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    Insight Guides Caribbean Cruises (Travel Guide eBook)
    Insight Guides Caribbean Cruises (Travel Guide eBook)
    Insight Guides Caribbean Cruises (Travel Guide eBook)
    Ebook872 pages6 hours

    Insight Guides Caribbean Cruises (Travel Guide eBook)

    By Insight Guides

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    About this ebook

    Let us guide you on every step of your travels.

    From deciding when to go, to choosing what to see when you arrive, Insight Guides Caribbean Cruises, is all you need to plan your trip and experience the best of cruising in the Caribbean, with in-depth insider information on must-see, top attractions like the Pitons in St Lucia, Carnival in Trinidad, Nelson's Dockyard in Antigua, Cuba's capital Havana and the Panama Canal.

    This book is ideal for travellers seeking immersive cultural experiences, from exploring 'tropical Amsterdam' Curacao, Maya Indian pyramids on Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula or colonial mansions in the Dominican Republic, to discovering cabaret in Havana, a rum distilley in Martinique, and paying homage to Bob Marley in Jamaica.

    - In-depth on history and culture: explore the region's vibrant history and culture, and understand its modern-day life, people and politics 
    - Excellent Editor's Choice: highlighting the most special places to visit around the Caribbean, uncover the best beaches and top adventures, from canyoning in Dominica to zip-lining in St Lucia     
    - Invaluable and practical maps: get around with ease thanks to detailed maps that pinpoint the key attractions featured in every chapter
    - Informative tips: plan your travels easily with an A to Z of useful advice on everything from climate to tipping
    - Inspirational colour photography: discover the best destinations, sights, and excursions, and be inspired by stunning imagery 
    - Inventive design makes for an engaging, easy-reading experience

    About Insight Guides: Insight Guides is a pioneer of full-colour guide books, with almost 50 years' experience of publishing high-quality, visual travel guides with user-friendly, modern design. We produce around 400 full-colour print guide books and maps, as well as phrase books, picture-packed eBooks and apps to meet different travellers' needs. Insight Guides' unique combination of beautiful travel photography and focus on history and culture create a unique visual reference and planning tool to inspire your next adventure.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherInsight Guides
    Release dateJun 1, 2019
    ISBN9781789198959
    Insight Guides Caribbean Cruises (Travel Guide eBook)
    Author

    Insight Guides

    Pictorial travel guide to Arizona & the Grand Canyon with a free eBook provides all you need for every step of your journey. With in-depth features on culture and history, stunning colour photography and handy maps, it’s perfect for inspiration and finding out when to go to Arizona & the Grand Canyon and what to see in Arizona & the Grand Canyon. 

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      Caribbean Cruises’s Top 10 Attractions

      Top Attraction 1

      The Pitons, St Lucia. The ultimate Caribbean landmark, the twin peaks of Petit Piton and Gros Piton are spectacular whether seen from land, sea or the air. For more information, click here.

      Getty Images

      Top Attraction 2

      Montserrat Volcano Observatory. Watch steam and lava spewing from Montserrat’s active volcano and get a first-hand glimpse of nature’s devastating power. For more information, click here.

      Monserrat Volcano Observatory

      Top Attraction 3

      The Panama Canal. Transiting this waterway, considered one of man’s greatest 20th-century achievements, on a cruise ship is a fascinating and educational experience. For more information, click here.

      iStock

      Top Attraction 4

      Brimstone Hill Fortress, St Kitts. A World Heritage Site, the well-preserved 17th century fortifications afford a tremendous view to neighboring islands. For more information, click here.

      Getty Images

      Top Attraction 5

      Whale watching. Humpback whales are best seen at breeding time, January to March, in Samaná Bay, Dominican Republic; but Pilot, Brydes, Spinner and other whales and dolphins can be seen anytime off Dominica or throughout the Caribbean. For more information, click here or click here.

      Shutterstock

      Top Attraction 6

      Colonial Zone, Santo Domingo. The first city founded by the Spanish in the Americas, with the first cathedral, the first fortress, the first university and the first court, now a World Heritage Site. For more information, click here.

      iStock

      Top Attraction 7

      Nelson’s Dockyard, Antigua. The last surviving Georgian dockyard in the world, beautifully preserved and still attracting sailing craft into the harbor, is brimming with character. For more information, click here.

      iStock

      Top Attraction 8

      Carnival in Trinidad. A riot of exuberance and color, this is the best Carnival in the Caribbean – probably the world – with costumed revelers dancing to soca and steel pan. For more information, click here.

      Getty Images

      Top Attraction 9

      Kurá Hulanda Museum, Curaçao. The region’s best anthropological museum, whose private collection includes a moving permanent exhibit on the slave trade and the predominant cultures of Curaçao. For more information, click here.

      Corbis

      Top Attraction 10

      Havana, Cuba. Cuba is opening up to cruise visitors, drawn to the crumbling 16th century architecture, vintage cars, Hemingway heritage, music and mojitos of the atmospheric capital. For more information, click here.

      Getty Images

      Editor’s Choice

      Best Beaches

      Maria La Gorda, Cuba. Stretches for miles and is completely undeveloped, with spectacular underwater life close to the shore. For more information, click here.

      Half Moon Cay, Little San Salvador. On this private island, a lovely, curved bay of white sand. For more information, click here.

      Trunk Bay, St John, USVI. Can’t be beaten for its underwater snorkeling trail in crystal clear water. For more information, click here.

      Colombier Beach, St-Barthélemy. Reached by boat or a 30-minute hike – one of St-Barths’ many unspoilt beaches. For more information, click here.

      Maracas Bay, Trinidad. Spectacular, with rolling waves entering the horseshoe bay, and good for trying local food. For more information, click here.

      Englishman’s Bay, Tobago. Blissful, with an offshore reef. For more information, click here.

      Cayman Islands diving.

      iStock

      Top Adventures

      Waitukubuli National Trail, Dominica. A network of 115 miles (185km) of cleared trails used by slaves and farmers through forest and along coastline, and across mountains and valleys. For more information, click here.

      Canyoning in Dominica. A great way to explore the rivers, cascades and waterfalls. For more information, click here.

      Zip-lining in St Lucia. For an unbeatable adrenaline rush, swing through the trees or plummet down a ravine in the forest. For more information, click here.

      Scuba diving in the Cayman Islands. Here, drop-offs, walls and wrecks attract marine life of all shapes, sizes and colors. For more information, click here.

      Windsurfing and kitesurfing in Aruba. It’s the strong, offshore wind over the shallow water that makes this the setting for international contests. For more information, click here.

      Surfing in Barbados. The Atlantic waves rolling ashore at Bathsheba make for an exhilarating experience. For more information, click here.

      Sailing in the Grenadines. This chain of tiny volcanic islands formed the backdrop to the movie Pirates of the Caribbean. For more information, click here.

      Hiking in Saba. Trek up Mount Scenery through cloud forest and epiphytes in the hope of cloud-free views from the summit. For more information, click here.

      Craft market painting.

      Kevin Cummins/Apa Publications

      Best Markets

      Castries, St Lucia. Central Market and the Vendor’s Arcade opposite offer a pleasant mix of tourist souvenirs together with flowers and produce brought to town by farmers. For more information, click here.

      Fort-de-France markets, Martinique. A kaleidoscope of color, not just for the fruit, vegetables and flowers, but also the traditional clothes made of Madras cotton worn by the vendors. For more information, click here.

      Nassau Straw Market, Bahamas. A bustling, if touristy place, packed with baskets, mats and any conceivable item that can be woven from straw. For more information, click here.

      St George’s market, Grenada. Heady with the perfume of nutmeg, mace, cinnamon, cloves, cocoa and vanilla. For more information, click here.

      Ocho Rios craft market, Jamaica. The place for hats, T-shirts, sarongs and all manner of souvenirs – but you’ll need to be firm and polite to get a good bargain. For more information, click here.

      Breakfast on deck with Regent Seven Seas.

      Regent Seven Seas Cruises

      Best Handicrafts

      Molas. The patchwork-type embroidery of the Kuna people, on the San Blas islands, is exquisite, sewn onto blouses or cushion covers.

      Basketwork. The basketwork of the Kalinago on Dominica is delicate, intricate, varied – and ultimately, useful.

      Jewelry. Golden amber and pale blue larimar from the Dominican Republic can be bought as polished stones or set in silver jewelry.

      Batik. Colorful batik clothing from Caribelle Batik on St Kitts is made using the soft Sea Island Cotton.

      Earthworks pottery. This Barbadian pottery produces bright ceramics for the table, in unusual designs.

      Organic chocolate. The Grenada variety is to die for, made using locally-grown cocoa and so pure it won’t melt on the way back to the ship.

      Dominican baskets.

      iStock

      On-board Highlights

      Your private balcony. Soak up the sun on a day at sea; relax with a good book and not a thing to do.

      Children’s Club conservation lessons. Prepare them for shore trips to vulnerable islands and their fragile eco-systems. For more information, click here.

      Sunset sailaways. Chill out after a busy day on shore with cocktails on deck to the sound of a steel band. For more information, click here.

      Adults only. Splash out on a pass to the peaceful, adults-only deck space. Most ships have these, with squashy loungers, iced fruit kebabs, and bar service. For more information, click here.

      Watching dolphins race the ship at sunrise. Seeing them wild, free and full of fun is a magical moment. For more information, click here.

      Dinner on deck. Choose a ship that offers al fresco dining and watch the stars come out as you eat.

      Yoga at sunrise. Caribbean cruises often provide opportunities for an early morning workout on deck. For more information, click here.

      Movies under the stars. Many ships have big screens on deck. Lie back on a sunlounger with your favorite cocktail and watch movies in the moonlight.

      Going Dutch in Willemstad, Curaçao.

      iStock

      Best Architecture

      The Magnificent Seven, Port of Spain. Opulent Stollmeyer’s Castle is just one in this Trinidadian line-up of very fine (if partly dilapidated) colonial buildings, dating from around the end of the 19th century, which gives Maraval Road its flair and elegance. For more information, click here.

      Chattel houses, Barbados. These shacks were once home to plantation workers, who constructed the wooden ‘sleeping boxes’ – which were easy to dismantle – with mobility in mind. Painted in primary colors and pastel shades, and with intricate fretwork around the windows, they often double as craft shops. For more information, click here.

      Dutch colonial houses, Curaçao. Santa Anna Bay, the narrow channel which divides Willemstad in two, is flanked by fine examples of pastel-tinted, traditionally gabled Dutch houses, in an echo of Amsterdam. For more information, click here.

      Musée de St-John Perse, Guadeloupe. Housed within a beautifully restored colonial building, the museum commemorates the life and work of the island’s Nobel Prize-winning poet (1887–1975) who idealized the Caribbean in his writings. For more information, click here.

      Rose Hall Great House, Jamaica. Probably the best known of Jamaica’s plantation Great Houses is Rose Hall, the 18th-century home of alleged ‘white witch’ Annie Palmer, which is grandly sited on a ridge. For more information, click here.

      Palacio de los Capitanes Generales, Havana. Now housing the City Museum, this massive baroque structure with its thick mahogany doors served as the Cuban government’s headquarters in the late 1790s. For more information, click here.

      Orchid in El Yunque, the Caribbean National Forest, Puerto Rico.

      Glyn Genin/Apa Publications

      Best Nature Ventures

      Reserva de la Biósfera Sian Ka’An, Mexico. Divided into three distinct coastal zones, this 1.3 million-acre (526,000-hectare) nature reserve contains broad savannahs, dense mangroves, tropical forests and many different types of marine habitat. For more information, click here.

      Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park, Cayman Islands. The marked trails in this oasis guide visitors past 600 species of indigenous plants; interpretive exhibits; rare, endemic Cayman blue iguanas; and much more. For more information, click here.

      RESCQ (Restoration of Ecosystem Services and Coral Reef Quality), Saba. Aims to make an impact on coral reef health in the Saba Bank National Park, one of the largest protected marine areas in the Caribbean. The project raises new coral colonies in nurseries which are then used to repopulate denuded reefs. Visitors can help by joining one of the regular coral nursery maintenance dives conducted by local scuba outfitter Sea Saba. For more information, click here.

      Asa Wright Nature Centre, Trinidad. More than 100 different species of bird, including several rare hummingbirds, can be observed amongst the vast amounts of tropical flora and fauna. For more information, click here.

      Maya ruins at Chichén Itzá.

      Alex Havret/Apa Publications

      Best Views

      From your cruise ship. Sailing through the Grenadines archipelago, past bottle-green islands ringed by enticing beaches; nearing the pretty anchorage of Iles des Saintes, colorful wooden houses strung out around a half-moon bay; dropping anchor outside Gustavia, St-Barths, flanked by the sleek megayachts of visiting oligarchs. For more information, click here, click here or click here.

      From the top of Chichén Itzá, Mexico. Views over the Yucatán from the Maya ruins of this fabled city. For more information, click here.

      El Morro, Havana. Views over the harbor and the Malecón esplanade from the Morro fortress. For more information, click here.

      Paradise Point, St Thomas. Ride the cable car up to the viewing platform. For more information, click here.

      Shirley Heights, Antigua. 360° views over Nelson’s Dockyard to Montserrat and Guadeloupe. For more information, click here.

      Boiling Lake Trail, Dominica. Trek up into the Morne Trois Pitons National Park for rare vistas over Guadeloupe and Martinique. For more information, click here.

      Jardin de Balata, Martinique.

      Getty Images

      Best Gardens

      Botanic Gardens, St Vincent. Founded in 1765 to propagate spices and medicinal plants, these are the oldest botanic gardens in the western hemisphere. For more information, click here.

      Andromeda Gardens, Barbados. On a rocky hillside, the garden harbors tropical plants collected from around the world, with a splendid example of a bearded fig tree. For more information, click here.

      Diamond Botanical Gardens Mineral Baths and Waterfall, St Lucia. In the middle of a splendid garden, the area’s steamy, restorative springs stream from the ground into tiled basins. For more information, click here.

      Jardin de Balata, Martinique. Blessed with a grand view, these gardens also have a stunning anthurium collection. For more information, click here.

      Shaw Park Botanical Gardens, Jamaica. Set around a natural waterfall and within handy walking distance of the cruise port. For more information, click here.

      The Freedom of the Seas docked at Labadee, Haiti.

      Royal Caribbean International

      Beach larks on the US Virgin Island of St John

      Royal Caribbean Cruises

      Grab a paddleboard in paradise

      Royal Caribbean Cruises

      Introduction: Island Hopping

      Douglas Ward, the world’s leading authority on cruise ships, considers why many people choose to cruise the Caribbean.

      White sandy beaches, deep blue waters, bougainvillaea and passion flowers, tropical fruits, glowing sunshine, vibrant music and friendly, laid-back people place the islands of the Caribbean among the world’s most popular holiday destinations. And there is no better way to experience the Caribbean, certainly for first-time visitors, than on a cruise. Cruising enables visitors to be as lazy or as active as they wish, combining the pleasures of life in a luxury, floating hotel with the enjoyment of well-organized shore excursions.

      Catching some rays by Paradise Island.

      Getty Images

      Hitting the surf in Cozumel, Mexico

      Royal Caribbean Cruises

      The Caribbean basin contains thousands of islands, stretching from Bermuda in the north to the coast of Venezuela in the south, Barbados in the east, and Costa Rica in the west. With most cruises beginning in Florida, much of this huge area is accessible on relatively short trips by sea, and the value for money is unbeatable.

      Cruising has come a long way since the ‘booze cruises’ of the 1930s, designed chiefly to escape Prohibition laws in the United States. The industry launched the revival of fortunes for many islands in the Caribbean, but World War II intervened and it was only in the 1960s that cruising was reborn, with passengers being flown to embarkation ports.

      The pitons of St Lucia

      Royal Caribbean Cruises

      Since then, the worldwide cruise industry has grown enormously; while the concept hasn’t changed much, it has been vastly improved, refined, expanded and packaged. Some ten companies operating large ships (loosely defined as ships carrying between 2,500 and 5,400 passengers) dominate the market, but smaller vessels (carrying fewer than 700 passengers) also have a place, and are capable of entering the uncrowded harbors where their larger sisters cannot venture.

      These days, cruising is not just for the elderly or for the wealthy – passengers come from all age groups and walks of life, and cruises are designed to suit many different needs. Read on, and see if you would like to join them.

      The Caribbean Character

      Centuries of foreign domination, slavery and migration have forged local cultures that are strong, proud and creative.

      Carib Amerindians.

      akg images

      Columbus lands on Watling Island, the Bahamas.

      Public domain

      Arrive in any Caribbean port, from the Bahamas down to Trinidad, and the first thing you will see will probably be a fortress. Havana’s harbor mouth, for instance, is guarded by three formidable castles, the oldest of which was completed in 1630. The seaward approach to Martinique’s capital, Fort-de-France, is watched over by the grim-looking Fort St Louis, continuously occupied by the French military for almost four centuries. Even a tiny island like St Kitts, no more than a dot on the map, has nine impressive forts, one of which proved so impregnable it was dubbed the ‘Gibraltar of the West Indies.’

      The Caribbean Sea has borne witness to countless naval engagements and its waters conceal a wealth of competing nations’ sunken warships and rusting cannons.

      These scattered vestiges of military power, some ruined and others restored, remind us that the Caribbean has always been fought over. Its history is, to a large extent, one of conquest and conflict. Its landscapes are marked not only by fortifications, but by the memory of battles, uprisings and massacres. Not only did competing European nations go to war over this rich and desirable region, but pirates preyed on its ports, and enslaved Africans rose up in violent bids for freedom. Only in more recent times has this archipelago of islands discovered peace and left behind its turbulent history.

      Slaves working in the fields in Cuba.

      akg images

      Early invaders

      The first invaders were the people who gave their name to this part of the world. The Caribs arrived in around AD 1000, pushing up the island chain from their homelands in the Amazon Basin and conquering each territory they reached. Their victims were the peaceful Taínos, the first people to settle in the region, who also originated from South America. Fierce, fearless and reputedly inclined to cannibalism, the Caribs overwhelmed the Taínos, killing men and capturing women.

      The Carib invasion may have been violent, but it was mild in comparison to the horrors inflicted by the first European invaders. Believing himself to be somewhere near China, Christopher Columbus landed on a flat, scrubby island in the Bahamas on October 12, 1492, unleashing the conquest of the New World by the Old. The Genoese adventurer, backed by the Spanish monarchy, made a first permanent settlement in what is now the Dominican Republic, founding a fledgling colony among the normally placid Taínos on the island he called Hispaniola.

      When on-shore, pirates grilled their meat over boucans (a Carib word) or barbecues, from which the name ‘buccaneer’ derived.

      Such was the brutality inflicted by the colonists on the Taínos, as they forced them to search for gold, that the indigenous people revolted. As uprisings were followed by reprisals and the Taínos succumbed to European diseases, a community of 300,000 on Hispaniola was reduced to a mere handful within three decades.

      From this unpromising foothold, the Spanish empire strengthened and spread. Cuba, Puerto Rico and Jamaica were conquered, and conquistadores set sail from Santo Domingo to seize the vast territories of Mexico and Central America. The smaller Eastern Caribbean islands, sighted and named by Columbus, were not colonized, largely because of the presence of the ferocious Caribs. When it became apparent that the Caribbean islands had only limited supplies of gold, the emphasis shifted to a new form of wealth: sugar.

      Proclaiming emancipation to slaves on a sugar plantation.

      Mary Evans Picture Library

      Pirates

      For almost 200 years, from the 16th century, pirates, privateers and buccaneers terrorized the Caribbean with spectacular brutality.

      Fiction has been kind to pirates, painting them as dashing desperadoes, but the truth was rather different. For the most part, they were driven by a mixture of religious hatred and greed as they wreaked havoc among the Spanish treasure fleets, earning notoriety for their spectacular brutality. Tolerated and even supported by European governments hostile to Spain, they were eventually banished by those same governments after they had outlived their usefulness.

      Royal patronage

      The first pirates were independent operators, mixing attacks on Caribbean shipping and harbor with smuggling and slave-trading. Soon they were sponsored by their rulers at home (and known as privateers rather than pirates), with Queen Elizabeth I of England a staunch supporter of Sir Francis Drake. He and others attacked shipping and towns throughout the Caribbean and Central America, forcing the Spanish to build expensive fortifications and reinforce the fleets that carried gold and silver from South America back to Europe. Yet all these precautions couldn’t stop Piet Heyn, a Dutch privateer, from capturing 31 bullion-laden ships off the coast of Cuba in 1628.

      As wars raged between European nations in the 17th century, deserters, shipwrecked sailors and escaped slaves formed runaway communities in the Caribbean. The favorite haunts of these buccaneers were isolated Tortuga off Haiti and the empty cays of the Bahamas. They enticed ships onto reefs or attacked them from their own long canoes, capturing cargoes and murdering crews.

      Life was short and brutish, with violent death or disease ever present. They lived in basic shacks, wore rough clothes of cotton and rawhide and were reportedly filthy with the blood of slaughtered cattle. Even so, the buccaneers developed deep bonds of affection among themselves and even entered into a sort of same-sex marriage, called matelotage, although this was probably a means of dealing with an individual’s assets in the event of his death. In return for weapons, tobacco and rum, the buccaneers traded hides and meat with the passing ships that they did not choose to attack.

      The tide turns

      The heyday of the pirates came in the 1680s, when Port Royal in Jamaica achieved infamy as the ‘wickedest town in Christendom,’ a decadent boomtown of taverns, brothels and gambling dens. It was here that Henry Morgan, fiercest of all seafarers, ruled as lieutenant-governor after a bloody career raiding Spanish ports. In 1692 Port Royal was destroyed by an earthquake and tidal wave in what many deemed an act of divine retribution.

      Around that time, European leaders were tiring of their former pirate friends, as they now had their own Caribbean possessions and were afraid of such lawless elements. Some pirates retired gracefully, others were hunted down. The golden age of Caribbean piracy was over by the end of the 17th century, even though a few individuals, such as Edward ‘Blackbeard’ Teach, carried on into the next.

      The pirates left few buildings of their own, but the ruins of Port Royal give an idea of what life was like.

      Under the sea, however, lie literally hundreds of wrecks, many the result of pirate attacks. Are they full of gold doubloons? Crowds of treasure hunters, professional and amateur, who flock to the islands think so.

      Henry Morgan, the fearsome Welsh buccaneer who became the Governor of Jamaica.

      Mary Evans Picture Library

      King Sugar

      It had been discovered that sugar cane, brought by Columbus on his second expedition in 1493, flourished in the fertile Caribbean soil. So began the reign of ‘King Sugar,’ the cruel ruler of the Caribbean economy for five centuries. But sugar plantations required labor, and with the Taínos almost extinct and the Spanish disinclined to sweat in the fields, a workforce was needed. The colonists accordingly turned to the African slave trade, which had been practised since the 1450s. The first slaves arrived in 1518, but soon the trickle turned into a flood.

      Other European nations watched the expansion of the Spanish Caribbean with keen interest. Protestant England claimed religious motivations for its hostility towards Catholic Spain, but money and military competition were equally important grounds for animosity. Pirates from England, France and Holland began to prey on Spanish galleons and ports. Sir Francis Drake attacked and occupied Santo Domingo in 1585, destroying the pride of the Spanish empire. In response, the Spanish fortified their towns and protected their treasure fleets with warships. Gradually, other European nations began to settle in the region, choosing the smaller islands of the Eastern Caribbean, which the Spanish had claimed but not occupied. The English claimed St Kitts in 1624 and Barbados in 1627. The French took Martinique and Guadeloupe in 1635. The Dutch took possession of islands such as Curaçao and Sint Maarten between 1630 and 1640.

      Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, the European powers fought among themselves for control of the Caribbean and its rich sugar industry. The British took Jamaica from the Spanish in 1655 and from then on did their utmost to weaken the Spaniards’ dominance of the larger islands. At the same time, conflicts between the British, French and Dutch reflected wider hostilities in Europe. No sooner were peace treaties signed than a new outbreak of fighting shook the region. Between 1660 and 1814, the island of St Lucia changed hands between the British and French 14 times. Throughout this period, millions of enslaved Africans were brought to the islands to ensure the flow of sugar to Europe was not interrupted.

      The French and patriots battle in Haiti (1802–04).

      Mary Evans Picture Library

      Seeds of destruction

      The heyday of the sugar industry was the second half of the 18th century, the age of luxurious ‘great houses’ and fantastically rich West Indian planters. Fabulous fortunes were made, both by planters and manufacturers and by traders in Europe. But the system also carried the seeds of its own destruction. Huge plantations became breeding grounds for resistance and revolt among the slaves, who had nothing to lose but a life of overwork and cruelty. Uprisings ravaged almost every island and, although bloodily repressed, caused terror among the white minority.

      The wealth generated by sugar and slavery fuelled the industrial revolution first in Britain, then in the rest of Europe, and this, ironically, led to the downfall of the colonial plantation system.

      The single event that changed the course of Caribbean history was the slave revolution of 1791–1804, which destroyed the French colony of Saint Domingue and created the independent republic of Haiti. Here, in 13 years of civil war and foreign intervention, an army of ex-slaves beat Napoleon’s military machine and freed themselves by force. Men such as Toussaint Louverture and Jean-Jacques Dessalines turned their fellow slaves into a lethal fighting force, capable of beating the French and British. The other Caribbean societies watched with horror as the region’s richest colony disintegrated.

      Another blow to King Sugar came with the development of a rival beet sugar industry in Europe. European farmers and manufacturers began to compete with the vested interests of the old ‘plantocracy.’ Within the islands themselves, grotesquely unequal societies were increasingly under strain. A small minority of white landowners, backed by military force, lorded it over a mixed-race population and a much greater number of black slaves. Hatreds ran deep, and conflict was commonplace.

      A cartoon depicts Uncle Sam using the American flag to shield a woman labeled Cuba Libre from Insurgent men.

      Library of Congress

      Internal changes

      While the post-slavery Caribbean islands slipped off the map as far as Europe was concerned, it was a period of great social change. The power of the white minority dwindled, although Europeans still remained firmly in control. The contrast between their lifestyles and those of the black and colored communities encouraged the latter to seek improvements through education and social reform. Churches of all denominations were active in redressing old inequalities and providing new opportunities. The Moravian church (a Protestant sect that originated in Bohemia) was particularly insistent that people of all races should receive education.

      Abolition

      Slavery ended in the mid-19th century (it took longest to disappear in the Spanish colonies) through a combination of economic and political pressures. In short, the system was costly and inefficient as well as barbarous. Planters feared a repeat of the Haitian revolution, while liberals at home in Europe campaigned for abolition. Eventually, slavery was outlawed, the planters were compensated for their losses, and the slaves found themselves faced with freedom – of a sort. Few options were open to them and many continued to work for paltry wages on the plantations, while others left, establishing small farms or seeking work in the towns.

      Abolition spelled the downfall of the Caribbean sugar industry, although vestiges of it clung on for many islands. Contract laborers arrived from India and other countries to fill the gaps left by the departing slaves. But the industry went through hard times, and gradually the European powers lost interest in their Caribbean possessions, turning instead to imperial adventures in Africa and Asia.

      A cane-fuelled steam train on a sugar plantation.

      Glyn Genin/Apa Publications

      The American century

      The 20th century was the American century in the Caribbean. The new superpower was opposed to any remaining European interference in its ‘backyard’ and moved to fill the void left by the colonial forces. In 1898, the US ousted the Spanish from Cuba and Puerto Rico, ending 400 years of Hispanic rule. There were subsequent interventions in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, where political chaos and economic mismanagement irritated Washington. The completion of the Panama Canal in 1914, together with hostilities against Germany in World War I, made the US especially protective of its strategic interests in the Caribbean.

      What most of the Caribbean islands wanted was independence. Haiti had led the way in 1804, but had been plagued by instability and poverty. The Dominican Republic finally threw out the Spanish in 1864; as mentioned, Cuba and Puerto Rico followed suit in 1898. But American influence remained strong, creating resentment among those who wanted to be free of outside interference. Afraid of communism, the US supported conservatives, including such unsavory dictators as Rafael Leonidas Trujillo, who ran the Dominican Republic like a family business from 1930 to 1961. Washington’s worst fears were realized when another dictator, Fulgencio Batista of Cuba, was ousted in 1959, and replaced by the revolutionary government of Fidel Castro – which has remained in power ever since, now under the leadership of his brother Raúl.

      Mennonite children at play in the town of Spanish Lookout, Belize.

      Corrie Wingate/Apa Publications

      Independence

      In most instances, independence took a more peaceful form. In the British colonies, greater self-government and universal suffrage was followed by complete independence from the 1960s onwards. Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago all severed colonial ties with London after the failure of a short-lived federation of English-speaking islands. They were followed by smaller territories, from Antigua to St Vincent. But some islands preferred to maintain their links with Europe. In 1946, Martinique and Guadeloupe voted to become départements of France, while the Dutch islands formed a federation with the Netherlands. A few tiny territories, such as Montserrat and Anguilla, opted to remain British colonies rather than face the economic uncertainty of independence.

      In many respects, the modern Caribbean is something of a success story. The region enjoys democratic government and a steadily growing standard of living, while human rights and a modest prosperity are now taken for granted. Barbados, for instance, has some of the best quality-of-life statistics outside Europe and North America, as does oil-rich Trinidad.

      There are still social and political flashpoints. The deep-seated problems of Haiti – which remains politically volatile and stubbornly poor – seem no closer to a solution following the devastating earthquake in 2010 which caused thousands of deaths and the destruction of much of the capital’s infrastructure. There is occasional trouble in the tough inner-city ghettos of Kingston, Jamaica. But, for the most part, the Caribbean is a region of stability and social tolerance, where people of all backgrounds live together. One of the biggest developments of the 21st century has been the thawing of relations between the US and Cuba, a program of normalization of relations between the two countries agreed by then presidents Barack Obama and Raúl Castro. The Trump administration subsequently reversed some of the arrangements but cruise ship routes remain largely unaffected.

      The threats facing the Caribbean are now more economic than political. As a cluster of small states, the islands are especially vulnerable to developments beyond their control. These range from the hurricanes that regularly ravage communities to the onward march of globalization and the threatened loss of export markets to cheaper producers around the world.

      Jamaican family life.

      Kevin Cummins/Apa Publications

      The European heritage

      This history of colonialism and conflict has left an indelible mark on today’s Caribbean. Four European languages (English, French, Spanish and Dutch) are spoken across the region, together with many local dialects and creoles – a mixture of European, African and other languages. Colonial rule has left behind the architecture, habits and the tastes of the European mother country, whether in the shape of croissants in Guadeloupe, cricket in Antigua or gabled roofs in Curaçao.

      Each island bears the imprint of its colonial past, but often this past is as culturally mixed as the people it has produced. Where more than one European power ruled an island at different times, distinctly different influences become obvious. The smaller islands of the Eastern Caribbean, for instance, are a fascinating blend of French and British influences, where French-built Catholic churches rub shoulders with solidly Anglo-Saxon town halls. Towns like Castries in St Lucia or St George’s in Grenada reveal a subtle blend of Gallic and British influences, reflected in the French-based, musical patois spoken by many islanders.

      The religious mix

      The Caribbean is a place where religion is taken seriously and where religious values look back to the pivotal role played by churches in the post-slavery period. Christian churches of every sort co-exist with other religious faiths, mostly derived from Africa or India and transplanted with slaves and laborers to the Caribbean. In Haiti and Cuba, traditional African spirits are worshipped by followers of vodou and santería. In Trinidad and the French islands, Hindu temples and Muslim mosques are testimony to the importation of religious ideas from the Indian subcontinent, brought by the laborers who became the new workforce in the 19th century.

      Elsewhere, a particular European model is dominant. Barbados, affectionately known as ‘Little England,’ was never occupied by any other colonial power and exudes Englishness in its parish churches, cricket grounds and Victorian architecture. The great cities of Havana and San Juan, on the other hand, are unmistakably Spanish, with colonnaded streets, plazas and fountains. The warehouses of Willemstad, Curaçao, look like a canal-side section of Amsterdam, while small towns in Martinique are reminiscent of provincial France with their war memorials and tricolores.

      Barbadian dance performance.

      Barbados Tourism Authority

      Migrants and settlers

      European heritage is only part of the story. Each Caribbean island is also the product of a long history of migration and settlement, in which Africa, Asia and the Americas have all played vital roles. In the Spanish Caribbean, there was always a greater tradition of European migration, and the descendants of migrants from Andalucia and the Canary Islands can still be seen in the lighter-skinned peasant farmers of Cuba and Puerto Rico. In these islands slavery was less dominant than in Haiti or Jamaica, where today’s majority population is of African descent.

      Where Africans arrived in great numbers, their cultural and religious practices remained strong despite attempts by white slave masters to drive out ‘superstition.’ The voodoo religion of Haiti, much maligned and distorted by outsiders for centuries, is the living connection between this Caribbean nation and the West African societies from which millions of slaves were forcibly removed. In agricultural techniques, in food and drink, in dance, music and ritual, almost every Caribbean island remains linked to the distant African point of departure.

      In some instances, there is another strong connection. Trinidad, for instance, has a majority population descended from the Indian laborers who were shipped from the sub-continent in the second half of the 19th century to work on the sugar plantations. Today, parts of rural Trinidad resemble Hindustan, as dhoti-clad laborers tend buffaloes among coconut groves. In the towns, meanwhile, the sounds and smells of India are evident in contemporary chutney music and Trinidad’s favorite fast food, the curry-filled roti. Elsewhere, in Jamaica especially, a strong Chinese influence is detectable. Throughout the region the descendants of migrant traders from the Middle East play an important role in retailing and finance.

      A Creole culture

      Jamaica’s motto, ‘Out of many, one people,’ contains the key to understanding the Caribbean character. This is a part of the world, perhaps more than anywhere else, where people and cultures from every continent have been brought together into hybrid and mixed societies. The mixture of European, African, Asian and American has created what is known as a creole culture, a cocktail of differing influences and traditions. The term ‘creole’ used to apply to a white individual born in the region, but now means the distinctive blend of the parts that make the Caribbean whole.

      So what are the defining characteristics of ‘creoleness’? Generalizations are dangerous, and clearly each island has its own particular traits, but firmly at the heart of the region’s collective identity lies creativity. Creole culture is enormously inventive, producing some wonderful music, literature and visual arts. For a relatively small area of fewer than 20 million people, the Caribbean has been disproportionately fertile in creating new artistic forms.

      The region is the birthplace not only of reggae, calypso and salsa, but also of world-class writers such as Trinidad’s V.S. Naipaul, Cuba’s Alejo Carpentier and St Lucia’s Derek Walcott. In painting, sculpture and dance, the Caribbean can confidently compete with any other part of the world. Its sportsmen and women, too, are often world-beaters, ranging from champion Cuban boxers to Jamaica’s Olympic sprinters.

      Above all, the creole character is formed by a love of freedom and a respect for the individual. The Caribbean has undergone the traumatic experience of slavery and, in many cases, dictatorship, and this bitter history has taught its people to value freedom. Independence and self-reliance are valued qualities in a region where economic conditions are often harsh, and many people are deeply attached to a small patch of land that they can call their own.

      Pompous politicians or overbearing bureaucrats are likely to face well-deserved mockery, often in calypso songs, which with their witty lyrics, are traditionally a comment on the state of the nation.

      There is little affection for authority in the Caribbean. Few people enjoy taking orders – perhaps another legacy of slavery – and that is why visitors are sometimes frustrated by what they view as inefficiency or insolence. The only solution is to recognize that taking one’s time is not necessarily a bad thing, and that patience and a sense of humor go a long way towards breaking down barriers.

      A changing economy

      A child born today in the Caribbean is more likely to end up serving drinks in a hotel or driving a taxi than cutting sugar cane or growing vegetables. Agriculture is still the lifeblood of many Caribbean economies, and King Sugar still holds some vestiges of power in Jamaica and several other islands, but the economic landscape is one that is now changing

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