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Young people across Barbados are making a unique contribution to the Barbados Ruffugee Project – a collaboration between the Barbadian non-profit Ocean Acres Animal Sanctuary and the Canadian charitable organisation Eastern Ontario Potcake Rescue (EOPR) – the biggest ‘freedom flight’ out of Barbados and into Canada for 200 stray, abandoned and abused dogs. The youngsters […]
The post Thoughtful, touching messages to be tied to rescue dog crate labels for Barbados Ruffugee Project appeared first on Barbados Today.
Nationwide protests have taken place since October 7 despite the disbanding of the controversial Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) police unit.
The demonstrators have been accused of attacking police stations and personnel.
The rallies which are mostly attended by young people have become avenues to vent against corruption and unemployment.
Rights groups say at least 15 people have been killed the demonstrations began in early October.
MDLink is a secure, online telehealth platform which incorporates text, audio and video to allow patients to connect with locally registered doctors.
Dr Che Bowen, chief executive officer and founder of MDLink, has seen a major uptick in the number of patients and doctors registered to utilise his company’s telehealth platform.
Today, we have over 10,000 patients registered and 200 doctors providing much-needed medical advice – 85 per cent of which joined in the past three weeks,” shared Dr Bowen.
With telecommunications being a major element of MDLink’s business model, the telehealth company partnered with C & W Business Jamaica in 2019 for connectivity services.
“We have received feedback from patients raving about the ease of using the MDLink platform and the ability to get sound medical advice from a range of local doctors.
Ambassador Theodore Roosevelt Britton, Jr. was born on October 17, 1925 in North Augusta, South Carolina. In 1936, he and his family migrated to New York City, New York. Britton was drafted into the U.S. Marine Corps out of high school soon after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Although he was unaware at the time, Britton had been one of the first African Americans selected to join the U.S. Marine Corps. From its founding in 1775, the Corps was the only branch of U.S. military service that had always excluded African Americans.
Although the Marines now accepted African Americans, they were to be trained in a segregated facility located at Montford Point, North Carolina, adjacent to Camp Lejeune. For the remainder of World War II all black Marines were trained at Montford Point.
In 1946, after his discharge from the Marine Corps, Britton returned to New York City and enrolled in New York University (NYU) under the provisions of the G.I. Bill. He majored in banking and finance. Britton’s studies were interrupted after he was called back into active duty for the Korean War in 1950. After completing his service in the Marines in 1951, he resumed his studies at NYU and graduated in 1952 with a Bachelor of Arts degree.
From 1952 to 1964 Britton worked as a financial services officer with Carver Federal Savings and Loan Association which at the time was the largest black-owned savings and loan association in the nation. From 1964 to 1971 Britton worked with the National Baptist Convention leading their effort to encourage home ownership in the United States and in selected nations overseas.
In 1971 Britton was named the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in the Richard Nixon Administration. While at HUD, his duties included managing finance and international research.
On November 17, 1974, President Gerald Ford nominated Britton to serve as U.S. Ambassador to the island nations of Barbados and Grenada. The U.S. Senate
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by this author are their own and do not represent the official position of the Barbados Today Inc. by Sean St.Clair Fields It’s been a while since my last contribution and although I chose to reserve comment on several other issues, I cannot in good conscience remain silent in […]
The post #SpeakingOut – Who will pay for our reef? appeared first on Barbados Today.
LONDON, (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Forbidden by her global superstar mother Gloria Estefan from coming out as a lesbian to her grandmother, singer Emily Estefan said she contemplated suicide.
The article 'It got scary': Gloria Estefan's daughter on coming out as a lesbian appeared first on Stabroek News.
ONE of the suggestions being made to improve the Sexual Harassment Bill is widening the scope of people who have a duty of care to address complaints of sexual harassment, including the crew of public transportation such as the State-run Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC).
In his submission to the committee, Douglas Seeratan, a private citizen, said he was concerned about the wording of the clause in the Bill that deals with ensuring an environment free of sexual harassment.
Seeratan pointed out that based on the specifications in the Bill, this would exclude a passenger on a bus who is sexually harassed by another passenger, as these victims would have no one to hold accountable for providing an environment that is free of sexual harassment.
“My concern is that our first step in this matter of sexual harassment has to be to present legislation which is workable, and which is enforceable...at this point in time its focus on the workplace and institutions.
Committee chairman, and minister in charge of gender affairs, Olivia “Babsy” Grange, while recounting her own experience with sexual harassment on public transportation said, “I don't think we can have this legislation treating with something like that, but it is a reality; it is real.”
Mottley said it was also important to recognize that 75 years after the establishment of the United Nations and the Bretton Woods institutions –the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank – “to come together to determine how best we can re-fashion how they function and how they look to ensure that we are not left out of the critical corridors of decision making”
She said it was vital ‘so that our peoples have an opportunity to bring that moral leadership” noting that at the time the UN was created “many of our states simply did not exist as independent countries.
‘Therefore the contemplation as to how and what the United Nations should do or the Bretton Woods institutions should do in fashioning their world did not take into account our existence and indeed our desires for a future that’s reflective of an inclusive partnership with our people”.
Mottley said that as African Day is being celebrated this year, it should be viewed as a “milestone on the road, yea to a CARICOM-Africa cooperation, but not just simply for ourselves but for the world.
“Lets us show that the people of African descent can make a meaningful contribution to this world and that indeed our experiences over the last few centuries, prior to our becoming independent, stand as a platform to give us the impetus to be able to show the world that there can be a better way, a more caring way, a more inclusive way and one that does not reflect the manner in which our countries were taken advantage of and worst of all, our people exploited”.
Mottley said that the International Decade for People of African descent being led under the theme “People of African Descent, Recognition, Justice, and Development” must allow for an open discussion of the region’s contribution to a modern world.
Eighteenth and nineteenth century classical violinist George Augustus Polgreen Bridgetower is perhaps now best remembered for his association with Ludwig von Beethoven, who composed his Kreutzer Sonata for the young Afro-European musician, and personally performed the sonata for violin and piano with Bridgetower. A copy of the sonata autographed by Beethoven is inscribed: “Sonata mulattica composta per il mullato.”
Sources differ on details of Bridgetower’s life. His birth date is variously given as 1778, 1779, or 1780, most likely February 29, 1780. It is known his mother was a Polish European, his father was of African ancestry, and he was born in Poland. While there are several versions of where his father came from – from Africa, or from Barbados - it is unquestioned that he was of African descent.
During Bridgetower’s early childhood, his father was said to have worked in the household of Prince Esterhazy of Hungary, in a castle which maintained an opera house, a private orchestra, and employed the composer Franz Joseph Haydn. The Prince was a great patron of the musical arts, and this childhood home would have been an ideal incubator for Bridgetower’s extraordinary talents.
A child prodigy, Bridgetower’s debut performance in April 1789 was in Paris, France to rave reviews, when he was only nine or ten. In that same year, accompanied by his father, he held concerts in London, Bath, and Brighton in England. The concert in Bath, attended by King George III, was described as “an exquisite performance.”
When he was about 11 in 1791, the Prince of Wales placed Bridgetower under his protection, and appointed tutors for him. First violinist in the Prince’s private orchestra for 14 years, Bridgetower also performed numerous concerts and became a famous and celebrated musician in his time. It was during an 1802 concert tour of Europe that he made friends with Beethoven, who described Bridgetower as “an absolute master of his instrument.”
He was elected to the Royal Society of Musicians in 1807. In 1811,
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – West Indies fast bowling icon Michael Holding is surprised by the non-selection of rookie speedster Oshane Thomas in the 14-man squad to tour England starting next week.
“The few guys I’ve seen on international tours, one of them I’ve a little bit surprised he wasn’t selected in the original squad and that’s Oshane Thomas,” Holding said on the Youtube cricket show ‘Mikey – Holding Nothing Back’.
“I don’t know if they’re going to change anything at all to do with this particular tour because these are extraordinary circumstances but I would’ve been hoping that Oshane Thomas would have been in the original squad.”
Thomas was one of six fast bowlers named in the reserves for the England tour with Test regular Shannon Gabriel, along with the uncapped Keon Harding, Preston McSween, Anderson Phillip and Marquino Mindley also included.
West Indies depart the Caribbean on Tuesday via private charter for the historic England tour which will mark cricket’s first-ever “bio-secure” Test series, amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Caribbean students still stuck at The University of the West Indies, Mona, are anxious to get home as the coronavirus pandemic continues to wreak havoc across the globe.
Two students from St Vincent and the Grenadines, whose identities The Sunday Gleaner is protecting out of a general fear among Vincentians that they could lose scholarships for speaking out, have said that they feel let down by their government in how it is communicating with them and how plans for their return home are being handled.
Now one of the last occupants of his dorm as Jamaican students were given notice to vacate several halls within hours of news that classes would be suspended, Bentley said the uncertainty surrounding transportation arrangements have added to his anxiety.
In a letter earlier this month, St Vincent and the Grenadines Honorary Consul to Jamaica, June Barbour, told the stranded students wanting to return home amid the coronavirus that they would each have to pay more than US$1,330 for a return charter flight, warning that the airfare could increase if there are fewer than 56 students making the journey.
Bentley and other students found the price quoted by the Antiguan-based regional airline, LIAT, of which St Vincent and the Grenadines is a shareholder, to be exorbitant, given the limited resources they had.
By The Associated Press
A summit that included a star-studded virtual concert hosted by Dwayne Johnson has raised nearly $7 billion in cash and loan guarantees to assist the poor around the globe whose lives have been upended by the coronavirus pandemic.
Global Citizen said its summit with world leaders had raised $1.5 billion to help COVID-19 efforts in poor countries, along with a promise of 250 million doses of a vaccine for those nations if one is successfully developed.
The event included a Johnson-hosted concert with performances by Jennifer Hudson, Miley Cyrus, Coldplay and Chloe x Halle.
“The $6.9 billion that was pledged today to support the world’s poorest and most marginalized communities is an incredible next step on our journey out of the COVID-19 era, but there is more still to be done, as no one is safe until everyone is safe,” Hugh Evans, CEO of Global Citizen, said after the event Saturday.
“As we fight this virus, we also need to take care of the most vulnerable people and address the challenges they’re facing right now,” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said during the event.
Barbados PM to hand over chairmanship of CARICOM on July 3
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\t\tBRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC) — Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley will hand over the chairmanship of the 15-member regional integration movement, CARICOM, on Friday during a special conference of regional leaders.
Mottley, who has served in the position for the past six months, will hand over to St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves.
The regional leaders will hold host their 20th Special Meeting on Friday via video conference beginning at 10:00 am (local time) after they had agreed during their ninth Special Meeting in April to stage the handing-over ceremony at the beginning of July.
The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which has affected all CARICOM countries, has forced the annual summit, usually held in July, to be rescheduled to September 2 and 3 in St Vincent and the Grenadines.
During Friday’s virtual meeting, CARICOM leaders are expected to also address a number of procedural matters, according to a Barbados Government Information Service (BGIS) statement.
KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – West Indies captain Jason Holder says he is happy to see ace fast bowler Shannon Gabriel back to fitness and ready to return to international cricket if the proposed upcoming series in England takes place.
Speaking on local radio here Saturday night, Holder reiterated that safety was paramount as officials continued discussions over the logistics and medical protocols for the first-ever series in a “bio-secure” environment due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Gabriel has been one of the leading bowlers for West Indies in the last five years and has an impressive record of 133 wickets at an average of 30 runs per wicket.
Holder, the world’s top-ranked Test all-rounder, said when the game resumed following the break caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, bowlers would have exercise caution in their preparation.
The final decision on whether or not West Indies will face England in the three-Test series is expected to be made later this week at a Cricket West Indies board of directors meeting.
American Family Insurance steps up to celebrate HBCU students and alumni via virtual homecoming sponsorship. On a mission to acquire and support the best talent, American Family Insurance promotes career opportunities to HBCU students MADISON, WI – American Family Insurance announced today it is joining Target to co-sponsor YouTube Originals’ 'HBCU Homecoming 2020: Meet Me … Continued
The post American Family Insurance Supports YouTube HBCU Homecoming 2020 and promotes career opportunities for HBCU students appeared first on Atlanta Daily World.
I am aware that as I write, the biggest hurdle still stands before us – getting to and getting past the eventual Declaration that the PPP/C won our March 02, 2020 elections; that for the next five years the PPP/C will be sitting in the seat of our Government, still-young Irfaan Ali our President and Retired Brigadier Mark Phillips our Prime Minister.
Hanging before us all Guyanese, and particularly the leading members and supporters of our outgoing Coalition Govern-ment, is the question of what further dangerous, destructive detours would they take our people and country through.
Recall also the various thrusts of varying forcefulness to have Mr. Granger sworn in at dawn, as our returning President on the basis of those openly blatant and outrageously fictitious Mingo declarations; the assertions and denials about the “Guyana Dossier” submitted to the USA Government – was it submitted by the Government of Guyana or the APNU+AFC parties in coalition?
We of the PPP and PPP/C and indeed all Guyanese should be forever grateful to the persistent insistence of the Ambassadors of the Western Countries and their Central Governments, former PM Owen Arthur (of Barbados) heading the Common-wealth observers, former PM Bruce Golding (of Jamaica) heading the OAS team, PM Mia Mottley (of Barbados) current Chair of Caricom and a most concerned close neighbour, PM Keith Rowley of Trinidad and Tobago that the Guyanese people and country have so far been spared the travesty of a Mingo declaration.
Acknowledging that I came to the political stage of our country relatively recently (mid 1990) and through a side door opened by Dr. Jagan, the PPP and the PPP/C, and aware that I have no office nor authority to speak for any other but myself, nonetheless I will say for Dr. Jagan, the PPP and the PPP/C, that we will always work our hardest so as to earn the votes of approval of all our citizens, at every elections, regardless of their race, colour, class or creed or region of Guyana.
Shirley Anita St. Hill Chisholm, an advocate for the rights of people of color and for womens rights, became in November 1968 the first black woman elected to the United States Congress. Four years later she became the first black person to seek a major party’s nomination for the U.S. presidency when she ran for the Democratic Party nomination.
Chisholm represented New York’s Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn and when initially elected, was assigned to the House Agriculture Committee, which she felt was irrelevant to her urban constituency. In an unheard-of move, she demanded reassignment and got switched to the Veterans Affairs Committee. By the time she left that chamber, she had held a place on the prized Rules and Education and Labor Committees.
Chisholm was born in Brooklyn as the eldest of four daughters of parents who were immigrants from Barbados. She received her B.A. degree from Brooklyn College of the City University of New York in 1946 and she earned her M.A. degree from Columbia University in 1952 while working as a nursery school teacher, director of a child care center and later as an educational consultant with the city’s child care department. In 1964, she began her political career as a member of the New York State legislature as an assemblyperson. After four years there, she was elected on the Democratic ticket to serve in the U.S. Congress. She served two terms and in 1972 ran in the New York Democratic primary for president of the United States, establishing another first for black women.
Chisholm recounted her campaign for the presidency in her book, Unbought and Unbossed. After leaving Congress, she was named to the Purington Chair at Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts where she taught for four years. In 1985 she became a visiting scholar at Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia. In the later years of her life, Chisholm became a sought-after speaker on the lecture circuit.
Sources:
Sources: W. A. Low and Virgil A. Clift, eds. Encyclopedia of Black America (New York: McGraw-Hill
In 1995, career Foreign Service Officer Mosina H. Jordan was nominated by President Bill Clinton to serve as ambassador to the Central African Republic (CAR). After U.S. Senate confirmation she arrived in Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic and presented her credentials on November 29, 1995.
Mosina Jordan was born in Daytona Beach, Florida in 1943, to Frank Montero and Alice Mann. In 1964, she graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work from New York University. After she earned her Juris Doctorate from American University in 1973, Jordan became a civil servant, working for the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee, and for the Community Services Administration.
In 1982, Jordan started her career with the U.S. Foreign Service as an Administrative Officer for Economic Programs for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in Washington, D.C. After working at USAID headquarters for seven years, she rose in rank to become a Senior Deputy Assistant Administrator. Her first overseas experience came in 1989 when she served as a USAID Representative to Belize. From 1991 to 1995, Jordan supervised various USAID missions as Director for Regional Development in the Eastern Caribbean from an office in Bridgetown, Barbados. In this position, she directed a $24 million development program that promoted economic diversification, free trade, and legal reform for regional sustainability for seven Caribbean island nations.
In 1995, Jordan was appointed Ambassador to the Central African Republic (CAR). Her mission was to promote economic diversification, free market economic development, democracy, and human rights in a nation transitioning to democracy after decades of dictatorships. On May 21, 1996, this mission abruptly changed when CAR army soldiers staged a mutiny at the capital, Bangui, over unpaid wages. Jordan responded by closing the U.S. Embassy, and having her staff and other Americans safely evacuated to nearby Cameroon with the assistance of 35 U.S. Marines. The Embassy
Sir Grantley H. Adams, political leader, president of Barbados, born on this day.
We stand in solidarity with the family, friends and community of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Tony McDade, the African Americans and all those living in America of all races, genders, sexualities, abilities, ages, religions and ethnicities who have come out in their millions publicly to protest the most recent police killings, to condemn racism in all its forms, to remind us all that Black lives matter, that racism is an insidious, soul destroying, inhumane form of violence.
We note that the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Tony McDade are not isolated or maverick occurrences, but part of a repeating pattern of unjust murders of African Americans which is related to systemic, institutionalized anti-Black racism enforced through continuous racial profiling of the Black population by the police and state apparatus.
We call on CARICOM and ALL Caribbean leaders to unite with us, the millions of African Americans, Black folks living in the US and other Americans of all ethnicities and the global community to:
• Call for justice for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Tony McDade, and to demand that ALL those responsible for their deaths be brought to justice;
• Offer solidarity across national divides for the family, friends and community of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and all others who have been arrested, tear gassed and assaulted by law enforcement;
• Dismantle state endorsed racism and violence that makes itself visible through the incarceration, surveillance and deportation of Black folks;
• Call on the United States government to listen to the voices calling for an end to the institutionalization of racism in America in all its forms, and to commit to dismantling covert and overt racial discrimination and to enact the words of the American constitution, which states that all are “created equal and that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”;
We also call on CARICOM and its leaders to also take stock of the police and military killings in their own countries.
Vincent/Canada
Opal Palmer Adisa, Institute for Gender and Development Studies, University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica
Chelsea Fung, Guyana/Canada
Monifa Adebola, Barbados
Vanda Radzik, Guyana
Kimalee Phillip , Caribbean Solidarity Network, Canada/Grenada
Danuta Radzik, Help & Shelter, Guyana
Alissa Trotz, Canada/Guyana
Kurt Williams, Trinidad & Tobago
Danielle Smith, Canada/Barbados
Angela Robertson, Canada
Alexandrina Wong, Antigua
Lynette Joseph-Brown, Individual, Guyana
Karen de Souza, Red Thread, Guyana
Wintress White, Guyana
Kirk Quevedo, Trinidad & Tobago
Akende Rudder, NGO, Trinidad and Tobago
Holly Bynoe, Tilting Axis, St Vincent and the Grenadines/Barbados
Ralph Murray, The Bahamas
Orchid Burnside, Bahamas
Annalee D Davis, Independent Visual Artist, Barbados
Beverley Mullings, Canada/Jamaica/United Kingdom
Terry Ann Roy, Queer Corner, Trinidad and Tobago
Akeema Driggs, USA
BY WINSTONE ANTONIO LOCAL arts production house, Patsimeredu Edutainment Trust’s director Jasen Mphepo says theatre plays an important role in people’s lives, not only providing entertainment, but also creating a platform for engagement, debates and questions critical issues affecting the society. Patsimeredu Edutainment has been using theatre to create dialogue in different platforms of engagement on diverse societal issues. In an interview with NewsDay Life &Style yesterday, Mphepo said their key programming was centred on Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR) targeting mostly in and out of school youths. “The Buddies For Love, which is our organisation's flagship project, targets young people through the use of theatre. Theatre and other communication strategies such as song, dance and peer education form part of the project intervention,” he said. “Theatre plays both an informative as well as an influencer role. Artistes are emulated by the audience they perform for, hence playing a decisive role modelling good behaviour and at the same time helping people change their behaviour by offering them alternative solutions,” he said. Mphepo said their work entailed helping young people believe in themselves and make informed choices about their sexuality and sexual health, adding that they used baseline surveys to gather evidence on issues affecting young people to produce theatre plays that are then performed for the target audience. “The programme which annually targets over 36 000 students and 3 000 out of school youths empower young people with knowledge and information, leading to behavioural and attitude change with regards their sexuality and sexual health,” he said. “The programme links young people to services such as legal and health-related services. We have helped many young people who are at risk of sexual abuse and risky sexual behaviours overcome them including drug and alcohol abuse.” Currently Patsimeredu is running a radio drama titled Shelea on women empowerment that shall be airing on local radio station every Thursday. The compelling radio drama (Shelea) is part of a She Leads campaign being supported by HIVOS and the Embassy of Ireland in Pretoria. “Patsimeredu produced a soundtrack for Shelea for the radio and since its launch a week ago, has generated a buzz of engagements both on radio and social media,” he said. Mphepo said over the years they had worked with about 120 schools across the country, in cities and towns like Harare, Bulawayo, Masvingo, Mashonaland East, Mashonaland West and Mutare.
More than 4.5 million Californians have already cast ballots in the 2020 general election - and there're still 12 days to go. Roughly one-fifth of the 21.5 million ballots mailed to registered voters had been processed as of Tuesday evening, blowing away previous election totals. About three times as many California residents have participated in […]
The post Early voter turnout smashing California election records appeared first on Black Voice News.
St Vincent PM says expects GECOM will honour results of recount -says CARICOM will not `tolerate anybody stealing an election'
St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves has said that the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) expects that the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) will honour the results of the national vote recount from Guyana’s March 2 polls and use them to declare a winner.
“I am satisfied that CARICOM will not stand by idly and watch the recount– which was properly done–for the results to be set aside,” Gonsalves said yesterday during an appearance on NBC Radio St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ ‘Your Morning Cup,’ which was also broadcast live on Facebook.
“We expect the CARICOM observer mission to deliver its report and we expect that what is the recount would be honoured and the Guyana Election Commission will honour that recount and declare the winner in accordance with this recount,” he added.
Gonsalves, who said CARICOM would not “tolerate anybody stealing an election,” added that anybody who wants to challenge anything afterwards can go to court.
Gonsalves was part of a CARICOM delegation that was led here by CARICOM Chairperson and Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley in March to help resolve the crisis that arose after the controversy over the tabulation of the Region Four vote count led to an impasse on the outcome of the polls.
The faces in environmental activism have become younger in recent times, with 17-year-old Greta Thunberg, a teenage activist from Sweden, who has become the face of the youth climate change movement. A similar trend is taking place here in Jamaica...
(Barbados Nation) After 17 days with no new COVID-19 cases, four people who returned to Barbados on Tuesday’s repatriation flight from the United States tested positive for the viral illness.
Minister of Health Jeffrey Bostic made the announcement earlier yesterday during a media briefing at his Culloden Road, St Michael, office.
The public health officers in this Ministry are fully aware and have been advising the Government that we should be prepared for an uptick in cases once travel from hotbed areas resumed,” Bostic said.
“I wish to assure the public that Barbados is much better prepared today to deal with this challenge than we were in March when the viral illness surfaced here on island.
Bostic said the Best-Dos Santos Public Health laboratory conducted 187 tests on Tuesday and the others were negative.
West Indies, archipelago, between North and South America, curving c.2,500 mi (4,020 km) from Florida to the coast of Venezuela and separating the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico from the Atlantic Ocean. The archipelago, sometimes called the Antilles, is divided into three groups: the Bahamas ; the Greater Antilles ( Cuba , Jamaica , Haiti , the Dominican Republic , and Puerto Rico ); and the Lesser Antilles ( Leeward Islands , Windward Islands , Trinidad and Tobago , Barbados ) and the islands off the northern coast of Venezuela.
The British dependent territories are the Cayman Islands , the Turks and Caicos Islands , Anguilla , Montserrat , and the British Virgin Islands . The Dutch territories are Aruba , Curaçao , Bonaire , Saint Eustatius , Saba , and part of Saint Martin . The French territories are Guadeloupe and its dependencies, part of Saint Martin, and Martinique . Puerto Rico is a self-governing commonwealth associated with the United States, and the Virgin Islands of the United States is a U.S. territory. Margarita belongs to Venezuela.
Many of the islands are mountainous, and some have partly active volcanoes. Hurricanes occur frequently, but the warm climate (tempered by northeast trade winds) and the clear tropical seas have made the West Indies a very popular resort area. Some 34 million people live on the islands, and the majority of inhabitants are of black African descent.
