Top of page - Menu
|
|
|
Antigua and Barbuda
No Map
Top of page - Menu |
||
|
||
Antigua and Barbuda
No Map |
Population: 66.000
Capital: Saint John's
Offisial language: English
Ehnic groups: black, British, Portuguese, Lebanese, Syrian
Background: The islands of Antigua and Barbuda became an independent
state within the British Commonwealth
of Nations in 1981. Some 3,000 refugees fleeing a volcanic eruption
on nearby Montserrat have settled in Antigua and Barbuda since 1995.
(Source: Worldfackbook 2000, CIA)
More info: BBC Country Profiles: Antigua and Barbuda
Top of page - Menu |
||
|
||
Aruba
No Map |
Population: 70.000
Capital: Oranjestad
Official language: Dutch
Ethnic groups: mixed white/Caribbean Amerindian 80%
Background: Formerly one of the Netherlands Antilles, Aruba became
an autonomous part of the Netherlands in 1986.
(Source: WorldFackbook 2000 CIA)
Top of page - Menu |
||
|
||
Bahamas
No map |
Population: 300.000
Capital: Nassau
Official language: English
Ethnic groups: black 85%, white 12%, Asian and Hispanic 3%
Background: Since attaining independence from the UK in 11033,
The Bahamas have prospered through tourism and international banking and
investment management. By the early 1980s, the islands had become a major
center for drug trafficking, particularly shipments to the US.
(Source: WorldFackbook 2000 CIA)
More info: BBC Country Profiles: Bahamas
Top of page - Menu |
||
|
||
Barbados
No map |
Population: 275.000
Capital: Bridgetown
Official language: English
Ethnic groups: black 80%, white 4%, other 16%
Background: The island was uninhabited when first settled by
the British in 1627. Its economy remained heavily dependent on sugar, rum,
and molasses production through most of the 20th century. In the 1990s,
tourism
and manufacturing surpassed the sugar industry in economic importance.
(Source: WorldFackbook 2000 CIA)
More info: BBC Country Profiles: Barbados
Top of page - Menu |
||
|
||
Cuba |
Population: 11 million
Capital: Havana
Official language: Spanish
Ethnic groups: mulatto 51%, white 37%, black 11%, Chinese 1%
Background: Fidel CASTRO led a rebel army to victory in 1959;
his iron will has held the country together since. Cuba's communist revolution,
with Soviet support, was exported throughout Latin America and Africa during
the 1960s, 70s, and 80s. The country is now slowly recovering from a severe
economic recession following the withdrawal of former Soviet subsidies,
worth $4 billion to $6 billion annually, in 1990. Havana blames its difficulties
on the US embargo in place since 1962.
(Source: WorldFackbook 2000 CIA)
More info: BBC Country Profiles: Cuba
Artists from Cuba
Top of page - Menu |
||
|
||
Dominican Republic |
Population: 8,5 million
Capital: Santo Domingo
Official language: Spanish
Ethnic groups: white 16%, black 11%, mixed 73%
Background: A legacy of unsettled, mostly non-representative,
rule for much of the 20th century was brought to an end in 1996 when free
and open elections ushered in a new government.
(Source: WorldFackbook 2000 CIA)
More info: BBC Country Profiles: Dominican Republic
Top of page - Menu |
||
|
||
Guadeloupe |
Population: 425.000
Capital: Basse-Terre
Official language: French
Ethnic groups: Roman Catholic 95%, Hindu and pagan African 4%,
Protestant 1%
Background: Guadeloupe has been a French possession since 1635.
The island of Saint-Martin is divided with the Netherlands (whose southern
portion is named Sint Maarten and is part of the Netherlands Antilles).
(Source: WorldFackbook 2000 CIA)
Top of page - Menu |
||
|
||
Haiti |
Population: 7 million
Capital: Port-au-Prince
Official language: French, Creole
Ethnic groups: black 95%, mulatto plus white 5%
Background: One of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere,
Haiti has been plagued by political violence for most of its history. Over
three decades of dictatorship followed by military rule ended in 1990 when
Jean-Bertrand ARISTIDE was elected president. Most of his term was usurped
by a military takeover, but he was able to return to office in 1994 and
oversee the installation of a close associate to the presidency in 1996.
(Source: WorldFackbook 2000 CIA)
More info: BBC Country Profiles: Haiti
Top of page - Menu |
||
|
||
Jamaica |
Population: 2,5 milion
Capital: Kingston
Official language:
Ethnic groups: black 90.9%, East Indian 1.3%, white 0.2%, Chinese
0.2%, mixed 7.3%, other 0.1%
Background: Jamaica gained full independence within the British
Commonwealth in 1962. Deteriorating economic conditions during the 11030s
led to recurrent violence and a dropoff in tourism. Elections in 1980 saw
the democratic socialists voted out of office, and a more conservative
government installed. Political violence marred elections during the 1990s.
(Source: WorldFackbook 2000 CIA)
More info: BBC Country Profiles: Jamaica
Top of page - Menu |
||
|
||
Martinique |
Location: Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, north of Trinidad and Tobago
Population: 400.000
Capital: Fort-de-France
Official language:
Ethnic groups: African and African-white-Indian mixture 90%,
white 5%, East Indian, Lebanese, Chinese less than 5%
Background: Colonized by France in 1635, the island has subsequently
remained a French possession except for three brief periods of foreign
occupation.
(Source: WorldFackbook 2000 CIA)
Top of page - Menu |
||
|
||
Netherlands Antilles(part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)
No map |
Location: Caribbean, two island groups in the Caribbean Sea - one includes Curacao and Bonaire north of Venezuela and the other is east of the Virgin Islands
Population: 200.000
Capital: Willemstad
Official language: Dutch
Ethnic groups: mixed black 85%, Carib Amerindian, white, East
Asian
Background: Once the center of the Caribbean slave trade, the
island of Curacao was hard hit by the abolition of slavery in 1863. Its
prosperity (and that of neighboring Aruba) was restored in the early 20th
century with the construction of oil refineries to service the newly discovered
Venezuelan oil fields. The island of Sint Maarten is shared with France
(whose northern portion is named Saint Martin and is part of Guadeloupe).
(Source: WorldFackbook 2000 CIA)
Top of page - Menu |
||
|
||
Puerto Rico(commonwealth associated with the US) |
Population: 4 million
Capital: San Juan
Official language:
Ethnic groups:
Background: Discovered by Columbus in 1493, the island was ceded
by Spain to the US in 1898 following the Spanish-American War. A popularly
elected governor has served since 1948. In plebiscites held in 1967 and
1993, voters chose to retain commonwealth status.
(Source: Worldfackbook 2000, CIA)
Top of page - Menu |
||
|
||
Saint Lucia
No map |
Location: Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago
Population: 150.000
Capital: Castries
Official language: English
Ethnic groups: black 90%, mixed 6%, East Indian 3%, white 1%
Background: The island, with its fine natural harbor at Castries,
was contested between England and France throughout the 17th and early
18th centuries (changing possession 14 times); it was finally ceded to
the UK in 1814. Self government was granted in 1967 and independence in
11039.
(Source: WorldFackbook 2000 CIA)
More info: BBC Country Profiles: Saint Lucia
Top of page - Menu |
||
|
||
Trinidad and Tobago |
Location: Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela
Population: 1 million
Capital: Port-of-Spain
Official language: English
Ethnic groups: black 39.5%, East Indian (a local term - primarily
immigrants from northern India) 40.3%, mixed 18.4%, white 0.6%, Chinese
and other 1.2%
Background: The islands came under British control in the 19th
century; independence was granted in 1962. The country is one of the most
prosperous in the Caribbean thanks largely to petroleum and natural gas
production and processing. Tourism, mostly in Tobago, is targeted for expansion
and is growing.
(Source: WorldFackbook 2000 CIA)
More info: BBC Country Profiles: Trinidad and Tobago
Top of page - Menu |
||
|
||
Virgin Islands(territory of the US)
No map |
Location: Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico
Population: 120.000
Capital: Charlotte Amalie
Official language: English
Ethnic groups: black 80%, white 15%, other 5%
note: West Indian (45% born in the Virgin Islands and 29% born elsewhere
in the West Indies) 74%, US mainland 13%, Puerto Rican 5%, other 8%
Background: During the 17th century, the archipelago was divided
into two territorial units, one English and the other Danish. Sugarcane,
produced by slave labor, drove the islands' economy during the 18th and
early 19th centuries. In 1917, the US purchased the Danish portion, which
had been in economic decline since the abolition of slavery in 1848.
(Source: WorldFackbook 2000 CIA)
|
|