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1. Chapter 5
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2. Learning Objectives
 Compare and contrast two seemingly similar regions
(Latin America and Caribbean)
 Understand the following concepts and models
 Plantation system
 “Brain drain”
 Hurricanes
 Remittances
 Free trade zones
 Offshore banking
FIGURE 5.6 Los Roques Islands
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3. Introduction
 Setting the boundaries
 Islands and “rimland” (coastal Belize and the Guianas)
 Cultural diversity greater than Latin America
 Caribbean includes 26 countries and dependent territories,
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located on Caribbean Sea
Europeans, then the United States, influenced the region
Plantation agriculture is important. Tie to deforestation
High population densities, environmental problems
Economy based on tourism, offshore banking,
manufacturing, exports (e.g., flowers)
 Disparities in wealth in the region
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4. Environmental Geography: Paradise Undone
 Agriculture’s legacy of deforestation
 Europeans cleared much of the tropical rainforest to
grow sugarcane, to produce fuel to refine sugar, to build
houses and other structures, and because it was viewed
as unproductive. Plantations usually consisted of one
cash crop which was exported.
 Haiti’s forests almost gone; used for charcoal
 Managing the rimland forests
 Rimland: coastal zone of mainland,
from Belize to South America

Less threatened, has more forests;
supports diverse wildlife;
conservation is successful
FIGURE 5.7 European Space Agency Center,
Kourou, French Guiana
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6. Physical Geography of the Caribbean
Because the region is located at the juxtaposition of plates, many of the
islands are volcanic in orgin—high hazard potential.
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7. Environmental Issues in the Caribbean
What are the difficulties of being an island?
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8. The Caribbean and Climate Change
 Rising sea level
 3 to 10 feet in this century
 Bahamas most vulnerable: could lose 30 percent of
its land
 Belize, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname also
affected
 25 to 30 percent of people could be displaced
 Increased storm intensity, including hurricanes
 More variable rainfall (floods, droughts)
 Loss of biodiversity in forests and coral reefs
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9. Some photos of the marine life
in the Belize Reef, one of the
most biologically diverse
marine ecosystems.
The region is also
blessed in terms of its
biogeography, making it
a sought out location for
tourism, a main
contributor to the
economy. Tourism
however is also
detrimental to the
environment.
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10. Climate Map of the Caribbean
• Most of the region is
classified as having
either a tropical wet
(Af) or tropical
savanna (Aw)
climate.
• Temperature varies
little across the
region.
• Important
differences in total
rainfall and the
timing of the dry
season distinguish
different places
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11. What are the hazards of the
Caribbean?
 Dr. Chris Emrich, University of South Carolina
 Please see video under the “Geography Department videos”
button.
 You may need to download Quick Time first.
 Length is about 5 minutes
 As you watch make a list of the hazards that he discusses.
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13. Kingston Harbor, Jamaica
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14. Population of the Caribbean
The major population
centers are on the
islands of the Greater
Antilles. The pattern
here, as in the rest of
Latin America, is a
tendency toward greater
urbanism. The largest
city of the region is
Santo Domingo,
followed by Havana. In
comparison, the rimland
states are very lightly
settled.
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15.  87 percent of the region’s population is concentrated on the
four islands of the Greater Antilles
 Largest population in Cuba; Puerto Rico has highest
population density
 Demographic trends
 Region is currently growing at a rate of 1.2 percent
 Fertility decline
 Education, urbanization, preference for smaller families
 The rise of HIV/AIDS
 Infection rate more than twice that of North America
 More than 1 % of Caribbean population ages 15 to 49 has
HIV/AIDS; Haiti, Guyana, Belize, over 2 %
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16. European Settlement
 What did the Europeans want from the Caribbean
region?
 Land for plantation
 But diseases wiped out native populations
 Imported labor from abroad
 Slaves from Africa
 European countries out lawed slavery
 Later on indentured servants from Asia
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17. COLONIAL SPHERES
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18. Colonial History
Country
Independence in: From:
Haiti
1804
France
Dominican Republic
1844
UK
Cuba
1898
Spanish
Suriname
1954
Netherlands
Jamaica
1960’s
UK
Bahamas
1973
UK
Dominica
1978
UK
Belize
1981
UK
St. Kitts and Nevis
1983
UK
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19. Territories Today
 British
 Cayman Islands
 Turks and Caicos
 Anguilla
 Montserrat
 French
 French Guiana
 Martinique
 Guadeloupe
 Dutch
 Curacao
 Bonaire
 St. Martin
 Saba
 USA
 Puerto Rico
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20. Why do so many of the territories in
the Caribbean still remain part of the
colonial system?
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21. Migration
 Caribbean diaspora: the economic flight of Caribbean
peoples across the globe
As a region, the Caribbean has
one of the highest negative
rates of net migration in the
world, at –3.0. That means for
every 1,000 people in the
region, 3.0 annually leave.
Pull towards the former
colonial powers
This migration pattern has
spread aspects of Caribbean
culture around the world.
FIGURE 5.12
Caribbean Diaspora
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22. Looking at it another way, notice that many countries have a negative
migration rate—people are moving out.
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23. Urban Geography
 The contrast between urban and rural is not as stark
here as in other regions.
 Rural activities in urban settings
 Influence of plantation and subsistence farming.
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Arable lands were owned by elite; small plots for subsistence
agriculture
Large urban centers were unnecessary
 Houseyards – small, enclosed properties of half acre or
less

Typifies blending of rural subsistence, economic survival, and
matriarchy
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24. The look of the city
 Cities were laid out on a grid like their Spanish
counterparts
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Heavily fortified
Easier to control native populations
 Housing
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As urbanization occurred, thousands poured into the cities
 Erected shantytowns; filled informal sector
 Electricity pirated from power lines
In Cuba, government-built apartment blocks reflect socialism
 Housing landscape homogeneity
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25. Houseyard
Features:
• Elements of subsistence
farming, animals, trees
• Extended family
residents
• Rental units (sometimes)
• Fence
• Private space in urban
area—few outsiders
• Matriarchal—women
household heads
• Many household
members work in city
and migrate for work in
tourist industry
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26. In this map of the
Kingston Jamaica,
notice that the city is
an amalgamation of
houseyards in the
interior. Most of the
city’s infrastructure is
on the harbor side
and is to service
tourism.
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29. Language is ALWAYS a clue to culture. This map shows the official language in
the area. None of these are native, all are imposed by colonialism.
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30. African
influences
At least 10 million Africans landed
in the Americas during the four
centuries in which the Atlantic slave
trade operated. Most of the slaves
came from West Africa, especially
the Gold Coast (now Ghana) and the
Bight of Biafra (now Nigeria).
Angola, in southern Africa, was also
an important source area.
Area sometimes referred to as NeoAfrica (new Africa),
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31. Creating a Neo-Africa
 Maroon societies
 Communities of escaped slaves (“Maroons”)
 Many short-lived, but others survived and
helped African traditions and farming
practices to survive

Exist in isolated areas, e.g.,
the Bush Negroes of Suriname
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32. African religions
FIGURE 5.20
African Religious Influences
• Most strongly
associated with
northeastern Brazil
and the Caribbean
• Voodoo most widely
practiced
• Great example of
religious syncretism
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33. Creolization
 Blending of African, European, Amerindian cultural
elements into a unique system
 Language
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Spanish (24 million)
French (8 million)
English (6 million)
Dutch (500,000)
 How does this relate to the
African Diaspora?
 How does this relate to
colonization?
FIGURE 5.21
Caribbean Language Map
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34. Caribbean states
The cultural diversity persists
today.
Country
Pop den.
Ethnicity
Literacy
Unemployment
Antigua &
Barbuda
338
Black, UK, Port,
Lebanese
4%
9%
Belize
28
Mestizo, Creole,
Maya, Garafunda
91%
13%
Bahamas
55
Black, White
90%
9%
Haiti
641
Black, Mulatto,
European
53%
60%
Guyana
8
East Indian, Black,
Mulatto, Amerindian,
Chinese, European
99%
12%
Jamaica
601
African, Euro., East
Indian, White,
Chinese
98%
4%
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35. Creolization and Caribbean identity
 Music

Several forms emerged in the region
 Reggae, calypso, merengue, rumba, zouk, Afro-Caribbean
 Steel drums
 Music of Bob Marley reflects Jamaica’s political situation
FIGURE 5.22 Carnival Drummer
FIGURE 5.23 Haiti’s Rara Music
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37. You may skip this section in the book and there will be no quiz.
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39.  From fields to factories and resorts
 Historically linked to world economy through agriculture
 Tourism, offshore banking, assembly plants more
important now
 Sugar
 Crucial to the economic history of the Caribbean
 Importance of sugarcane has declined somewhat

Since 1990, Cuban sugarcane harvest has declined by 50
percent
 The banana wars
 Major exporters are in Latin America (not Caribbean)
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Several states in Lesser Antilles are dependent on banana
production
Sales depend on trade agreements and consumer whims
Experiments with other crops to reduce dependence on
bananas
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40. Remittances
 Money sent by immigrants to their country of
origin.
 Related to
 Brain Drain
 Caribbean
Diaspora
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41. Brain Drain and Remittances
 Dr Jerry Mitchell, University of South Carolina
 Both of these short videos are posted under the button
“Geography Department Videos”
 You may need to download Quick Time for them to
play.
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42. Poverty
 A discussion of poverty in the region is the subject of
your weekly topic on the discussion board.
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