West Indies - wikipedia West Indies Political map of the West Indies The West Indies is a region of the North Atlantic Ocean in the Caribbean that includes the island countries and surrounding waters of three major archipelagoes : the Greater Antilles, the Lesser Antilles and the Lucayan Archipelago. The region is known as the area running from Florida westward along the Gulf Coast, and then south along the Mexican coast through Central America and then eastward across the northern coast of South America. Indigenous peoples were the first inhabitants of the West Indies. In 1492, Christopher Columbus became the first European to arrive at the islands, where he is believed by historians to have first set foot on land in the Bahamas. After the first of the voyages of Christopher Columbus to the Americas, Europeans began to use the term West Indies to distinguish the region from the East Indies of South Asia and Southeast Asia. Contents 1 History 2 Use of the term 3 Countries and territories by archipelago 3.1 Greater Antilles 3.2 Lesser Antilles 3.3 Lucayan Archipelago 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading History Main article : History of the Caribbean Caribbean Basin countries In the late sixteenth century, French, English and Dutch merchants and privateers began their operations in the Caribbean Sea, attacking Spanish and Portuguese shipping and coastal areas. They often took refuge and refitted their ships in the areas the Spanish could not conquer, including the islands of the Lesser Antilles, the northern coast of South America including the mouth of the Orinoco, and the Atlantic Coast of Central America. In the Lesser Antilles they managed to establish a foothold following the colonisation of St Kitts in 1624 and Barbados in 1626, and when the Sugar Revolution took off in the mid-seventeenth century, they brought in thousands of Africans to work the fields and mills as slave labourers. These Africans wrought a demographic revolution, replacing or joining with either the indigenous Caribs or the European settlers who were there as indentured servants. The struggle between the northern Europeans and the Spanish spread southward in the mid to late seventeenth century, as English, Dutch, French and Spanish colonists, and in many cases their slaves from Africa first entered and then occupied the coast of The Guianas ( which fell to the French, English and Dutch ) and the Orinoco valley, which fell to the Spanish. The Dutch, allied with the Caribs of the Orinoco would eventually carry the struggles deep into South America, first along the Orinoco and then along the northern reaches of the Amazon. Since no European country had occupied much of Central America, gradually the English of Jamaica established alliances with the Miskito Kingdom of modern - day Nicaragua and Honduras, and then began logging on the coast of modern - day Belize. These interconnected commercial and diplomatic relations made up the Western Caribbean Zone which was in place in the early eighteenth century. In the Miskito Kingdom, the rise to power of the Miskito - Zambos, who originated in the survivors of a rebellion aboard a slave ship in the 1640s and the introduction of African slaves by British settlers within the Miskito area and in Belize, also transformed this area into one with a high percentage of persons of African descent as was found in most of the rest of the Caribbean. From the 17th through the 19th century, the European colonial territories of the West Indies were the French West Indies, British West Indies, the Danish West Indies, the Netherlands Antilles ( Dutch West Indies ), and the Spanish West Indies. In 1916, Denmark sold the Danish West Indies to the United States for US $25 million in gold, per the Treaty of the Danish West Indies. The Danish West Indies became an insular area of the U.S., called the United States Virgin Islands. Between 1958 and 1962, the United Kingdom re-organised all their West Indies island territories ( except the British Virgin Islands and the Bahamas ) into the West Indies Federation. They hoped that the Federation would coalesce into a single, independent nation. However, the Federation had limited powers, numerous practical problems, and a lack of popular support ; consequently, it was dissolved by the British in 1963, with nine provinces eventually becoming independent sovereign states and four becoming current British Overseas Territories. West Indies or West India was the namesake of several companies of the 17th and 18th centuries, including the Danish West India Company, the Dutch West India Company, the French West India Company, and the Swedish West India Company. West Indian is the official term used by the U.S. government to refer to people of the West Indies. Use of the term The West Indies in relation to continental America. Tulane University professor Rosanne Adderly says : ( T ) he phrase `` West Indies '' distinguished the territories encountered by Columbus or and claimed by Spain from discovery claims by other powers in ( Asia 's ) `` East Indies ''.... The term `` West Indies '' was eventually used by all European nations to describe their own acquired territories in the Americas.... considering British Caribbean colonies collectively as the `` West Indies '' had its greatest political importance in the 1950s with the movement to create a federation of those colonies that could ultimately become an independent nation... Despite the collapse of the Federation ( in the early 1960s )... the West Indies continues to field a joint cricket team for international competition. The West Indies cricket team includes participants from Guyana, which is geographically located in South America. Countries and territories by archipelago Greater Antilles Cayman Islands ( United Kingdom ) Cuba Dominican Republic Haiti Jamaica Puerto Rico ( United States ) Lesser Antilles Anguilla ( United Kingdom ) Antigua and Barbuda Aruba ( Netherlands ) Barbados Bonaire ( Netherlands ) British Virgin Islands ( United Kingdom ) Curaçao ( Netherlands ) Dominica Grenada Guadeloupe ( France ) Martinique ( France ) Montserrat ( United Kingdom ) Nueva Esparta ( Venezuela ) Saba ( Netherlands ) Saint Barthélemy ( France ) Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint - Martin ( France ) Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Sint Eustatius ( Netherlands ) Sint Maarten ( Netherlands ) Trinidad and Tobago United States Virgin Islands ( United States ) Federal Dependencies of Venezuela ( Venezuela ) Lucayan Archipelago Bahamas Turks and Caicos Islands ( United Kingdom ) See also Geography portal Caribbean Basin Initiative Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act History of the Caribbean History of the British West Indies Spanish colonization of the Americas West Indian References Jump up ^ Caldecott, Alfred ( 1898 ). The Church in the West Indies. London : Frank Cass and Co. p. 11. Retrieved 12 December 2013. Jump up ^ `` Two telegrams about the sale - The Danish West - Indies ''. The Danish West - Indies. Retrieved 2017 - 10 - 13. Jump up ^ Garrison, William L. ; Levinson, David M. ( 2014 ). The Transportation Experience : Policy, Planning, and Deployment. OUP USA. ISBN 9780199862719. Jump up ^ `` Info Please U.S. Social Statistics ''. Retrieved 1 October 2015. Jump up ^ Rosanne Adderly, `` West Indies '', in Encyclopedia of Contemporary Latin American and Caribbean Cultures, Volume 1 : A-D ( London and New York : Routledge, 2000 ) : 1584. Further reading Wikimedia Commons has media related to Subdivisions of the Caribbean. Cromwell, Jesse. `` More than Slaves and Sugar : Recent Historiography of the Trans - imperial Caribbean and Its Sinew Populations. '' History Compass ( 2014 ) 12 # 10 pp 770 -- 783. Higman, Barry W. A Concise History of the Caribbean. ( 2011 ) Jones, Alfred Lewis ( 1905 ). `` The West Indies ''. The Empire and the century. London : John Murray. pp. 877 -- 882. Martin, Tony, Caribbean History : From Pre-colonial Origins to the Present ( 2011 ) Caribbean articles History Timeline Taíno -- Arawak Spanish Caribbean ( 1492 -- 1898 ) Dutch Caribbean ( 1554 -- 1863 ) British Caribbean ( 1586 -- 1834 ) French Caribbean ( 1625 -- 1817 ) Baltic - German Caribbean ( 1654 - 1689 ) Danish Caribbean ( 1672 -- 1917 ) German Caribbean ( 1685 - 1693 ) Swedish Caribbean ( 1784 -- 1878 ) By topic Afro - Caribbean Territorial evolution Geography Regions Antilles Greater Antilles Lesser Antilles Leeward Leeward Antilles Windward Caribbean Basin Caribbean Lowlands Caribbean Plate Caribbean Sea Caribbean South America Southern Caribbean By topic Bioregion Earthquakes Extreme points Islands by area Metropolitan areas Mountains Rivers Ultras sovereign states dependent territories Politics African - Caribbean leftism Caribbean Community CARIFORUM Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States Sovereign states and dependent territories Western Caribbean Zone Economy 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Italian Peninsula Insular Italy Tuscan Archipelago Aegadian Islands Iberia Al - Andalus Baetic System Gibraltar Arc Southeastern Mediterranean Crimea Alpide belt Germanic Romance Celtic Slavic countries Uralic European Plain Eurasian Steppe Pontic -- Caspian steppe Wild Fields Pannonian Basin Great Hungarian Plain Little Hungarian Plain Eastern Slovak Lowland Regions of North America Northern Eastern Canada Western Canada Canadian Prairies Central Canada Northern Canada Atlantic Canada The Maritimes French Canada English Canada Acadia Acadian Peninsula Quebec City -- Windsor Corridor Peace River Country Cypress Hills Palliser 's Triangle Canadian Shield Interior Alaska - Yukon lowland taiga Newfoundland ( island ) Vancouver Island Gulf Islands Strait of Georgia Canadian Arctic Archipelago Labrador Peninsula Gaspé Peninsula Avalon Peninsula Bay de Verde Peninsula Brodeur Peninsula Melville Peninsula Bruce Peninsula Banks Peninsula ( Nunavut ) Cook Peninsula Gulf of Boothia Georgian Bay Hudson Bay James Bay Greenland Pacific Northwest Inland Northwest Northeast New England Mid-Atlantic Commonwealth West Midwest Upper Midwest Mountain states Intermountain West Basin and Range Province Oregon Trail Mormon Corridor Calumet Region Southwest Old Southwest Llano Estacado Central United States Tallgrass prairie South South Central Deep South Upland South Four Corners East Coast West Coast Gulf Coast Third Coast Eastern United States Appalachia Trans - Mississippi Great North Woods Great Plains Interior Plains Great Lakes Great Basin Great Basin Desert Acadia Ozarks Ark - La - Tex Waxhaws Siouxland Twin Tiers Driftless Area Palouse Piedmont Atlantic coastal plain Outer Lands Black Dirt Region Blackstone Valley Piney Woods Rocky Mountains Mojave Desert The Dakotas The Carolinas Shawnee Hills San Fernando Valley Tornado Alley North Coast Lost Coast Emerald Triangle San Francisco Bay Area San Francisco Bay North Bay East Bay Silicon Valley Interior Alaska - Yukon lowland taiga Gulf of Mexico Lower Colorado River Valley Sacramento -- San Joaquin River Delta Yukon -- Kuskokwim Delta Colville Delta Arkansas Delta Mobile -- Tensaw River Delta Mississippi Delta Mississippi River Delta Columbia River Estuary Great Basin High Desert Monterey Peninsula Upper Peninsula of Michigan Lower Peninsula of Michigan Virginia Peninsula Keweenaw Peninsula Middle Peninsula Delmarva Peninsula Alaska Peninsula Kenai Peninsula Niagara Peninsula Beringia Belt regions Bible Belt Black Belt Corn Belt Cotton Belt Frost Belt Rice Belt Rust Belt Sun Belt Snow Belt Latin Northern Mexico Baja California Peninsula Gulf of California Colorado River Delta Gulf of Mexico Soconusco Tierra Caliente La Mixteca La Huasteca Bajío Valley of Mexico Mezquital Valley Sierra Madre de Oaxaca Yucatán Peninsula Basin and Range Province Western Caribbean Zone Isthmus of Panama Gulf of Panama Pearl Islands Azuero Peninsula Mosquito Coast West Indies Antilles Greater Antilles Lesser Antilles Leeward Leeward Antilles Windward Lucayan Archipelago Southern Caribbean Aridoamerica Mesoamerica Oasisamerica Northern Middle Anglo Latin French Hispanic American Cordillera Ring of Fire LAC Regions of Oceania Australasia Gulf of Carpentaria Zealandia Kula Gulf Australia Capital Country Eastern Australia Lake Eyre basin Murray -- Darling basin Northern Australia Nullarbor Plain Outback Southern Australia Maralinga Sunraysia Great Victoria Desert Gulf of Carpentaria Gulf St Vincent Lefevre Peninsula Fleurieu Peninsula Yorke Peninsula Eyre Peninsula Mornington Peninsula Bellarine Peninsula Mount Henry Peninsula Melanesia Islands Region Bismarck Archipelago Solomon Islands North Solomon Islands Solomon Islands Fiji New Caledonia New Guinea Papua New Guinea Republic of West Papua Vanuatu Micronesia Caroline Islands Federated States of Micronesia Palau Kiribati Mariana Islands Guam Northern Mariana Islands Marshall Islands Nauru Wake Island Polynesia Easter Island Hawaiian Islands Cook Islands French 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Territories Nunavik Nunavut Russian Arctic Sakha Sápmi Yukon North American Arctic Earth 's oceans and seas Arctic Ocean Amundsen Gulf Barents Sea Beaufort Sea Chukchi Sea East Siberian Sea Greenland Sea Gulf of Boothia Kara Sea Laptev Sea Lincoln Sea Prince Gustav Adolf Sea Pechora Sea Queen Victoria Sea Wandel Sea White Sea Atlantic Ocean Adriatic Sea Aegean Sea Alboran Sea Archipelago Sea Argentine Sea Baffin Bay Balearic Sea Baltic Sea Bay of Biscay Bay of Bothnia Bay of Campeche Bay of Fundy Black Sea Bothnian Sea Caribbean Sea Celtic Sea English Channel Foxe Basin Greenland Sea Gulf of Bothnia Gulf of Finland Gulf of Lion Gulf of Guinea Gulf of Maine Gulf of Mexico Gulf of Saint Lawrence Gulf of Sidra Gulf of Venezuela Hudson Bay Ionian Sea Irish Sea Irminger Sea James Bay Labrador Sea Levantine Sea Libyan Sea Ligurian Sea Marmara Sea Mediterranean Sea Myrtoan Sea North Sea Norwegian Sea Sargasso Sea Sea of Åland Sea of Azov Sea of Crete Sea of the Hebrides Thracian Sea 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Landlocked seas Aral Sea Caspian Sea Dead Sea Salton Sea Book Category GND : 4079228 - 6 LCCN : sh85146187 NARA : 10044864 NDL : 00568542 VIAF : 246535206 Coordinates : 21 ° 59 ′ 00 '' N 79 ° 02 ′ 00 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 21.9833 ° N 79.0333 ° W ﻿ / 21.9833 ; - 79.0333 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=West_Indies&oldid=853786353 '' Categories : West Indies Historical regions Hidden categories : All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from October 2016 Commons category with local link different than on Wikidata Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with NARA identifiers Wikipedia articles with NDL identifiers Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Coordinates on Wikidata Talk Contents About Wikipedia Languages Afrikaans Ænglisc অসমীয়া Asturianu বাংলা Bân - lâm - gú Беларуская Беларуская ( тарашкевіца ) ‎ Català Cebuano Čeština Dansk Deutsch Eesti Español Esperanto Euskara 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Question: where does the name west indies come from
Answer: Europeans began to use the term West Indies to distinguish the region from the East Indies of South Asia and Southeast Asia