History
The name "Caribbean" is derived from the Caribs, one of the dominant American Indian groups in the region at the time of European contact during the late 15th century. After the discovery of the West Indies by Christopher Columbus in 1492, the Spanish term Antillas was assigned to the lands; stemming from this, "Sea of the Antilles" is a common alternative name for the Caribbean Sea in various European languages. During the first century of development, the Spanish dominance was undisputed.
The Caribbean Sea was an unknown body of water to the populations of Eurasia until 1492, when Christopher Columbus first sailed into Caribbean waters on a quest to find a sea route to Asia. At that time the Western Hemisphere in general was unknown to Europeans. Following the discovery of the islands by Columbus, the area was quickly colonised by several Western cultures (initially Spain, then later Portugal, England, the Dutch Republic, France and Denmark). Following the colonisation of the Caribbean islands, the Caribbean Sea became a busy area for European-based marine trading and transport, and this commerce eventually attracted piracy.
Today the area is home to 22 island territories and borders 12 continental countries. Due to the abundance of sunshine, year-round tropical temperatures moderated by the almost constant trade winds, and the great variety of scenic destinations to visit, during the second half of the 20th century on into the 21st, the Caribbean Sea became a popular place for tourism.
Read more about this topic: Caribbean Sea
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“Look through the whole history of countries professing the Romish religion, and you will uniformly find the leaven of this besetting and accursed principle of actionthat the end will sanction any means.”
—Samuel Taylor Coleridge (17721834)
“Gossip is charming! History is merely gossip. But scandal is gossip made tedious by morality.”
—Oscar Wilde (18541900)
“The history of his present majesty, is a history of unremitting injuries and usurpations ... all of which have in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these states. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world, for the truth of which we pledge a faith yet unsullied by falsehood.”
—Thomas Jefferson (17431826)