CAR M1 - Location & Definition of the Caribbean Key Words Flashcards
Geographical definition of the Caribbean
Countries that are washed by the Caribbean Sea, ie, within the Caribbean basin or located between 0º and 23.5ºN latitude.
Geology
This is the study of the Earth involving the Earth’s structure, features and the materials it is made of, inanition to the composition of those materials
Geological definition of the Caribbean
Countries that are situated on the Caribbean plate and share similar seismic, tectonic and volcanic features.
Historical definition of the Caribbean
This refers to the countries that have shared experiences of European colonization, slavery, indentureship and the plantation system.
Colonization
The settlement of a group of people who seek to take control of territories. It usually involves large-scale immigration of people to a new location and the expansion of their civilization and culture into this area.
Slavery
A legal institution in which individuals are owned by others who control every aspect of their lives, including what they do and where they live.
Slaves are forced to work without pay because legally, they are chattel or property. Slavery arrived in the Caribbean after Britain introduced the plantation system, which demanded high levels of labour. The origins of most of the slaves who were brought to the Caribbean were in West Africa.
Total institution
This is an institution which determines all aspects of life for the individuals controlled by it. This includes the social, economical and political aspects. There is little to no autonomy.
Indentureship
This is a system where a laborer was contracted to work for a stipulated period of time, in exchange for passage and subsistence. At the end of this term, he was given land, cash and also had the option to return to his homeland. The first group of indentured East Indians arrived in Guyana on May 5th 1838 after the abolishment of slavery in the British Caribbean.
Plantation system
A system of cultivation based on large-scale farming units or plantations to achieve agricultural mass production, usually of a few commodity crops. (Mainly sugar in the Caribbean).
Plantation economies rely on the export of cash crops as a source of income.
- A method of production implemented by the Europeans in the Caribbean whereby large plots of land (plantations) were used to grow cash crops such as sugar and tobacco for the main purpose of export
Encomienda system
A system under which natives of conquered lands were given to an explorer or conquistador by the Spanish crown. The objective was to guarantee economic and political order in the areas conquered by the Spanish. It was a system designed to control and regulate all aspects of American Indian life.
Political definition of the Caribbean
This refers to the socio-economic and various other groupings found in the region. For example, the political definition might relate to the countries that share - or have shared - a similar political system.
Independent states
Countries which previously were under colonial rule but are now self-governed. These are also known as sovereign states.
What are the independent / sovereign states?
Antigua & Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Haiti, Cuba, Jamaica, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Trinidad & Tobago, St Kitts & Nevis, St Lucia and St Vincent & the Grenadines
What are associated states?
These are the former British colonies in the Eastern Caribbean (Antigua, Grenada, Dominica, St Vincent, St Lucia and St Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla) that from 1967 enjoyed a semi-independent political status: their defense and external affairs were handled by Britain, while they maintained control over their own constitution. Over time the associated states became independent.
Caribbean diaspora
The people of the Caribbean who, even though they have established themselves outside of the region by migrating to other countries (mainly the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada), still retain strong familial, emotional, cultural and economic ties to the region.
