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Caribbean,
islands in the stream |
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BAHAMAS |
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On October 12, 1492, Christopher Columbus made
his first landfall in the Western Hemisphere in
the Bahamas. He encountered people known as
Lucayans and exchanged gifts with them.
Spanish slave traders later captured native
Lucayan Indians to work in gold mines in
Hispaniola, and within 25 years, the Lucayan
population was destroyed. The Spanish did not
colonize the islands, though they had claimed
them.
When Europeans first landed on the islands, they
reported the Bahamas were lushly forested. The
forests were cleared during plantation days and
have not regrown.
In 1647, during the English Civil War, a group
of Puritan religious refugees from the royalist
colony of Bermuda, the "Eleutheran Adventurers",
founded the first permanent European settlement
in the Bahamas and gave the island of Eleuthera
its name. "Eleutheria" is a Greek word meaning "freedom."
The isolated cays sheltered pirates and wreckers
well into the 17th century. Charles II granted
land in the Bahamas to the Lords proprietors
ofProvince of Carolina, but the islands were
left entirely to themselves. |
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After the capital of Charles Town on New
Providence was destroyed by a joint French and
Spanish fleet in 1703, the local pirates
proclaimed an anarchic 'Privateers' Republic'
with Edward Teach, better known as Blackbeard,
as chief magistrate. Nassau was the main port
preferred by the pirates during this time.
When the islands became a British Crown Colony
in 1717, the first Royal Governor, a former
privateer named Woodes Rogers, established law
and order in 1718, when he hunted down and
expelled the pirates who had used the islands as
bases. Rogers famously called for the arrest of
pirates Calico Jack, Anne Bonny, and Mary Read,
who were later captured by Jamaican authorities.
He also established the first House of Assembly
in 1729, a parliament that has met continuously
ever since.
During the American War of Independence the
Bahamas fell to Spanish forces under General
Galvez in 1782. A British-American loyalist
expedition later recaptured the islands. After
the American Revolution, the British issued land
grants to American Loyalists, and the sparse
population of the Bahamas tripled within a few
years. The planters thought to grow cotton, but
the thin, rocky soil was unsuited to large-scale
cultivation, and the plantations soon failed.
Most of the current inhabitants are descended
from the slaves brought to work on the Loyalist
plantations, or from liberated Africans set free
by the British navy after the abolition of the
slave trade in the British Empire in 1807.
Plantation life ended with the British
emancipation of slaves in 1834.
During the American Civil War, the Bahamas
prospered as a base for Confederate
blockade-running, bringing in cotton for the
mills of England and running out arms and
munitions. During Prohibition after World War I,
the islands were a base for American rum-runners,smuggling
liquor into the US. After emancipation Caribbean
societies inherited a rigid racial
stratification that was reinforced by the
unequal distribution of wealth and power. The
three-tier race structure, which existed well
into the 1940s and in some societies beyond,
upheld the belief of European racial superiority,
although most West Indians are of African
descent. Race and racial attitudes remain
important in mixed Caribbean societies.
During World War II, the Allies centred their
flight training and antisubmarine operations for
the Caribbean in the Bahamas. The wartime
airfield became Nassau's international airport
in 1957 and helped spur the growth of mass
tourism, which accelerated after Havana was
closed to American tourists in 1961. Freeport,
on the island of Grand Bahama, was established
as a free trade zone in the 1950s and became the
country's second city. Bank secrecy combined
with the lack of corporate and income taxes led
to a rapid growth in the offshore financial
sector during the postwar years.
Bahamians achieved self-government in 1964 and
full independence within the Commonwealth of
Nations on July 10, 1973. |
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The original inhabitants of
Barbados were the indians Arawak, chased
away in the 13th. century
by the invasion of the fearsome Caribi indios coming from Venezuela.
They were themselves expelled and enslaved by European and simply disappeared. |
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Portuguese explorer Pedro a Campos took a break here in 1536 while
travelling to Brasil,
although there was had no reason to settle down, he seems to have
introduced wild pigs on the isle
with the intention to find food on the way back.
It was Campos himself to call the island "Barbados": "the bearded"
because of the
curious fig trees on the island whose long roots suspended in the air
give the appearance of bearded trees.
Her Majesty's captain John Powell landed in 1625 and occupied the
island in the name of England.
Two years later his brother, captain Henry Powell, reached Barbados
with a group of 80 colons and ten slaves,
so began the first European settlement of the isle: Jamestown on the
western coast, now called Holetown. |
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In a few years the colons razed much of the forests and planted
tobacco and cotton.
Bettween 1640 and 1650 pitched sugar caen and, for the first time in
the caribbean, the sugar beet.
To meet the demands of labor generated by new situation, colons
started to import new African slaves.
Their estates proved very productive and around the end of 17th.
century economy
had a great development. |
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In 1639 the isle' landowners joined to form a legislative
assembly, the second parliament in chronological
time after Bermuda in a British colony. |
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Barbados was faithful to British crown during his civil wars and
after the beheading of king Charles the first,
Oliver Cromwell sent troops to establish his authority on the island.
Troops landed in 1651 and next year Barbados surrendered and signes
his capitulation that formed the basis
of Barbados chart that stated that the island was administered by a
governor and freely elected assembly,
furthermore no British tax could be inserted without local consensus. When the British crown resumed
his power, after having deleted
Cromwell in 1660, this valuable document
confered more freedom to Barbados against the British monarchy than
that enjoyed by the other's British colonies. The sugar industry continued to
flourish also in the next century
despite of the slavery abolition.
Independence was achieved in 1834 but didn't resolve life's
critical conditions of black inhabitants people,
all the agricultural lands remained in large handowners 's hand and
the slaves living conditions didn't improve at all.
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During the thirties economic
crisis unemployment reached the highest
level, living conditions deteriorated
and fightings burst in the streets.
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At that time was established the colonial office for development and
assistance, which gave large money disponibility
to the Caribbean colonies.
To address the growing political embarrassment, white colonies gave
to black people an important role in the process
of policies reforms implementation.
One of these reformers named Grantley Adams, ten years later became
Barbados' prime minister and was knighted by queen'.
Barbados gained independence in
1966.
When the sugar industry declined after the second world war, tourism
turned to be the greater resource followed by banking. Except for his Spanish name,
Barbados didn't suffer any European's
influence.
Its location in the Windward islands permitted to remain protected
from the invasions,
allowing the emergence of British culture for more than 400 years.
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As an example of this we'd like
to remember that the very Britannic
Cricket is the national sport of Bajan.
Barbados has the highest percentage of professional cricket players
in the world.
One of the best players of all times was Garfield Sobers, native of
Barbados, knighted in 1975.
Another cricket's hero, sir Frank Worrell, even appears on the five
dollars Barbados banknote.
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BERMUDA |
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Christopher
Columbus never met Bermuda during his four voyages of
discovery. Bermuda was discovered in 1503 by a Spanish
explorer, Juan de Bermúdez. It is mentioned in Legatio
Babylonica, published in 1511 by Peter Martyr d'Anghiera,
and was also included on Spanish charts of that year.
Both Spanish and Portuguese ships used the islands as a
replenishment spot for fresh meat and water, but legends
of spirits and devils, now thought to have stemmed only
from the callings of raucous birds (most likely the
Bermuda Petrel, or Cahow), and of perpetual,
storm-wracked conditions (most early visitors arrived
under such conditions) and a surrounding ring of
treacherous reefs kept them from attempting any
permanent settlement on the Isle of Devils.
Bermúdez and Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo ventured to
Bermuda in 1515 with the intention of leaving a breeding
stock of hogs on the island as a future stock of fresh
meat for passing ships. However, the inclement weather
prevented them from landing.
Some years later, a Portuguese ship on the way home from
Santo Domingo wedged itself between two rocks on the
reef. The crew tried to salvage as much as they could
and spent the next four months building a new hull from
Bermuda cedar to return to their initial departure point.
One of these stranded sailors is most likely the person
who carved the initials "R"and "P," "1543" into Spanish
Rock which still sits at "Spittal Pond." The initials
probably stood for "Rex Portugaline" and later were
incorrectly attributed to the Spanish, leading to the
misnaming of this rocky outcrop of Bermuda. |
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Settlement by the English
John Smith wrote one of the first Histories of
Bermuda (in concert with Virginia and New
England). For the next century, the island is
believed to have been visited frequently but not
permanently settled. The first two English
colonies in Virginia had failed, and a more
determined effort was initiated by King James I
of England, who granted a Royal Charter to The
Virginia Company. In 1609, a flotilla of ships
left England under the Company's Admiral, Sir
George Somers, to relieve the colony of
Jamestown, settled two years before. Somers had
previous experience sailing with both Sir
Francis Drake and Sir Walter Raleigh. The
flotilla was broken up by a storm, and the
flagship, the Sea Venture, was wrecked off
Bermuda (as depicted on the territory's coat of
arms), leaving the survivors in possession of a
new territory. (William Shakespeare's play The
Tempest is thought to have been inspired by
William Strachey's account of this shipwreck.)
The island was claimed for the English Crown,
and the charter of the Virginia Company was
extended to include it. St. George's was settled
in 1612 and made Bermuda's first capital. It is
the oldest continually inhabited English town in
the New World. |
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Company colony - the 17th century
Because of its limited land area, Bermuda has had
difficulty with over-population. In the first two
centuries of settlement it relied on steady human
emigration to keep the population manageable. It is
often claimed that, before the American Revolution more
than ten thousand Bermudians (over half of the
population) emigrated, primarily to the American South,
where Great Britain was displacing Spain as the dominant
European imperial power. A steady trickle of outward
migration continued. With seafaring being the only real
industry, by the end of the 18th century at least a
third of the island's manpower was at sea at any one
time.
The archipelago's limited land area and resources led to
the creation of what may be the earliest conservation
laws of the New World. In 1616 and 1620 acts were passed
banning the hunting of certain birds and young tortoises
In 1649, the English Civil War raged and King Charles I
was beheaded in Whitehall, London. The execution
resulted in the outbreak of a Bermudian civil war; it
was ended by embodied militias. This created a strong
sense of devotion to the crown for the majority of
colonists and it forced those who would not swear
allegiance, such as Puritans and independents, into
exile in the Bahamas. Bermuda Gazette of 12 November,
1796, calling for privateering against Spain and its
allies, and with advertisements for crew for two
privateer vessels.
In the 17th century the Somers Isles Company suppressed
shipbuilding, as it needed Bermudians to farm in order
to generate income from the land. Agricultural
production met with only limited success, however. The
Bermuda cedar boxes used to ship tobacco to England were
reportedly worth more than their contents.[citation
needed] The colony of Virginia far surpassed Bermuda in
both quality and quantity of tobacco produced.
Bermudians began to turn to maritime trades relatively
early in the 17th century, but the Somers Isles Company
used all its authority to suppress turning away from
agriculture. This interference led to the islanders
demanding, and receiving, the revocation of the
Company's charter in 1684; the Company itself being
dissolved. |
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The 18th century and a maritime economy |
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Whaling, privateering, and the merchant trade were all
pursued vigorously. Vessels would sail the normal
shipping routes, but had to engage an enemy vessel no
matter the size or strength, and as a result many ships
were destroyed. The Bermuda sloop became highly regarded
for its speed and manoeuvrability. In fact, it was the
Bermuda sloop HMS Pickle, one of the fastest vessels in
the Royal Navy, that brought the news of the victory at
Trafalgar and the death of Admiral Nelson back to
England. |
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The 19th century - Fortress Bermuda
After the American Revolution, the Royal Navy began
improving the harbours and built the large dockyard on
Ireland Island, in the west of the chain, as its
principal naval base guarding the western Atlantic Ocean
shipping lanes. During the American War of 1812, the
British attacks on Washington, D.C. and the Chesapeake,
that would result in the writing of The Star-Spangled
Banner, were planned and launched from Bermuda, the
Royal Navy's 'North American Station'.
The First Bermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps Contingent,
raised in 1914. By the war's end, the two Bermuda
contingents had lost over 75% of their combined strength.
It was here that the British soldiers assembled before
being sent to attack Baltimore and Washington. In 1816,
James Arnold, the son of famed U.S. traitor Benedict
Arnold, fortified Bermuda's Royal Naval Dockyard against
possible U.S. attacks.[8] Today, the "Maritime Museum"
occupies the Keep of the Royal Naval Dockyard, including
the Commissioner's House, and exhibits artifacts of the
base's military history.
As a result of Bermuda's proximity to the southeastern
U.S. coast, it was regularly used by Confederate States
blockade runners during the American Civil War to evade
Union naval vessels and bring desperately needed war
goods to the South from England. The old Globe Hotel in
St. George's, which was a centre of intrigue for
Confederate agents, is preserved as a museum open to the
public. |
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CAYMAN |
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A variety of people settled on the islands, including
pirates, refugees from the Spanish Inquisition,
shipwrecked sailors, deserters from Oliver Cromwell's
army in Jamaica, and slaves. The majority of Caymanians
are of African and British descent, with considerable
interracial mixing. |
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Great Britain took formal control of the Cayman Islands,
along with Jamaica, under the Treaty of Madrid in 1670.
Following several unsuccessful attempts, permThe first
recorded permanent inhabitant of the Cayman Islands,
Isaac Bodden, was born on Grand Cayman around 1661. He
was the grandson of the original settler named Bodden
who was probably one of Oliver Cromwell's soldiers at
the taking of Jamaica in 1655.anent settlement of the
islands began in the 1730s. The islands, along with
nearby Jamaica, were captured from the Spanish Empire,
then ceded to England under the Treaty of Madrid (1670).
They were governed as a single colony with Jamaica until
1962 when they became a separate British Overseas
Territory and Jamaica became an independent Commonwealth
realm. |
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The island of Grand Cayman, which lies largely
unprotected at sea level, was hit by Hurricane Ivan on
11 and 12 September 2004, which destroyed many buildings
and damaged 90% of them. Power, water and communications
were all disrupted in some areas for months as Ivan was
the worst hurricane to hit the islands in 86 years.
However, Grand Cayman began a major rebuilding process
and within two years itsinfrastructure was nearly
returned to pre-hurricane levels. The Cayman Islands
have the dubious honour of having experienced the most
hurricane strikes in history. Due to the proximity of
the islands, more hurricane and tropical systems have
affected the Cayman Islands than any other region in the
Atlantic basin, being brushed or directly hit, on
average, every 2.23 years. |
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The Cayman Islands historically have been a tax-exempt
destination. Legend has it that Caymanians in 1788
rescued the crews of a Jamaican merchant ship convoy
which had struck a reef at Gun Bay during a hurricane,
and that the Caymanians were rewarded with King George
III's promise to never again impose a tax. |
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CUBA |
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DOMINICAN REPUBLIC |
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The
Dominican Republic is a nation on the
island of Hispaniola, part of the
Greater Antilles archipelago in the
Caribbean region. The western third of
the island is occupied by the nation of
Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two
Caribbean islands that are shared by two
countries. Both by area and population,
the Dominican Republic is the second
largest Caribbean nation (after Cuba),
with 48,442 square kilometres (18,704 sq
mi) and an estimated 10 million people.
Inhabited by Taínos since the 7th
century, the territory of the Dominican
Republic was reached by Christopher
Columbus in 1492 and became the site of
the first permanent European settlement
in the Americas, namely Santo Domingo,
the country's capital and Spain's first
capital in the New World. In Santo
Domingo stand, among other firsts in the
Americas, the first university,
cathedral, and castle, the latter two in
the Ciudad Colonial area, a UNESCO World
Heritage Site. |
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After three centuries of Spanish
rule, with French and Haitian interludes, the
country became independent in 1821 but was
quickly taken over by Haiti. |
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The
Dominican leader Victorious in the Dominican War
of Independence in 1844, was Juan Pablo Duarte,
widely considered the architect of the Dominican
Republic independence.
Dominicans experienced mostly internal strife,
and also a brief return to Spanish rule, over
the next 72 years. The United States occupation
of 1916–1924, and a subsequent, calm and
prosperous six-year period under Horacio Vásquez
Lajara, were followed by the dictatorship of
Rafael Leonidas Trujillo Molina until 1961. The
civil war of 1965, the country's last, was ended
by a U.S.-led intervention, and was followed by
the authoritarian rule of Joaquín Balaguer,
1966–1978. Since then, the Dominican Republic
has moved toward representative democracy, and
has been led by Leonel Fernández for most of the
time after 1996.
The Dominican Republic has the second largest
economy in the Caribbean and Central American
region. Though long known for sugar production,
the economy is now dominated by services. The
country's economic progress is exemplified by
its advanced telecommunication system. |
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Nevertheless, unemployment, government
corruption, and inconsistent electric service
remain major Dominican problems.
International migration greatly affects the
country, as it receives and sends large flows of
migrants. Haitian immigration and the
integration of Dominicans of Haitian descent are
major issues; the total population of Haitian
origin is estimated to be 800,000. A large
Dominican diaspora exists, most of it in the
United States, where it comprises 1.3 million.
They aid national development as they send
billions of dollars to their families,
accounting for one-tenth of the Dominican GDP. |
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The Dominican
Republic has become the Caribbean's
largest tourist destination; the
country's year-round golf courses are
among the top attractions. In this
mountainous land is located the
Caribbean's highest mountain, Pico
Duarte, as is Lake Enriquillo, the
Caribbean's largest lake and lowest
elevation. Quisqueya, as Dominicans
often call their country, has an average
temperature of 26 °C (78.8 °F) and great
biological diversity.
Music and sport are of the highest
importance in Dominican culture, with
merengue as the national dance and song
and baseball the favorite sport. |
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By Wikipedia |
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