1. The Caribbean

2. Introduction
Complex colonial history (Spanish, British, French, Dutch, and U.S.)
Plantation America (eg. Sugarcane)
Ethnicity of African origin
Isolated proximity
Isolation: cultural diversity, limited economic opportunities
Proximity: transnational connections, economic dependence

3. Environmental Geography

4. The rimland: biological diversity; sparsely populated
The Antillean islands
The rimland
The Antillean islands: separate the Caribbean sea from the Atlantic ocean; densely populated
The rimland: biological diversity; sparsely populated

5. The Antillean islands
Can be divided into Greater Antilles and Lesser Antilles
Greater Antilles
Four large islands: Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola (Haiti, the Dominican Republic), and Puerto Rico
Majority of population
High mountain ranges
Look at Atlas p.97 for topography

6. The Antillean islands Lesser Antilles
Double arc of small islands stretching from the Virgin Islands to Trinidad
Footholds for rival European colonial powers
Inner arc: mountainous islands of volcanic origin (eg. Montserrat)
Outer arc: low-lying islands with volcanic base  ideal for growing sugarcane (eg. Antigua, Barbados)

8. Tectonic plates in the Antillean islands
Heavier North and South American plates go underneath the Caribbean plate
Creates subduction zone, and high mountains with volcanic activities
Caribbean plate: limestone + volcanic rocks
South American plate: sedimentary rock
eg. Trinidad and Tobago are on the South American Plate: sedimentary rock  oil reserves

9. Rimland States Belize The Guianas
Low-lying, limestone  Sugarcane, citrus
The Guianas
Rolling hills of the Guiana Shield
Rain forest  Timber
Eg. The Tropical Rainforest in Suriname
Crystalline rock  poor soil; metal extraction

10. Climate and Vegetation
Warm all year
Abundant rainfall
 can support tropical forests
Antilliean islands: removed for plantation
Rimland: intact
Seasonality is defined by changes in rainfall
When is the rainy season?
Islands: July ~ November ( Hurricane)
The Guianas: January ~ March ( Shift of ITCZ to the north in winter)

12. Hurricanes Forms off the coast of West Africa
Picks up moisture and speed as they move across the Atlantic
Westward-moving low-pressure disturbances
75 mph ~ 100 mph
July ~ November
Affects Lesser Antilles, Greater Antilles, Central America, Mexico, southern North America

14. Biome – wet zones Tropical forests Palm savannas
Remains exclusively in the rimland
Palm savannas
Tropical savanna (Aw) zones
Adapted to agriculture
Eg. Hispaniola, Cuba
Coastal mangrove swamps
Leeward shores
Not suited to human settlements, but vital marine habitant
Cleared to create open beaches  exposed to increased erosion
Mangrove tree

15. Biome - arid zones Thorn-scrub brush, cactus
Netherlands Antilles (Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao), Anguilla, the Cayman Islands
Not adequate to agriculture; salt, goat
Since 1960s, developed as world-class resorts

16. Environmental issues – Ecosystem
For nearly five centuries, an area has been so completely reworked through colonization and global trade
Extinction of Caribbean plants and animal
Extreme human modification of environment

17. Environmental issues - Deforestation
Covered in tropical rain forests prior to the arrival of European
Forests were cleared
to make a room for sugarcane
to provide the fuel to turn the cane juice into sugar
to provide lumber for housing, fences, and ships
The newly exposed tropical soils easily eroded, and thus land becomes unproductive

18. Environmental degradation and poverty in Haiti
What was once considered France’s richest colony now has a per capita income of $460
Colonial period: deforestation for sugarcane production
Independence (1804): slave uprising
U.S. occupation ( ): economic dependency
Duvalier dictatorships ( ): social inequities
Early 1990s: economic sanctions

19. Environmental degradation and poverty in Haiti
Dominican Republic
Haiti
70% subsistence farming  Reliance on biofuels

20. Managing the Rimland forests
Belize
eg. Coca Cola Corporation attempted to purchase the land for juice concentrate in 1980s
First jaguar reserve in the Americas
Guyana
Boa Vista to Georgetown
Governments: Highway construction
Conservationists: National park

22. Protecting environment is not a luxury but a question of economic livelihood

23. Population and Settlement

24. Densely settled islands and rimland frontiers

26. Fertility decline Cuba Barbados Education of women
Availability of birth control and abortion
Barbados
Out-migration of young Barbadians overseas
Preference for smaller families

27. Rise of HIV/AIDS
On average, 2% of the Caribbean population between the ages of 15 and 49 has HIV/AIDS
Relationship between HIV/AIDS transmission, international tourism, and prostitution
Highest rates (between age 15-49) are in
Haiti (5%)
Bahamas (4%)
The Dominican Republic (3%)
Guyana (3%)

28. Caribbean diaspora
Economic flight of Caribbean peoples across the globe
Driven by regions’ limited economic opportunities
Began in the 1950s
Emigrated to other Caribbean islands, North America, and Europe

30. Caribbean diaspora Former colony Economic opportunities & proximity
Barbadians (Britain),
Surinamese ( Netherlands)
Puerto Rican ( U.S.)
Economic opportunities & proximity
Jamaican ( U.S.)
Cuban ( U.S.)
Dominican ( U.S., Puerto Rico)
Haitian ( Dominican Republic, U.S., Canada, French Guiana)

31. Settlement patterns Reflects the plantation legacy
Plantation agriculture in the arable lowlands
Subsistence farming in marginal lands
Villages of freed or runaway slaves in remote areas of the interior
Cities that serve the administrative and social needs of the colonizers – few and small
Ancestors of former slaves work their small plots and seek seasonal wage-labor on estates  matriarchal social structure

32. Houseyards in the Lesser Antilles
Owned by a woman, her extended family of married children lives here
Rural subsistence
Economic survival
Matriarchal social structure

33. Caribbean cities Since the 1960s, rural-to-urban migration 60% urban
best explained by an erosion of rural jobs
60% urban
Cuba (75%), Haiti (35%)
Major cities are
Santo Domingo
Havana
Port-au-Prince
San Juan

34. Caribbean cities
Vulnerable to raids by European powers and pirates  walled and fortified
Santo Domingo (1496)
Havana: was essential port city for Spanish empire due to the strategic location
Transforming from ports for agricultural exports to tourism-oriented cities
Old Havana

35. Cultural Coherence and Diversity

36. Cultural imprint of colonialism
Neo-Africa in the Americas
Creolization

37. Cultural imprint of colonialism
More intense demographic collapse of Amerindian populations (3 millions) within 50 years after the arrival of Columbus in 1492
Plantation-based agriculture dependent on forced (Africa) and indentured (Asia) labor
Need to understand the term Plantation America

38. Plantation America
Antigua (1823)

39. Plantation America
Cultural region that extends from midway up the coast of Brazil through the Guianas and the Caribbean into the southeastern U.S.
Ruled by a European elite; dependent on an African labor force; coastal
Mono-crop production (a single commodity)
Engendered specific social/economic relations
Unlike other plantation system, it depends on FOREIGN labor since the demographic collapse of indigenous population

40. Plantation America – forced labor
10 million African landed in the America
More than half of these slaves were sent to the Caribbean

41. Plantation America – indentured labor
By the mid 19th century, labor shortages due to the abolition of slavery
Governments sought indentured labor from South and Southeast Asia
Workers contracted to labor on estates for a set period of time
Legacy of indentured arrangements
Suriname: 1/3 South Asian descent, 16% Javanese
Guyana: 50% South Asian ancestry
Eg president election
Trinidad and Tobago: 40% South Asian ancestry

42. Neo-Africa in the Americas – Maroon societies
The Caribbean is the area with the greatest concentration of African transfers in the Americas
Maroons (communities of runaway slaves) have formed during the colonial period
eg. The maroons of Jamaica in the forested mountains of the islands’ interior
eg. Bush Negros of Surinamese in the interior rain forest
Influence of African in the America is ubiquitous – religion, language, and music as well as demographics

43. Neo-Africa in the Americas – African religions
Transfer of African religious and magical systems to the Caribbean
Voodoo in Haiti, Santeria in Cuba, Obeah in Jamaica
Diffused in other regions by immigrants
Santeria in Florida, New York
Obeah in Panama, Los Angeles

44. African religious influences in the Americas

45. Neo-Africa in the Americas – Creolization
Blending of African, European, and even some Amerindian cultural elements into the unique sociocultural systems found in the Caribbean
Garifuna (Black Carib)
Descendants of African slaves who speak an Amerindian language
Unions between Africans and Carib Indians on St. Vincent
Relocated in Belize and Honduras

46. Neo-Africa in the Americas - Creolization - Language
Dominant languages are European
Spanish (24m), French (8m), English (6m), Dutch(0.5m)
However, many of these languages have been creolized
Papiamento in Netherlands Antilles
French Creole or patois in Haiti
Creole
European vocabulary + African syntax, semantics

48. Neo-Africa in the Americas - Creolization - Music
Reflects a combination of African rhythms with European forms of melody and verse
Reggae(Jamaica)
Bob Marley
Calypso(Trinidad)
Merengue(Dominican, Haiti)
Rumba(Cuba), Salsa
Celia Cruz
Calypso

49. Geopolitical Framework

50. Colonialism
Neocolonialism
Independence

51. European colonialism
Economically, European viewed the Caribbean as a profitable region (eg. sugar, rum, spices)
Geopolitically, European powers attempted to check Spanish hegemony
Spanish: Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico
British: Jamaica, Belize, Barbados, Trinidad, Guyana
French: Haiti, French Guiana
Dutch: Suriname, Netherlands Antilles
Unlike Latin America, Spain’s grip on the region was tentative
Many territories, especially islands in the Lesser Antilles, changed hands several times
Some islands in the Lesser Antilles still remain as dependent territories

52. Colonial affiliation in the Lesser Antilles
French and British traded islands several times
Many of these territories gained independence in the 1960s through the 1980s

53. U.S. neocolonialism Monroe Doctrine (1823) Spanish-American War (1898)
Panama Canal (1903)
It’s not until 1999 that Panamanians gain a control over canal
U.S. troops occupation in the Dominican Republic ( ), Haiti ( ), Cuba (1906-9, )
eg. military base in Guantánamo, Cuba
Business interests overshadow democratic principles
eg. U.S. company bought the best lands

54. Border disputes
Contested colonial holdings produced contemporary border disputes
Belize – Guatemala
Guyana – Venezuela
Guyana – Suriname
French Guiana – Suriname

55. Contested colonial holdings produced contemporary border disputes

56. Puerto Rico Ceded by Spain to the U.S. (1898)
Became the commonwealth of the U.S. (1952)
So Puerto Rican is a U.S. citizen
Independence movement throughout 20th century
But opinion is divided
Eg. U.S. Navy’s bombing exercises in Vieques (east coast)
Industrialization since the 1950s
Implemented program called “Operation Bootstrap”
Petrochemical and pharmaceutical plants

57. Cuba Colony of Spain since the 1500s
American neocolonialism at the first half of 20th century
Fidel Castro seized the power (1959)
Nationalized American industries
Established diplomatic relations with the USSR
Economic hardships in the 1990s after the fall of the Soviet Union

58. Independence movements
Haiti (1804)
The Dominican Republic (1844)
Cuba, Puerto Rico (1898) – but U.S. involvement
Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Barbados (1960s)
Bahamas (1973), Grenada (1974), Dominica (1978), St. Vincent and the Grenadines (1979), St. Lucia (1979), Antigua and Barbuda (1981), Belize (1981), St. Kitts and Nevis (1983)
Suriname (1975)

59. Present-day colonies
British colonies: Cayman Islands, the Turks and Caicos, Anguilla, and Montserrat
Department of France: French Guiana, Martinique, and Guadeloupe
The Dutch islands: Curaçao, Bonaire, St. Martin, Saba, and St. Eustatius

60. Regional integration
Experimented with regional trade associations since the 1960s
Goal – improve employment rates, increase intraregional trade, and reduce external dependence
CARICOM (Caribbean Community and Common Market) by English Caribbean (1963)

61. Economic and Social Development

62. Dominance of agriculture Shift away from mono-crop dependence
Tourism, offshore banking, and assembly plants
Haiti – coffee: 70%  11%
The Dominican Republic – sugar: 60%  20%

63. Agriculture Sugar Coffee Banana Throughout the region
Cuba has produced 60% of world export till 1990s
Soviet Union subsidized market
Coffee
Planted in the mountains of the Greater Antilles
Eg. Jamaica’s Blue Mountain coffee
Grown on small farms unlike sugar; Price instability
Banana
The Lesser Antilles (Dominica, St. Vincent, St. Lucia)
Grown on small farms in contrast to Latin America

64. The Banana Wars
Small farms in the Caribbean versus Plantation in Latin America
Small farms in the Caribbean has the preferential access to the European market using colonial ties
1996 U.S., Ecuador, and some Central American countries took E.U. to WTO court  it’s unfair agreement, so eliminate it by 1998
Now E.U. is under pressure to drop the preferential treatment given to the former colonies
Increased global competition has forced many rural laborers to find employment elsewhere

65. Assembly-plant industrialization
Free trade zones (FTZs)
Duty-free and tax-exempt industrial parks for foreign corporations
Taking advantage of
Proximity to North America
Cheap labor
Export-led development policies
Now manufacturing accounts for 15% of GDP in Jamaica, and 20% of GDP in the Dominican Republic

66. Free trade zones in the Dominican Republic
Currently 16 FTZs are operational with foreign investors from U.S., Canada, South Korea, and Taiwan

67. Assembly-plant industrialization
Opportunities
Create new jobs
Economies are diversifying
Challenges
Foreign investors may gain more than the host countries
Little integration with national supplies
Low wages
Increase in competition

68. Offshore banking
Appeals to foreign banks and corporations by offering specialized services that are confidential and tax-exempt
Bahamas
The Cayman Islands
Attractiveness
Demand-side: proximity to North America
Supply-side: financial service as a way to bring hard currency to resource-poor states

69. Offshore banking Risk Offers little employment
Vulnerable to political instability
Attracts drug money (eg. money laundering)
Drug consumption
Corruption of local officials
Drug-related murders
Less uncertain whether this will improve local earnings and standards of living

71. Tourism

72. Tourism Contributing factors Countries
Environmental: dry season matches winter in the U.S.
Locational: proximity to the U.S., colonial ties
Economic factor: employment, environmentally less destructive
Countries
Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and Cuba hosted 70% of 14 million international tourists
Cuba used to be the largest host by the 1950s, but with the rise of Fidel Castro, it has been neglected. Currently Cuba is reviving tourism. Cuba does not receive U.S. client because of U.S. sanction

74. Tourism
Pitfalls
Subject to the overall health of world economy and political affairs
Recession
Heightened fear of terrorism
Local residents confront the disparity between their own lives and those of tourists
Capital leakage: huge gap between gross receipts and the total tourist dollars that remain in the Caribbean

77. Social development
In contrast to the inconsistent record of economic growth, most Caribbean show strong measures of social development with the exception of Haiti
Cuba’s accomplishments in health care and education
Excellence in education except for Hispaniola and the former British colonies (Jamaica, Belize, and St. Lucia)

78. Brain drain Outflow of professionals
Occurs especially between former colonies and the mother countries
Jamaica (60%)
Barbados, Guyana, Dominical Republic, and Haiti (20%)
Can negatively impact local health care, education, and enterprise
Stronger economic performance has slowed this process

79. Remittances
Migrants’ sending money back home is also an important source of income in this region
eg. Remittance income is the second leading industry in the Dominican Republic
Often returnees can introduce positive economic and political changes, but their impact is too fragmented to represent a national development force

80. Status of women Matriarchal basis of Caribbean households
Rural custom of men leaving home for seasonal employment tends to nurture strong and self-sufficient female networks
With new employment opportunities, female labor force participation has surged (eg. Bahamas, Barbados, Jamaica, and Martinique)
Cuba’s educational and labor policies yielded the most educated and professional women in the Caribbean
eg. Female doctors outnumber their male counterparts

81. Supplemental web resources