Leeward Islands - wikipedia Leeward Islands This article is about the Caribbean island group. For the western islands of French Polynesia, see Leeward Islands ( Society Islands ). For other uses, see Leeward Islands ( disambiguation ). Not to be confused with Leeward Antilles. `` Leewards '' redirects here. For the direction, see Leeward. For the former store, see Leewards Creative Crafts. For other uses, see Leeward ( disambiguation ). The Leeward Islands are labelled on the map 's middle right side. The Leeward Islands / ˈliːwərd / are a group of islands situated where the northeastern Caribbean Sea meets the western Atlantic Ocean. On a map, they start with the Virgin Islands east of Puerto Rico and reach southeast to Dominica. In English, the term Leeward Islands refers to the northern islands of the Lesser Antilles chain. The more southerly part of this chain, starting with Martinique, is called the Windward Islands. Contents 1 Origin of the name 2 Geography 3 History 3.1 British colony of the Leeward Islands 4 List of the Leeward Islands 5 See also 6 References 7 External links Origin of the name Charlotte Amalie, St Thomas, in the US Virgin Islands Overlooking Sandy Ground, Anguilla The name of this island group, Leeward Islands, dates from previous centuries, when sailing ships were the sole form of transportation across the Atlantic Ocean. In sailing terminology, `` windward '' means towards the source of the wind, while `` leeward '' is the opposite direction. In the West Indies, the prevailing winds, known as the trade winds, blow out of the southeast. Therefore, an island to the northwest, such as Puerto Rico, would typically be leeward of an island to the southeast, such as Antigua, and conversely, Antigua would typically be windward of Puerto Rico, but leeward of Guadeloupe and Martinique. The early Spanish colonizers called Puerto Rico and the islands to the west Sotavento, meaning leeward. The islands to the south and east of Puerto Rico were then called Islas de Barlovento, meaning `` windward islands ''. When the British gained control of many of the Lesser Antilles, they designated Antigua, Montserrat and the islands to the north as the `` Leeward Islands ''. Guadeloupe and the islands to the south were designated as the `` Windward Islands ''. Later on, all islands north of Martinique became known as the Leeward Islands. Thus, Dominica is the southernmost Leeward island. However, even in modern usage in languages other than English, e.g., Spanish, French and Dutch, all of the Lesser Antilles from the Virgin Islands to Trinidad and Tobago are known as the Windward Islands ( Iles du Vent in French, Bovenwindse Eilanden in Dutch, and Islas de Barlovento in Spanish ). The islands along the Venezuelan coast, known in English as the Leeward Antilles, in languages other than English are known as the Leeward Islands. Geography This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. ( September 2010 ) The islands are affected by active volcanism, and notable eruptions have occurred in Montserrat in the 1990s and in 2009 to 2010. History The Caribs, for whom the Caribbean is named, are believed to have migrated from the Orinoco River area in South America Venezuela to settle in the Caribbean islands about 1200 AD, according to carbon dating. Over the century leading up to Columbus ' arrival in the Caribbean archipelago in 1492, the Caribs mostly displaced the Maipurean - speaking Taínos, who settled the island chains earlier in history, by warfare, extermination and assimilation. The islands were among the first parts of the Americas to fall under the control of the Spanish Empire. European contact commenced with Christopher Columbus 's second voyage, and many of the islands ' names originate from this period, e.g., Montserrat was named in honour of Santa Maria de Montserrat ( Our Lady of Montserrat ), after the Blessed Virgin of the Monastery of Montserrat, which is located on the Mountain of Montserrat, the national shrine of Catalonia. ' Mont serrat ' in Catalan means ' saw mountain ', referring to the serrated appearance of the mountain range. British colony of the Leeward Islands Main article : British Leeward Islands The Leeward Islands became a British colony in 1671. In 1699, prior to the War of the Spanish Succession, Christopher Codrington became the governor of the Leeward Islands. The war lasted from 1701 to 1714. Daniel Parke II was the British governor of the Leeward Islands from 1706 to 1710. He was assassinated during a mutiny triggered by his self - enriching enforcement of Stuart imperialism. Although comparatively much smaller than the surrounding islands in the Caribbean, the Leeward Islands posed the most significant ( though decidedly less severe in comparison to the colonies ) rebellion to the British Stamp Act. In 1816 the colony was dissolved, with its last governor being James Leith. In 1833, the colony was reformed. From 1833 until 1871, the Governor of Antigua performed the duties of the Governor of the Leeward Islands. Today the Islands are governed by a number of national and colonial administrations. List of the Leeward Islands From the northwest to the southeast, the islands are : Puerto Rican Virgin Islands : Vieques, Culebra ( U.S. ) U.S. Virgin Islands : St. Thomas, St. John, St. Croix, Water Island ( U.S. ) British Virgin Islands : Jost Van Dyke, Tortola, Virgin Gorda, Anegada ( U.K. ) Anguilla ( U.K. ) Saint Martin / Sint Maarten ( Fr. / Neth. ) Saint - Barthélemy ( Fr. ) Saba ( Neth. ) Sint Eustatius ( Neth. ) Saint Kitts ( forms a sovereign state ( a Commonwealth Realm ) with Nevis ; see Nevis ) Nevis ( Commonwealth ; see St. Kitts ) Barbuda ( Commonwealth ; see Antigua ) Antigua ( forms a sovereign state ( a Commonwealth Realm ) with Barbuda ) Redonda ( uninhabited part of Antigua & Barbuda ; see above ) Montserrat ( U.K. ) Guadeloupe ( Fr. overseas department ) La Désirade ( dependency of Guadeloupe, Fr. ) Îles des Saintes ( dependency of Guadeloupe, Fr. ) Marie - Galante ( dependency of Guadeloupe, Fr. ) See also Geography portal Antilles British Leeward Islands Leeward Antilles Leeward Islands cricket team Windward Islands References Jump up ^ J.C. Hart and W.T. Stone ( 1982 ), A Cruising Guide to the Caribbean and the Bahamas, Dodd, Mead & Co., p. 601, ISBN 0 - 396 - 08023 - 5. Jump up ^ Sweeney, James L. ( 2007 ). `` Caribs, Maroons, Jacobins, Brigands, and Sugar Barons : The Last Stand of the Black Caribs on St. Vincent '', African Diaspora Archaeology Network, March 2007, retrieved 26 April 2007. Jump up ^ O'Shaughnessy, Andrew ( April 1994 ). `` The Stamp Act Crisis in the British Caribbean ''. The William and Mary Quarterly. 51 ( 2 ) : 203 -- 226. doi : 10.2307 / 2946860. JSTOR 2946860. External links Digital Library of the Caribbean − dloc.org : `` The Leeward Islands Gazette '' -- freely − openly available, with full page images and searchable text. Digital Library of the Caribbean − dloc.org : `` Antigua, Montserrat and Virgin Islands Gazette '' -- openly − freely available, with searchable text and full page images. Wikimedia Commons has media related to Leeward Islands. Caribbean Greater Antilles Cayman Islands Cuba Dominican Republic Haiti Jamaica Puerto Rico Leeward Antilles Aruba Bonaire Curaçao Federal Dependencies of Venezuela Leeward Islands Anguilla Antigua and Barbuda British Virgin Islands Guadeloupe Montserrat Saba Saint Barthélemy Saint Martin U.S. Virgin Islands Saint Kitts and Nevis Sint Eustatius Sint Maarten Windward Islands Dominica Grenada Martinique Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Other islands Barbados Bahamas Trinidad and Tobago Turks and Caicos Islands Continental coasts Belize Bermuda Colombia Costa Rica French Guiana Guatemala Guyana Honduras Mexico Nicaragua Panama Suriname Venezuela 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 Airlines Airports Central banks and currencies Citrus Fishing Stock exchanges Eastern Caribbean Securities Exchange Sugar in Cuba in the Danish West Indies Telecommunications Tourism Culture Afro - Caribbean Art Beer Cuisine Literature Music People Sport Stadiums Television stations Demographics Immigration Languages Pre-Arawakan Population Diseases Religion Portal Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Leeward_Islands&oldid=808248157 '' Categories : Leeward Islands ( Caribbean ) Lesser Antilles Archipelagoes of the Caribbean Sea Hidden categories : Articles to be expanded from September 2010 All articles to be expanded Articles using small message boxes Talk Contents About Wikipedia Wikivoyage Languages Čeština Dansk Deutsch Ελληνικά Esperanto Gaeilge 한국어 Bahasa Indonesia Íslenska Italiano עברית ქართული Lietuvių Magyar Македонски 日本 語 Norsk Norsk nynorsk Polski Română Simple English Српски / srpski Suomi தமிழ் ไทย اردو Tiếng Việt 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 1 November 2017, at 19 : 26. About Wikipedia

Question: where did the leeward islands get their name
Answer: when sailing ships were the sole form of transportation across the Atlantic Ocean. In sailing terminology, "windward" means towards the source of the wind, while "leeward" is the opposite direction. In the West Indies, the prevailing winds, known as the trade winds, blow out of the southeast. Therefore, an island to the northwest, such as Puerto Rico, would typically be leeward of an island to the southeast, such as Antigua, and conversely, Antigua would typically be windward of Puerto Rico, but leeward of Guadeloupe and Martinique.