referred to semimythical lands located somewhere west of Europe across the Atlantic.
Why are they called Antilles?
The term Antilles dates traditionally from before Europeans reached the New World, when Antilia referred to semi-mythical lands located somewhere west of Europe across the Atlantic. On medieval charts it was sometimes indicated as a continent or large island and sometimes as an archipelago.
Why Cuba is called Pearl of Antilles?
Christopher Columbus claimed Cuba for Spain in 1492 when it was the realm of the Arawakan-speaking, Taino people who had displaced even earlier inhabitants. It became the Spanish empire's most important source of raw sugar in the 18th century and later earned the name 'Pearl of the Antilles'.
Is Puerto Rico part of the Lesser Antilles?
Three major physiographic divisions constitute the West Indies: the Greater Antilles, comprising the islands of Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic), and Puerto Rico; the Lesser Antilles, including the Virgin Islands, Anguilla, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda, Montserrat, Guadeloupe, ...
What are the 7 Caribbean islands?
The Caribbean IslandsGreater Antilles. the most-visited region in the Caribbean. ... Haiti. Port-au-Prince, capital city of Haiti. ... Leeward Islands. the northern islands of the Lesser Antilles chain. ... Guadeloupe. Basse-Terre, capital city of Guadeloupe. ... Saint Barthélemy. ... Sint Eustatius. ... Windward Islands. ... Martinique.More items...
Which country is part of the Lesser Antilles?
Trinidad and TobagoOver one third of the total area and population of the Lesser Antilles lies within Trinidad and Tobago, a sovereign nation comprising the two southernmost islands of the Windward Island chain....Sovereign states.NameSaint LuciaSubdivisionsDistrictsArea (km2)616Population (July 1, 2005, est.)173,765CapitalCastries12 more columns
Is Aruba a Greater Antilles or Lesser Antilles?
The Lesser Antilles chain starts in the Virgin Islands and wraps the eastern Caribbean all the way down to Trinidad and Tobago. They tend to also include the small islands north of South America as well. Those being Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, Los Roques, and a few other small Venezuelan islands.
Is Jamaica in the Lesser Antilles?
Three major physiographic divisions constitute the West Indies: the Greater Antilles, comprising the islands of Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic), and Puerto Rico; the Lesser Antilles, including the Virgin Islands, Anguilla, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda, Montserrat, Guadeloupe, ...
What are the names of the two island groups in the Lesser Antilles?
Lesser AntillesLesser Antilles.Anguilla.Guadeloupe.
Where are the Lesser Antilles?
The Lesser Antilles include the smaller islands of the Caribbean to the south and east of the Great Antilles. It begins just off the coast of Puerto Rico with the British and U.S. Virgin Islands and extends south to Grenada.
What Are the Greater Antilles?
The Greater Antilles are the four largest islands in the northwestern portion of the Caribbean Sea. This includes Cuba, Hispaniola (the nations of Haiti and the Dominican Republic), Jamaica, and Puerto Rico.
What are the smaller islands in the Netherlands?
The Lesser Antilles are further divided into two groups: the Windward Islands and the Leeward Islands. Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao are known as the 'ABC" islands and are territories of the Netherlands.
How many islands are there in the Bahamas?
Within this large collection of islands are three main groups: the Bahamas, the Greater Antilles and the Lesser Antilles. The Bahamas include over 3,000 islands and reefs on the north and east side of the Caribbean Sea, beginning just off the coast of Florida. To the south are the islands of the Antilles.
What is the Caribbean Sea filled with?
The Caribbean Sea is filled with tropical islands. They are popular tourist destinations and many people refer to the Antilles when speaking of certain islands in the archipelago. But what are the Antilles and what is the difference between the Greater Antilles and the Lesser Antilles?
What are the Antilles?
The Antilles Are Part of the West Indies. You probably know them as the Caribbean Islands. The small islands that scatter the waters between Central America and the Atlantic Ocean are also known as the West Indies. Trivia Time: The West Indies received its name because Christopher Columbus thought he had reached the Pacific islands near Asia ...
Which countries are part of the Lesser Antilles?
A number of the Lesser Antilles islands are dependent on or territories of larger countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, Netherlands, and France. Cite this Article.
Where are the Lesser Antilles?
The Lesser Antilles are the Pupa Islands in the north of the Antilles and the Winward Islands in the southeast. Venezuela is located just north of the Lesser Antilles called Pupa Antilles. While the Lucayan Archipelago of Bahamas and Turks and Caicos is part of the West Indies, they are not usually included in the Antilles.
What are the islands in the Greater Antilles?
Greater Antilles Map. The Antilles starts from the west with Cuba, which is the largest of the four islands of the Greater Antilles. The Bahamas, in the north of Cuba, a long island, are not included in the Antillean Islands, because they are directly in the ocean, not the Caribbean Sea. Haiti or Hispaniola, separated by the Windward Strait in ...
What is the name of the archipelago surrounded by the Carribean Sea?
Antilles/Greater Antilles and Lesser Antilles/Antilles Map. The Antilles are the Central American archipelago surrounded by Carribean Sea in the south and west, Mexico Gulf in the southwest, the Atlantic Ocean in the north and east. The Islands also separate the Atlantic Ocean from Carribean Sea.
What are the islands in the Caribbean called?
In some sources, the Antilles name is used for the West Indies, but the Caribbean and the Antilles , in general, are commonly used to describe the same region. The Antillean islands are divided into two groups: the Greater Antilles and the Lesser Antilles. The Greater Antilles consists of Cuba, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Cayman Islands, and Hispaniola.
What is the geography of the Antilles?
Geography of Antilles. The form of an arc, Antilles, extends over 3,500 km from Cuba to Venezuela. The Antilles were used to describe a wide geographical region. Some countries also include Guyana, French Guiana, and Suriname. For this reason, the region has not been clearly defined until today.
How many countries are there in the Antilles?
The Antilles consists of 13 countries and 14 dependent regions. Its largest cities include Havana, Port-au-Prince, and Santo Domingo.
Where did the Antilles get their name?
The form we use today is derived from Antillia, a Latin word, and means the ghost island in the west of Spain. The Antilles were the name given to mysterious lands , which were sometimes defined as islands in the ocean between the Canary Islands and India in the Middle Ages before the discovery of Europeans by the New World. In 1778, Thomas Kitchin wrote in his book that he was told of the region as a sign of reverence in the form of Carribee Isles.
Where are the Lesser Antilles?
The Lesser Antilles chain starts in the Virgin Islands and wraps the eastern Caribbean all the way down to Trinidad and Tobago. They tend to also include the small islands north of South America as well.
Where are the Greater Antilles located?
The Greater Antilles are the four largest islands in the northwestern portion of the Caribbean Sea and include. It’s simple, just look at them on a map. It’s pretty easy when you think about it. The Greater Antilles are the big islands, and the Lesser Antilles are the smaller group of island that make up the chain of islands in the eastern Caribbean.
What are the islands in the Antilles?
The Greater Antilles islands include. Cuba. Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic) Jamaica. Puerto Rico. The Lesser Antilles, the small islands, and are divided up into a couple geographical areas as well. In the south, you have the Windward Islands and in the north you have the Leeward Islands.
What are the islands in the eastern Caribbean?
It’s simple, just look at them on a map. It’s pretty easy when you think about it. The Greater Antilles are the big islands, and the Lesser Antilles are the smaller group of island that make up the chain of islands in the eastern Caribbean.
Why are the Leeward Islands called the Leeward Islands?
Grenada. The Leeward Islands are the northwestern islands of the Lesser Antilles. They’re called the Leeward Islands because they’re away from the wind (“lee”).
What are the West Indies?
The West Indies are composed of the islands of the Caribbean Sea and can be divided into the Greater Antilles and the Lesser Antilles. The above map from Sailing Totem is a great visual way to break down the difference between the two Caribbean regions. The Greater Antilles are the four largest islands in the northwestern portion ...
What is the official language of Saint Lucia?
Saint Lucia*. (*) = These islands gained independence from Great Britain and English is their official language, but French-based Creole languages are widely spoken by the island population due to a period of French colonization. That concludes our geographical journey around the Caribbean.
What were the Neo Indians' physical appearances?
The Neo-Indians had concepts about their physical appearance. Their Civilization and cultural aspect of beauty differed from the Spaniards. They flattened their foreheads as one sign of beauty. Both men and women grew their hair long which was also another sign of beauty. Women of the communities wore ornaments made from beads, shell, and gold pieces. Jewellery was commonly used such as nose rings and earing by both groups and both sexes. Presence of artistic creativity and ornaments and pottery were also presence giving evidence that both groups were civilized. The Taino women were sophisticated in their artistry. They wove cotton into high quality fabric and wove baskets of different shapes and styles. The Tainos made ceramics such as bowls, pots and ornaments and weaponry and tools out of stone. These tools would then allow them to build houses, canoes and other utensils needed for their survival. The Kalinagos were not as sophisticated in their artistry as the Tainos but they did however weave cotton and baskets and made pottery and canoes.
What were the differences between the Kalinago and the Taino?
They organized the daily activities and were responsible for the storage of surplus commodities, which they kept in buildings constructed for this purpose and redistributed among the villagers as needed (123). The Kalinagos didn’t have Caciques in their political structure but they had a chief. Usually the chief was the head of the largest family (Beckles and Shepherd 18). He was responsible for all forms of leadership, most importantly military leadership. Taino villages were constructed around a village square where games and recreation took place. The Taínos were adept at constructing plazas and ball courts (Reid 124) However the Kalinago villages were constructed based on military defence.
Where are the Lesser Antilles?
The Lesser Antilles (Spanish: Antillas Menores; French: Petites Antilles; Papiamento: Antias Menor; Dutch: Kleine Antillen) are a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. Most of them are part of a long, partially volcanic island arc between the Greater Antilles to the north-west and the continent ...
What are the islands of the Lesser Antilles?
The islands of the Lesser Antilles are divided into three groups: the Windward Islands in the south, the Leeward Islands in the north, and the Leeward Antilles in the west.
How many countries are there in the Lesser Antilles?
The Lesser Antilles are divided into eight independent nations and numerous dependent and non-sovereign states (which are politically associated with the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, and the United States).
How were the Lesser Antilles formed?
Many of the islands were formed as a result of the subduction of oceanic crust of the Atlantic Plate under the Caribbean Plate in the Lesser Antilles subduction zone.
What are the islands of the Caribbean?
The islands of the Lesser Antilles form the eastern boundary of the Caribbean Sea where it meets the Atlantic Ocean. Together, the Lesser Antilles and the Greater Antilles make up the Antilles. (Somewhat confusingly, the word Caribbean is sometimes used to refer only to the Antilles, and sometimes used to refer to a much larger region.)
When did Aruba become an autonomous country?
In 1986 Aruba became an autonomous country from the Netherlands and in 2010 the rest of the Netherlands Antilles was dissolved to form smaller entities. On July 18, 1995, the previously dormant Soufrière Hills volcano on the southern part of the island of Montserrat became active.
Which two colonies were divided into two separate entities?
Most of the British colonies became independent states, the islands of the Lesser Antilles belonging to Venezuela were divided into 2 different entities the State of Nueva Esparta and the Federal Dependencies (1938).
How big is the Antilles?
With an area of 207,411 square kilometres (80,082 sq mi), not counting the Virgin Islands, the Greater Antilles constitute nearly 90% of the land mass of the entire West Indies, as well as over 90% of its population.
What is the population of the Antilles?
The Greater Antilles is considered part of Latin America. With a population of 38 million, it makes up 6% of Latin America's total population. Cuban capital Havana, with a population of over 2 million, is the largest city in the Greater Antilles. Other large cities include Santo Domingo, Port-au-Prince, and San Juan.
What language do the Antilles speak?
Languages. Languages spoken in the Greater Antilles are mostly colonial languages, along with some Creole influence. Spanish is the main language in Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. Haiti has a Creole language, Haitian Creole, as one of its official languages, alongside French. English is the main language in Jamaica and ...
What was the name of the fortress built by freed slaves as a defence against France?
Citadelle Laferrière, 19th-century fortress in Haiti. It was built by freed slaves as a defence against France. The Dominican Republic regained independence in 1844 after the Dominican War of Independence. The rest of the Greater Antilles would remain under colonial rule for another hundred years.
What are the islands in the Caribbean Sea?
The Greater Antilles ( Spanish: Grandes Antillas or Antillas Mayores; French: Grandes Antilles Haitian Creole: Gwo Zantiy Jamaican Patois: Grieta hAntiliiz) is a grouping of the larger islands in the Caribbean Sea, including Cuba, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and the Cayman Islands. Six island states share the region of the Greater Antilles, ...
Which country was the only socialist state in the Greater Antilles?
The Cuban Revolution in 1959 established Cuba as the only socialist state in the Greater Antilles. Jamaica was granted independence from the U.K in August 1962 becoming the last currently independent state in the Greater Antilles to achieve independence.
Where did the Spanish first settle in the Antilles?
The Spanish began to create permanent settlements on Cuba and Hispaniola.

History of Antilles
Geography of Antilles
- The form of an arc, Antilles, extends over 3,500 km from Cuba to Venezuela. The Antilles were used to describe a wide geographical region. Some countries also include Guyana, French Guiana, and Suriname. For this reason, the region has not been clearly defined until today. In this respect, it can be said that the Caribbean and West Indies are also used for the Antilles. But sim…
Demographics of The Antilles
- The total population in the Antilles, which has a terrestrial area of 235,830 km², is 41,964,775 and the population density per square kilometer is 178. The Antilles consists of 13 countries and 14 dependent regions. Its largest cities include Havana, Port-au-Prince, and Santo Domingo. Cuba is located in the UTC-5 time zone, while Barbados is locat...
Regional Integration in The Antilles
- The Caribbean Community– CARICOM, which was initially set up for the only market economy among the countries where only the English language was spoken, became a multilingual market with the participation of Surinam and Haiti. In addition, organizations such as the Eastern Caribbean States and the Caribbean Development Bankcontribute to regional integration for co…