The CaribbeanThe Caribbean

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

Environmental Geography

The Antillean islandsThe Antillean islands

The Antillean islands: separate the Caribbean sea from the Atlantic ocean; densely populated

The rimland: biological diversity; sparsely populated

The rimlandThe rimland

The Antillean islands

Can be divided into Greater Antilles and Lesser Antilles

Greater AntillesFour large islands: Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola (Haiti, the Dominican Republic), and Puerto RicoMajority of populationHigh mountain ranges

The Antillean islands

Lesser Antilles Double arc of small islands stretchi

ng 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)

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

Rimland States Belize

Low-lying, limestone Sugarcane, citrus

The GuianasRolling hills of the Guiana ShieldRain forest Timber

Eg. The Tropical Rainforest in SurinameCrystalline rock poor soil; metal extraction

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)

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

Biome – wet zones Tropical forests

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

Biome - arid zones

Thorn-scrub brush, cactusNetherlands Antilles (Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao), Angui

lla, the Cayman IslandsNot adequate to agriculture; salt, goatSince 1960s, developed as world-class resorts

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

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

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 (1915-34): economic dependency Duvalier dictatorships (1957-86): social inequities Early 1990s: economic sanctions

Environmental degradation and poverty in Haiti

Haiti Dominican Republic

70% subsistence farming 70% subsistence farming Reliance on biofuels Reliance on biofuels

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

GuyanaBoa Vista to Georgetown

Governments: Highway constructionConservationists: National park

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

Population and Settlement

Densely settled islands and rimland frontiers

Fertility decline

CubaEducation of womenAvailability of birth control and abortion

BarbadosOut-migration of young Barbadians overseasPreference for smaller families

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%)

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

Caribbean diaspora Former colony

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)

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

Houseyards in the Lesser Antilles

Owned by a woman, her extended family of married children lives here

Rural subsistence Economic survival Matriarchal social

structure

Caribbean cities Since the 1960s, rural-to-urban migration

best explained by an erosion of rural jobs

60% urban Cuba (75%), Haiti (35%)

Major cities areSanto DomingoHavanaPort-au-PrinceSan Juan

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

Cultural Coherence and Diversity

Cultural imprint of colonialism Neo-Africa in the Americas Creolization

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

Plantation AmericaAntigua (1823)

Plantation America Cultural region that extends from midway up the coast of Br

azil 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

Plantation America – forced labor

10 million African landed in the America More than half of these slaves were sent to the Caribbean

1451-18701451-1870

Plantation America – indentured labor By the mid 19th century, labor shortages due to the abolitio

n of slavery Governments sought indentured labor from South and S

outheast 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. 2001 president election Trinidad and Tobago: 40% South Asian ancestry

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

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

African religious influences in the Americas

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 langua

ge Unions between Africans and Carib Indians on St. Vincent Relocated in Belize and Honduras

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

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

Geopolitical Framework

Colonialism Neocolonialism Independence

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,Republic, Puerto Rico British: Jamaica, Belize, Barbados, Trinidad, GuyanaBarbados, Trinidad, Guyana French: Haiti, French Guiana Dutch: Suriname, Netherlands Antilles

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

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 (1916-

24), Haiti (1913-34), Cuba (1906-9, 1917-22) eg. military base in Guantánamo, Cuba

Business interests overshadow democratic principles eg. U.S. company bought the best lands

Border disputes

Contested colonial holdings produced contemporary border disputes

Belize – GuatemalaGuyana – VenezuelaGuyana – SurinameFrench Guiana – Suriname

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

Cuba Colony of Spain since the 1500s American neocolonialism at the first half of 20th

century Fidel Castro seized the power (1959)

Nationalized American industriesEstablished diplomatic relations with the USSR

Economic hardships in the 1990s after the fall of the Soviet Union

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)

Present-day colonies British colonies: Cayman Islands, the Turks and C

aicos, Anguilla, and Montserrat

Department of France: French Guiana, Martinique, and Guadeloupe

The Dutch islands: Curaçao, Bonaire, St. Martin, Saba, and St. Eustatius

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)

Economic and Social Development

Dominance of agriculture Shift away from mono-crop dependence Tourism, offshore banking, and assembly plants

Sugar

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

Agriculture

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

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

Free trade zones in the Dominican RepublicFree trade zones in the Dominican Republic

Currently 16 FTZs are operational with foreign investors from U.S., Canada, South Korea, and Taiwan

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

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

Offshore banking Risk

Offers little employmentVulnerable to political instabilityAttracts drug money (eg. money laundering)

Drug consumptionCorruption of local officialsDrug-related murders

Less uncertain whether this will improve local earnings and standards of living

Tourism

Tourism Contributing factors

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

Tourism Pitfalls

Subject to the overall health of world economy and political affairs

RecessionHeightened 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

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)

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

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 Dom

inican Republic

Often returnees can introduce positive economic and political changes, but their impact is too fragmented to represent a national development force

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

Supplemental web resources http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/cxtoc.html