Cultures of the Caribbean

Caribbean Islands

We will...

identify and describe common traits that define cultures and culture regions (13A)

​Indigenous People

​Early Peoples of the Caribbean Islands

• Taino - (also called the Arawak) - farmed on the islands of the Greater Antilles: Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola and Puerto Rico

• Carib - lived in the Lesser Antilles and were the most feared warriors of the Caribbean

​European Settlers

​Christopher Columbus

• On October 12, 1492 arrived in the Bahamas.

• He called the people he met “Indians” because he thought he was in the East Indies.

• He opened the way for European sailing ships to come to the Americas.

• Europeans changed the way of life for the Caribbean peoples.

  • Many died from diseases carried by the Europeans.

  • Europeans also overworked and or starved the Caribbean peoples.

• The Spanish set up colonies in Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. The French settled what is now Haiti and some smaller islands. The British and Dutch also had island colonies.

Multiple Choice

Which Caribbean island gained independence first?

• Cuba
• Haiti
• Dominican Republic
• Puerto Rico

Multiple Select

What are the islands in the Greater Antilles?

• Cuba

• Dominican Republic

• Jamaica

• Puerto Rico

• Hispaniola

Puerto Rico :

^{Puerto Rico was given to the United States when Spain lost the Spanish-American War in 1898. (Commonwealth)}

Multiple Choice

Which of the Caribbean Islands is a United States commonwealth?

• Haiti
• Puerto Rico
• Cuba
• Jamaica

Island Economies

The biggest challenge the Caribbean Islands face is to develop economically.

Poverty and unemployment are constant challenges.

People in the Caribbean Islands support themselves in many different ways; tourism is the main source of income.

Another important source of income is remittances. A remittance is money sent back to the homeland by people who migrated someplace else to make money

Multiple Choice

money sent back to the homeland from people who migrated elsewhere is called a...

• currency

• allowance

• remittance

• I don't know

Multiple Choice

Most of the Island economies are based off of . . . 

• agricutlure
• tourism
• manufacturing 
• mining

Communism

Cuba is the only country in the Caribbean with a communist government.

​

In reality, the economy is run by a powerful government under the control of the Communist Party.

​

Cuba’s economy is very poor, and conditions are worse now than they were in the 1980s.

​

Cuba’s people have little political freedom. The U.S. has many refugees from Cuba who flee Cuba in search of a better life.

Free Enterprise

Individuals or businesses choose what to produce, and when to produce it. They make decisions based on what they think consumers will want to buy.

Free Enterprise countries are not without problems. Poverty, unemployment and wide spread disease still hinder these areas.

Trinidad and Tobago is one of the most successful free enterprise economies. Haiti is the poorest.

Multiple Choice

What type of economy does Cuba have?

• command 

• free market

• communist

• monarchy

Multiple Select

The islands have two types of economies, which are

• communism

• free trade

• free enterprise

• mixed

Multiple Choice

Someone who flees to another country, usually for political or economical reasons is called a . . .

• Commonwealth
• dialect
• refugee
• cooperative 

Multiple Choice

Three important pieces of any culture are

• language, values, and religion

• natural resources, climate, & landforms

• economy, population, & Literature

• technology, transportation, & economy

Multiple Choice

Caribbean culture is the way of life:

• Brought to the Caribbean by the Europeans

• Brought to the Caribbean by the East Indians

• Of Amerindians who live in the region

• Brought about by the blending of cultures all people who settled in the Caribbean.

Multiple Choice

Which two ethnic groups dominated the culture of the Caribbean?

• Taino and Chinese

• East Indians and Africans

• African and European

• European and Chinese