Defining the Caribbean Region

Module 1, Specific Objective 1: Location and Definition of the Caribbean Region and Diaspora

• Several definitions of the Caribbean regions exist, including geographical, geological, historical, political, and diasporic.
• Each definition has advantages and disadvantages, contributing something unique to the understanding of the Caribbean.
• No single definition is complete or provides an absolute characterization of the Caribbean due to its inherent limitations.

Overview of Definitions

• Geographic Definition: The Caribbean Sea forms the "Common Denominator;" focusing on above-surface aspects like landforms and rivers.
• Geological Definition: Examines the subterranean earth, geological evolution, formation, and crustal dynamics of the region.
• Historical Definition: Emphasizes the shared commonality between Caribbean nations, encompassing geographical, geological, political, and diasporic aspects.
• Factors in major historical events from pre-Columbian times onward, including catalytic events that shaped the Caribbean. Examples include:
  • Migration: Movement of people to find work or better living conditions.
  • Colonization: Settling and establishing control over indigenous populations.
  • Imperialism: Powerful countries extending authority beyond their borders.
  • Labour systems
  • Cultural impact both economically, and politically
• Political Definition: Examines the impacts of organized governmental structures on the Caribbean's evolution. It assesses how European politics led to political diversity, structures, nationalism, and models.
• Diasporical Definition: Evaluates how the movements of people over time affected Caribbean society socially, culturally, and racially. It recognizes the Caribbean as a plural society with unique benefits and challenges.

In-Depth Geographical Definition

• The Caribbean lies within 2°N to 24°N latitude, starting in South America with Suriname and ending in Turks and Caicos.
• Its primary geographic feature is the archipelagic nature of its islands, a chain closely related at a subterranean level.
• The archipelago stretches between North and South America and includes the Isthmus of Panama.
• Weather patterns contribute to the location of the Caribbean territories, with a tropical climate due to its location between the Equator and the Tropic of Cancer, though some South American countries experience an equatorial climate.
• Rainfall differences impact flora and fauna, with most of the Caribbean region having dry (January to May) and wet (June to December) seasons.
• Governed by the North Eastern Trade Winds, which give rise to the hurricane season and torrential rains.
• Susceptible to meteorological hazards, where a hazard is a naturally occurring event with potential for damage, and a disaster is when the hazard impacts society.
• Temperatures range from low twenties to mid-thirties, and rainfall varies by territory size, highlands, vegetation, and season.
• The Caribbean Sea is a distinct feature of the geographical definition, contained by the archipelago and the Isthmus of Panama.

Historical Definition Details

• The most complete definition, engaging all countries considered Caribbean due to their shared history, impacting the past and present.
• Migration of Amerindians into the Caribbean started from the South American Mainland, from the Isthmus of Panama and Florida.
• The Caribbean was historically populated by migration, which continues today as people seek enhanced opportunities.
• Several migratory movements have been noted over time:
  • European
  • Forced African migration,
  • East Indian and Chinese migration to provide labor.
• Labour organizations included:
  • Repartimiento (Amerindian)
  • Encomienda (Amerindian)
  • Slavery (African), and
  • Indentureship (Chinese, East Indian, Whites).
• All these labor systems were triggered by European Imperialism, with European policies and politics superimposed to gain control.
• Therefore, the Historical Definition is inclusive of the umbrella of the Political definitions and the Diasporic Definitions.

Political Definition Details

• Formal politics entered the Caribbean in 1492 with the Spanish arrival.
• The discovery of new lands triggered a wave of exploration until 1502.
• Expeditions led to ownership of the New World (Canada to Chile) territory, with Europeans exploiting the New World. Their Policies became Exploitative.
• The European goal was to grow wealthier in the New World. Exploitations that began in the 15th century became a legacy that continues today.
• Tremendous wealth extracted from the New World led other European nations to fight for these territories. Countries involved:
  • Spain
  • England
  • Holland
  • Portugal
• The "Treaty of Tordesillas, 1494" was one of the first major policies concerning the Caribbean. It referenced the Roman Catholic nations of Europe (Spain and Portugal) and stated that the Pope would resolve problems between them and that wealth should be shared. An Imaginary Line of 2,193 kilometres to the West of the Cape Verde Islands, gave:
  • Portugal the Land to the East of this Line, and
  • Spain the land to the West of this Line.
• Repartimiento Labour System and Encomienda became Policies Crafted by European People to Pursue wealth.
• Repartimiento, translated to "The Requirement," was a superimposed agreement by the King of Spain requiring Amerindians to work for him. This Labour Policy caused: Exploitation, Repression and Inhumanity.
• The laws of Burgos stated "III-Treatment of the Amerindians would no Longer Occur", since it nearly Killed all the Amerindians (1512).
• Encomienda was founded in 1512: a Spanish Labour Policy. The Enconiendero was Responsible for Turning Amerindians towards The One True Faith, but it was a Continuous Exploitation.
• The Spanish Monarch Decided that the Native Population should be Divided amongst Spaniards, in order to Extract forms of Tribute. Extract: Produce, Gold or Personal Service. Return: Religious Instruction in the Roman Catholic Faith.
• In Reality, they were merely treated as Slaves and put to work in the mines. They Quickly Died from: Hunger, Overwork, Harsh Punishments, European Diseases and Suicide.
• The Encomienda Lasted only a Few Years. 1518, Africans were the 3rd Set of People in the New World: Asiento Marked the Permission by the King of Spain to Bring in African People to Work in the Caribbean.

Factors Influencing Political Structures

• The labor vacuum resulting from European labor policies triggered the importation of new people.The Africans were the First to come in.
• European nations (except Portugal) became jealous of Spain's "Get Rich Scheme," leading to a challenge to Spain's ownership and the arrival of interlopers.
• An Interloper is a Person who Interferes in the Affairs of Others. The Interlopers (England, France, Holland) Challenged Spain and hence, European Politics and Animosities Entered the New World. Warfare in the Caribbean Occurred and Territories Changed Hands, Leading to Political Turmoil.
• Because of the Interlopers, there have been Several "Parents" of the Nations, ie, Changing Hands of the Territories (Eg. Trinidad → From Spanish to French to English, Until it Settled Down Today).
• Justified in Saying that there is a Diversity of Political Structures Present in the Caribbean. Eg. There are Political Democracies and even Colonies such as Montserrat.

Social and Cultural Influences

• The political structures on islands are influenced by their affiliations.
• British territories use Westminster Whitehall Parliamentary Democracy.
• French territories use Departements.
• What Began 500 Years ago in Political Control, still Continues today. Even though there are Independent Countries / Republics, we are still Controlled by European Politics.
• Displayed in Political Systems such as British Democracy, French Departements and Associated States (Puerto Rico)
• The Interlopers who Conceded their Monopoly became Formalized in the New World when SpainConceded Its Monopoly with Treaty of London (1605).
• Spain held onto South America Territories and the Greater Antilles Jamaica, Cuba,Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, as they Contained Resources.

Diasporic and Geological Factors

• The definition implies the movement of people, leading to inevitable social and cultural changes.
• Several migratory movements from South Africa, Europe, and Asia led to racial diversity, known as "Cultural Plurality."
• The term cultural pluralism is associated with cultural diversity from European colonizations, where different groups were brought together forcibly or under contract.
• Outward diasporic movement has increased in a post-emancipation context.
• Diaspora deals with movement in and out of a country, with African, Chinese, and East Indian diasporas preceding labor systems.
• Today's diaspora is primarily outward-moving, with people creating a "Caribbean People" identity, transcending original ethnic labels.
• The geological basis of the Caribbean expresses great diversity as there are several factors responsible for the formation of Caribbean territories.
• The composition of the Caribbean consists of mainland, continental territories, volcanic islands, coral islands, and uplift islands.
• Regions in the Caribbean, split due to Geological Action, May coincide with political Factors. Eg. The Greater Antilles, Lesser Antilles, Netherlands Antilles, South American territories, Central American territories, Bahamas, Turks and Caicos.
• The Greater Antilles are estimated to be older than the Lesser Antilles (greater Antilles → 60-90 million years old, Lesser Antilles → 40 million years old).

Key Geological Concepts

• The earth is made of layers with differing temperatures and viscosity, with convection currents causing plate movements.
• Plate tectonics suggests the crustal shell is broken and moves due to internal convection.
• Plate tectonic boundaries:
  • Convergent: Plates move in opposite direction. Cause: Destruction.
  • Divergent: Plates move away from each other. Cause: Constructive
  • Transform: Plates Slip past each other.
• The Caribbean Plate is an oceanic plate bound by larger, older, denser plates.
• The number of plates cause the location to be a very active area, susceptible to Earth Activity, Volcanic Eruption and Tsunamis.
• The Lesser Antilles consist of Inner and Outer Arcs that coincide with the Plate Boundaries.
• The Inner Arc is Volcanic in nature and the Outer Arc is Limestone in nature.
• The inner arc possesses volcanic features like dormant/active volcanoes, sharp relief, high mountains, rich black volcanic soil, and little to no continental shelf.
• The Geological basis is important for Social and Cultural affiliations, for the islands hold Volcanic tourism, Hot Springs and Sulphur Springs (Health Tourism) and the Pitch Lake.
• The outer arc is westerly with a Emergent geological origin of Emergent Islands; due to convergence of American Plates (10 million years ago)
• The slow emergence facilitated coral island formation on underwater plateaus.
• There are several active volcanic sites and earth movements that occur in the Greater Antilles.

Major Earthquakes

• Fort Royal: Jamaica's old capital destroyed in 1602.
• Kingston: 1907.
• Kingston: 1957.
• Haiti: 2010.
• Earthquakes center on the Greater Antilles in the Northern Caribbean.
• The Caribbean Plate is an active plate surrounded by four major, denser tectonic plates.
• The Dominican Passage separates the Leeward Islands (French) from the Windward Islands (English).
• The Caiman Trough and Puerto Rico Trench are major structures of the Caribbean Plate. The Puerto Rico Trench has 8400 metres Folding.

Specific Objective 2: The Historical Process: Migratory Movements and Settlement Patterns from Pre-Columbian Times

• Several major migrations took place over time and should be examined in large periods.

Pre-Columbian Migrations

• Before Christopher Columbus, the Caribbean was populated by movement from South and Central America.
• Movements that populated Americas also populated the New World: that of the Asiatic People (Asian) People Bering Land Bridge.
• The first Americans were migrants along Bering Land Bridge while tracking large animal herds from Asia between Fourteen and Twenty Thousand Years Ago.
• The oldest known Caribbean remains were found in Rock Road, Penal, Trinidad (Banwarie Man) (About 7000 Years Old).
• The first group of people found was called the Ciboney and primarily existed in the Lesser Antilles.
• The next known migration was the Tinos (Note: Arawak is the language) and the last group of Amerindians was the Kalinagos (Caribs) around 1000 BC.
• The Tinos Primarily inhabited the Greater Antilles and The Caribs Mainly inhabited the Lesser Antilles
• The Caribs were "war like" in nature. The Caribbean was hence named after the "Caribs." The Tinos were able to achieve a high level of cementary living in contrast to the Caribs who were still moving.
• The Tinos had a very Dependable Advanced Scientific Agricultural Practice. Cassava was their main crop. The Kalinagos were very fierce people and often times exploited Tinos. They would capture Tinos people for sacrifice (Eating them for Ceremonial Purposes).
• The Kalinagos became a major part of European history as they Introduced a sense of Resistance, Resilience and Rebellion into the Caribbean Socio-Cultural Spectrum (Resisted European Oppression Much More than the Tinos).

Aftermath for the Amerindians

• The Amerindians suffered under Europeans.
• The genocide of the Amerindians had several causes
  • Diseases from Europeans.
  • Wars of European Conquest
  • War Animals
  • Destruction of Food Supplies
  • Slavery in the Mines: Repartimiento or Encomienda.
• 1492 marked a turning point in history, signaling "discovery" and a Eurocentric/Ethnocentric attitude of ownership that affected the Caribbean since it was seen as inferior.
• The New World opened avenues for European wealth exploitation; the Europeans considered Ownership with Labour Systems (repartimiento, Encomienda).
• 1518 marked the third major movement into the Caribbean (African Forced Movement).
• More and more ethnicities created a Plural Society.
• New political powers and races meant the Social and Cultural Reality of the Caribbean began and remains in a Diversified Manner.

Slavery and its Aftermath

• African Slavery firstly existed in Brazil, the Portuguese used plantation crops (sugar cane).
• Spain used their Slaves for Mining while.
  • French: Agriculture
  • British: Agriculture
  • Dutch: Agriculture
• 1807 saw the creation of the Abolition Act. It ensured the closure of the Slave Trade (no more African Slaves Were Brought), though didn't end Slavery: Current Slaves As well As Children of those Slaves Remained Slaves.
• The Apprenticeship Program began in 1834, considered the Transition Phrase from Slavery to Freedom (Elements of Both Contained, 40 Hours of a week for the Master, Pay for the Africans). Harsh Working Conditions and Terrible Personal Treatment didn't Change (A Perpetuation of Atrocities): the Apprenticeship program was the beginning of the End of Slavery.
• 1838 heralded the passage of the Emancipation Act and thus this granted freedom to African Slaves.
• A labor vacuum occurred. Also there were two types of movements taking place: African People Moving Out While Chinese People Were Moving In And Became the First Asians (Followed by East Indians).
• Because they were emancipated, the Africans began to move away from the Plantations.
• They sought opportunities in places such as Brazil, Panama, Venezuela, Cuba and Guyana.
• This movement to Brazil, Panama, Venezuela, Cuba and Guyana Also Became a 1st Migration of Caribbean People
• The Africans started a self-sufficient type of living (a new group in the Caribbean called the Peasantry).
• The Africans resisted European control.
• The Coco Penòl filled a labor vacuum left by the Africans in the cocoa fields. These were typically "Red" (A Mixture of White And African).

Significant Dates for Caribbean Migration

• 6000-4000 B.C.: Amerindians into the Caribbean.
• 1492: Europeans into the Caribbean.
• 1518: Africans moved into the Caribbean by force.
• 1838: Africans out of the Caribbean (1st Outward caribbean diaspora), Chinese Indentureship into the Caribbean and Coco Penòl from Venezuela into the Caribbean.
• 1845: The East Indians into the Caribbean.
• The movements into, out of, or between Caribbean Countries had sociological impacts.

Sociological Phenomena Operating in the Caribbean today

• Cultural Imperialism: Where Dominant Culture attempts to promote their Culture and Beliefs Over that of Another
• Hybridization: The Fusion of two or more groups of People or Cultural Practices to Produce a New Entity
• Creolization: The Meeting and Mixing of Cultures to Produce Something New "Out" of the Fusion.
• Transculturalation: Cultural Change Involving the Whole Society due to Political Upheavals (African Import).
• Interculturation: Cultural Mixing That Occurs in a Plural Society where Ethnic Groups Live withLimited Mixing.
• Syncretism: The Mixing of Cultural Practices from Different Ethnic Groups, Eg. Musing.
• Cultural Pluralism: Different Cultural or Racial Groups in a Only to a Certain Extent
• Cultural Diversity: Different Ethnic Traiditions In Race
• Cultural Erasure: Practices that have Died "Out"
• Enculturation: Enable Us to Learn the Ways Of Life Of a Cultural Group
• Assimilation: A Cultural Group into the "Norms" and Values of a Dominant Group, is the 1st to Develop
• Socialization: The Process Where By Members Learn To: Be "Humans”
• Social Stratification: The Ranking of Social Groups, according to: Wealth
• Class Consiousness: The Belief or Attitudes
• Social Institutions: The Values of a Society
• Social Organizations: Arrangements that Society, is the 1st to Develop
• Material Culture: The “Things” Group.
• Non-Material Culture: The Ideas a Group
• Race Politics: Issues to Forward, is the 1st to Develop
• Formation of Minorities: Marginal/Alienated Group

Other Factors

• Lack Political Power and Subculture
• Class, Gender, Political Affiliation, Sexual Orientation, Religious Minority and Age are the bases for kinds of Subculture
• European Intervention influences several of Development Challenges
• Movement out of the Caribbean stimulated this has been by desire
• The 1st Movement out of the Caribbean was by the Africans in the 1838s
• Other movements out of Caribbean: such as:Building of Panama Canal (1900 Onwards), World War One (1915 – 1920) and World War Two (1939 – 1945) People have Been Seeking Opportunities in the: Metropolitan", therefore , nations.
• 1838 and Peasantry movement towards the Independendence over 100 Years.
• 1838 Immigration to Chinese Labourers, and Since Smaller Territories Have little Place for Settlement (Lasted until 1845 with a Major Shift to East Indians because Chinese Weren'T Able to Cope With the Rigors of Plantation Work.
• Outward Movement Time, was where Caribbean People Were Starting Diasporic Community as to The post Cuban Revolution (This Triggered a diasporic community as large numbers of Cubans were moving into Miami in 1959).

Slavery's Lasting Influence

• Was Meant to Fill The Labour Vacuum Caused By The Genocide of The Amerindians 1518- The African Diaspora Followed The System
• American slavery advanced the Europeans
• Imperialistic Thrust Europeans to be able to make as much to Make, is The System
• Is a unique way to make money
• African Oppression Perpetuation and The Continuation of what in American", as The System
• African Slavery began new world
• Since 1807, Abolition (The Closure of The Slave Trade and The Current Slaves REMAIN Slaves.
• 1834 Transition to Freedom and Apprentice had elements.
• 1838"emancipation" New Labor Vacuum was therefore .
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Sociological Impacts

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