Caribbean Studies

GEOGRAPHY OF THE CARIBBEAN REGION

Unit one

UNIT TWO AND FIVE

Unit two: the History of the Caribbean Region

1. In the 1492 CHRISTOPHER Columbus became the first European to

officially discover the Americas.

2. About 10,000 to 13,000 years ago the Amerindians migrated to the new

world via the Bering Straits from Siberia to Alaska

3. The first Amerindians settlers to the Caribbean region arrived about the

about the year 5000BC

4. They first travelled from Belize to Hispaniola and later from Guyana

through the Lesser Antilles to Puerto Rico

5. By 1492 the Tainos ( Arawaks) and Kalinagos (Caribs) have settled

largely in the Greater Antilles and the Lesser Antilles respectively

6. The arrival of Christopher Columbus encouraged many European

territories such as the Spanish, Dutch, English and French to settle and

colonize the Caribbean region.

7. After the failure of Amerindian Labour, the Europeans sought to rely on

a system of white indenture-ship. This usually last for 5 to 7 years with

delay of payment. Between the years 1654-1658, 10,000 Europeans

indentures arrived from Bristol to Virginia and the Caribbean Islands.

Also between 1644 -1655 12,000 European indentures arrived from

Britain to Barbados.

8. Between the years 1600 to 1800 approximately 9 million Africans were

brought to the Caribbean territories. The total system of trading

including slavery during the colonial era, was known as the Triangular

trade: the journey from Africa to the Americas with slave was known as

the Middle passage.

Unit two: the history of the Caribbean region

9. Between 1838 to 1917 more than five hundred thousand Asian

immigrants arrived in the Caribbean as labourers (bond servants:

Indians, Chinese, Arabs, Jews

10. The Spanish mining and agricultural system of the encomienda

Functioned on the labour system of the repartimento.

11. Slavery is a system of labour which relied on the African slave

trade system in which the people were purchased as labourers

12. Indenture-ship as a system of labour relied on Asian contractual

workers( bond servants)

13. The Caribbean plantation system relied on socio-economic

relationships to resources. The planters own land based on resources.

Artisans offered their skills in rural and urban areas. These workers

carried out extensive normal tasks.

14. Some of the Amerindians escaped to the mountains interior as the

ability to resist was defined by minimal success. Africans developed a

range of active and passive resistance. The Haitians created the first

Caribbean autonomous territories in 1804. Free villages were also

established throughout the English speaking Caribbean territories after

1834.

15. Political autonomy began in the era of socio-economic depression

of the 1950. Industrial democracy created many trade unions and staff

federations to improve the working conditions and the workers

payments.

16. The universal adult suffrage achieved in the 1940s is related to the

limited colonial democracy of the 1600s.

17. Interval self-government and the limited self-rule of the 1940s

established the central government (executive, legislature and judiciary).

Also local government was established(local councils and towns)

18. Industrial democracy resulted is trade unions gaining bargaining

rights for workers. After the end of indenture-ship many Asians created

micro business such as shop keeping and commodity trading. This

became a phenomena of the modern era.

Unit four

The Mass Media in the Caribbean

The mass media are the diversified instruments that are intended to reach a large audience.

This is done through communication which is the inclusive destruction of information to very

large percentage of the population.

The mechanism and technologies of the mass media are print and electronic

The print media is defined by instruments such as newspapers, newsletters, books and journals.

Electronic media is defined by technologies such as: telephones, radios, televisions, computers,

cables, satellites.

Print media was introduced in the 15th century (1400), while electronic information was

introduced in the 20th (1900).

These are printing 1453

These are electronic: cinema 1900, radio 1910, television 1950, internet 1990

These include also electronic recordings: the late 1800’s cassettes, compact discs (cd’s) mobile

telephones (especially since the year 2000)

According to John Thompson of the University of Cambridge there are five characteristics of the

mass media. These are

It uses technical and institutional methods

It is about to commodification of symbolic forms which is the ability to manufacture and sell

large quantities of a given item.

It is defined by the separation between the production and reception of information

It tries to reaches audience both near and especially far away

It relies on the concept of – from one to many, that is reaching a large audience

The purpose of the mass media are:

Advertising

Entertainment

And giving public information

Careers that may be pursued in the mass media includes:

Journalism, public relations, publishing and also software publishing

The mass media is (according to dictionary.com ) the means of communication that reach large numbers

of people in a short time, such as television, newspaper, magazine and radio.

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November 24, 2015

Unit ONE:

2003

On the map of the Caribbean provided identify any two territories that were colonized by the following

European nations, using the key given in bracket: Spain, Holland, England, and France.

On the same map, locate any two countries in mainland Latin America.

Write a brief description of the Caribbean region in terms of its geographical features.

2004

On the blank map of the Caribbean provided, identify the following:

I. Four islands in the lesser Antilles

II. Two islands in the greater Antilles

III. Two mainland countries in South America

IV. Two mainland countries in the central America

Describe the geography of the Caribbean region

2010

Give a geographical definition of the Caribbean region

With reference to their impact on our culture, evaluate the importance of the contribution made by each

of the following groups:

I. Amerindians

II. Spanish

III. Africans

IV. Indians

2014

Distinguish between a national hazard and a natural disaster

Select a national disaster that has impacted a named Caribbean island

Explain how it occurs