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The Caribbean (/ˌkærɪˈbiːən, kəˈrɪbiən/ KARR-ih-BEE-ən, kə-RIB-ee-ən, locally /ˈkærɪbiːæn/ KARR-ih-bee-an; Spanish: el Caribe; French: les Caraïbes; Dutch: de Caraïben) is a subregion of the Americas that includes the Caribbean Sea and its islands, some of which are surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some of which border both the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean; the nearby coastal areas on the mainland are sometimes also included in the region. The region is south-east of the Gulf of Mexico and Northern America, east of Central America, and north of South America.

Situated largely on the Caribbean Plate, the region has more than 700 islands, islets, reefs, and cays. Island arcs delineate the northern and eastern edges of the Caribbean Sea: the Greater Antilles in the north and the Lesser Antilles, which includes the Leeward Antilles, in the east and south. The nearby Lucayan Archipelago, comprising The Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands, is considered to be a part of the Caribbean despite not bordering the Caribbean Sea. All the islands in the Antilles plus the Lucayan Archipelago form the West Indies, which is often interchangeable with the term Caribbean. On the mainland, Belize, the eastern and northern coasts of Central and South American countries such as the Bay Islands Department of Honduras, the North and South Caribbean Autonomous Regions of Nicaragua, the Limón Province of Costa Rica, and the Archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina of Colombia are also considered culturally Caribbean. French Guiana, Guyana, Panama, and Suriname are often included as parts of the Caribbean due to their political and cultural ties with the region.

Geopolitically, the islands of the Caribbean are often regarded as a subregion of North America, though sometimes they are included in Middle America or left as a subregion of their own alternately, the term "Caribbean" may have the intended exclusion, or even unintentional inclusion as part of Latin America. Generally the Caribbean area is organized into 33 political entities, including 13 sovereign states, 12 dependencies, historical disputed territories have existed, and seven other overseas territories. From 15 December 1954, to 10 October 2010, there was a territory known as the Netherlands Antilles composed of five islands, all of which were Dutch dependencies. From 3 January 1958, to 31 May 1962, there was also a short-lived political union called the British West Indies Federation composed of ten English-speaking Caribbean territories, all of which were then British dependencies. (Full article...)

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The

independence of Puerto Rico from the United States

.
During their first decade of existence, they had an average of two actions per year. The group claimed responsibility for the 1978 bombing of a small power station in the San Juan area, the 1979 retaliation attacks against the
United States armed forces personnel, the 1981 Muñiz Air National Guard Base attack, and a 1983 Wells Fargo bank robbery. (Full article...
)

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Saint Croix macaw
Zombia
Invasion of Dominica (1778)
Patrick Allen (governor-general)
George Dewhurst (cricketer)
Hungry Bay Nature Reserve
George Odlum

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The United States Virgin Islands, officially the Virgin Islands of the United States, are a group of Caribbean islands and an unincorporated and organized territory of the United States. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and are located in the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles.
The U.S. Virgin Islands consist of the main islands of Saint Croix, Saint John, and Saint Thomas and 50 other surrounding minor islands and cays. The total land area of the territory is 133.73 square miles (346.36 km²). The territory's capital is Charlotte Amalie on the island of St. Thomas. (Full article...)

List of geographic articles

Guadeloupe
Jamaica
Grenada
Dominica
Cuba
Haiti
Barbados
Trinidad and Tobago
The Bahamas
Antigua and Barbuda
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Cayman Islands
Saint Lucia
Puerto Rico
Santo Domingo
Montego Bay
Havana
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Nassau, Bahamas
Bimini
Bahama Banks
Caribbean Sea
Aruba
Ernst Thälmann Island
Pigeon Island (Saint Lucia)
Gaspar Grande
Curaçao
Lesser Antilles
Greater Antilles
Windward Islands
Navassa Island
Saint Barthélemy
Turks and Caicos Islands
Anguilla
Bonaire
Martinique
Saint Martin (island)
Saba (island)
British Virgin Islands
Archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina
Netherlands Antilles
Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
New Providence
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Montserrat

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The Aruban and Curaçaoan dish Keshi Yena
plantain leaves. (Full article...
)

List of fare/cuisine articles

Guianan cuisine
Duckanoo
Piña colada
Goat water
Moronga
Mangú

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...that Bequia, the name of the largest island in the Grenadines (pictured), means "island of clouds" in Arawak?

...that Carlos Varela is a singer-songwriter of nueva trova, who used to perform in Havana's parks and private patios until Silvio Rodríguez "discovered" him, bringing his music to international prominence?

...that former
U.S. Virgin Islands
exploded?

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Belize
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Jamaica
Puerto Rico
Suriname
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Adult in the Dominican Republic

The
Hispaniolan pine (Pinus occidentalis). This species is considered to be a vulnerable species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The exact cause of its extirpation from Jamaica is unknown, but likely factors include predation by introduced mammals and habitat loss, although the habitat loss theory is not supported by much evidence. The last sighting of the nominate subspecies was in Hardwar Gap (located on the boundary between Saint Andrew and Portland
parishes), with three birds being seen on 8 June 1989.
A relatively small swallow, the Jamaican subspecies had bronze upperparts and bronze sides of the head. The ears and
coverts were, on the other hand, a coppery-bronze colour. The lesser and median coverts were more coppery, with the greater and primary-wing-coverts more of a dusky green. The primaries, secondaries, and tail were a dusky bronze-green. The underparts were mostly white. The legs, feet, and irides were dark brown, and the bill was black. The female was similar, but with its breast, and occasionally throat and undertail-coverts, mottled grey-brown. The juvenile was also mottled-grey brown, and duller overall. The Hispaniolan subspecies, T. e. sclateri, is primarily differentiated by its more deeply forked tail, blue-green forehead and uppertail-coverts, and blue-black wings and tail. (Full article...
)

List of Featured articles

Fauna of Puerto Rico
Music of the Lesser Antilles
Learie Constantine
Lesser Antillean macaw
Hurricane Hazel
Military history of Puerto Rico
List of palms native to the Caribbean
List of snakes of Trinidad and Tobago

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Columbus landing on Hispaniola

Credit: Theodor de Bry, c. 1594

Depiction of Christopher Columbus landing on Hispaniola in 1492

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music area. Indo-Caribbean music is most common in Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Jamaica, Martinique and Suriname
.
Indo-Caribbean traditional music often reflects the
phagwah and holi. Instrumentation consists mostly of the dhantal, a metal rod and claper, and the dholak, a two-headed barrel drum. Traditional Hindu bhajans are also common. (Full article...
)

List of music articles

Music of Cuba
Music of Jamaica
Music of Trinidad and Tobago
Music of the Bahamas
Reggae
Music of Dominica
Music of the former Netherlands Antilles
Music of Puerto Rico
Calypso music
Cuban rumba
Reggaeton
Jing ping
Dancehall
Music of Saint Kitts and Nevis
Soca music
Extempo
Cuban hip hop
Chanté mas
Danzón
Music of Haiti
Merengue music
Tumba francesa
Ska
Cadence-lypso
Music of Guadeloupe

General images

The following are images from various Caribbean-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Spanish Caribbean Islands in the American Viceroyalties 1600. (from History of the Caribbean)

Image 2A medallion showing the Capture of Trinidad and Tobago by the British in 1797. (from History of the Caribbean)

Image 3A 19th-century lithograph by Theodore Bray showing a sugarcane plantation. On right is "white officer", the European overseer, surveilling plantation workers. To the left is a flat-bottomed vessel for cane transportation. (from History of the Caribbean)

Image 4Map of Antilles / Caribbean in 1843. (from History of the Caribbean)

Image 5A carriage on a street in
overseas region of France, and its citizens are full French citizens. (from History of the Caribbean
)

Image 6Crane Resort old and new buildings, Cobblers Reef, Barbados (from Tourism in Latin America and the Caribbean)

Image 7A linen market in the British West Indies, circa 1780 (from History of the Caribbean)

Image 8United States' rescue effort at
La Soufrière. (from History of the Caribbean
)

Image 9A container ship docked in the deep water harbour of Bridgetown, Barbados, which opened in 1961. (from History of the Caribbean)

Image 10Contemporary political map of the Caribbean (from History of the Caribbean)

Image 11The Piazza (or main square) in central
Havana, Cuba, in 1762, during the Seven Years' War. (from History of the Caribbean
)

Image 12Illustration circa 1815 showing "Incendie du Cap" (Burning of Cape Francais) during the Haitian Revolution. The caption reads: "General revolt of the Blacks. Massacre of the Whites". (from History of the Caribbean)

Image 13Bath Hotel, Nevis, photograph by Jose Anjo of Antigua (from Tourism in Latin America and the Caribbean)

Image 14Sugar plantation in the British colony of Antigua, 1823 (from History of the Caribbean)

Image 15American 757 on final approach to
Saint Maarten Airport (from Tourism in Latin America and the Caribbean
)

Image 16Sir Ralph Abercromby, Commander of the British forces that captured Trinidad and Tobago. (from History of the Caribbean)

Image 17Political evolution of Central America and the Caribbean from 1700 to present (from History of the Caribbean)

Image 18Battle of the Saintes by Thomas Mitchell. This 1782 battle between the British and French navies took place near Guadeloupe. (from History of the Caribbean)

Image 19Agostino Brunias. Free Women of Color with Their Children and Servants in a Landscape, ca. 1770-1796 Brooklyn Museum (from Culture of the Caribbean)

Image 20The Natives of Cumaná attack the mission after Gonzalo de Ocampo's slaving raid. Colored copperplate by Theodor de Bry, published in the "Relación brevissima de la destruccion de las Indias". (from History of the Caribbean)

Image 21An
Arawak stone carving uncovered in Guadeloupe. (from History of the Caribbean
)

Image 22A 1906 advertisement in the
Montreal Medical Journal, showing the United Fruit Company selling trips to Jamaica. (from History of the Caribbean
)

Image 23Linguistic map of the Caribbean in CE 1500, before European colonization (from History of the Caribbean)

Image 24The forced African migrants brought to the Caribbean lived in inhumane conditions. Above are examples of slave huts in Dutch Bonaire. About 5 feet tall and 6 feet wide, between 2 and 3 slaves slept in these after working in nearby salt mines. (from History of the Caribbean)

Image 25The palm is the symbol most associated with Caribbean identity. (from Culture of the Caribbean)

Image 26Cane cutters in Jamaica, 1880s. (from History of the Caribbean)