Commonwealth Caribbean

Nomenclature

Before decolonisation, British Crown colonies in the West Indies were collectively known as the British West Indies. After gaining independence, the grouping of countries became known as the Commonwealth Caribbean.

The Commonwealth Caribbean is also known as the English-speaking Caribbean, Anglophone Caribbean, Anglo-Caribbean, or English-speaking West Indies, although use of these terms may also encompass other English-speaking Caribbean countries who are not members of the Commonwealth of Nations.

Countries and territories

The Commonwealth Caribbean encompasses sovereign states that are members of the Commonwealth. It includes islands within the Caribbean Sea and mainland regions of the Americas that border the Caribbean. British Overseas Territories in the Caribbean and North Atlantic Ocean are also sometimes categorized together with the Commonwealth Caribbean.

The largest English-speaking island country in the Caribbean by area is the Bahamas, however the largest island in the region is Jamaica. The largest in the region by area including countries with borders is Guyana.

Sovereign states

The Commonwealth Caribbean includes twelve sovereign states, made up of ten island nations in the Caribbean and two countries situated on the mainland of the Americas. These are:

Notes

British Overseas Territories

Main article: British Overseas Territories

The term "Commonwealth Caribbean" may also apply to British Overseas Territories in the Caribbean, as they are English-speaking and the United Kingdom is a member of the Commonwealth. However, more specific terms, such as "British Overseas Territories in the Caribbean," "British Caribbean territories," and the older "British West Indies" are typically used to refer exclusively to these territories.

These five British Overseas Territories include:

The British territory of Bermuda is sometimes considered part of the Commonwealth Caribbean. However, Bermuda is neither geologically nor spatially associated with the Caribbean, which lies 1300 km2 to the south and southwest of Bermuda.

Intergovernmental organisations and unions

Since the mid-20th century, several political and economic unions were formed involving Commonwealth Caribbean states.

Besides economic and political unions, the national cricket associations of several Commonwealth Caribbean countries and British Overseas Territories are members of Cricket West Indies. While its membership primarily made up of associations from Commonwealth Caribbean, Cricket West Indies also includes representatives from two non-Commonwealth territories, Sint Maarten of the Dutch Caribbean and the United States Virgin Islands. The organisation fields a composite team, the West Indies cricket team, which competes in International Cricket Council-recognized tournaments.

West Indies Federation (1958–62)

Main article: West Indies Federation

Between 1958 and 1962, there was a short-lived federation between several English-speaking Caribbean countries, called the West Indies Federation. It included the Crown colonies that made up the British West Indies, including Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, the British Leeward Islands and the British Windward Islands.

Caribbean Free Trade Association (1965–1973)

Main article: Caribbean Free Trade Association

The Caribbean Free Trade Association (CARIFTA) was established on 15 December 1965, with Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Guyana, and Trinidad and Tobago as its founding members. The organisation aimed to integrate the economies of the newly formed sovereign states of the British West Indies by providing an agreement for free trade and encouraging "balanced development" in the region. Seven additional members were added to CARIFTA in 1968, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla, Saint Lucia, and St Vincent and the Grenadines. In 1971, British Honduras joined the organisation. In 1973, CARIFTA was replaced by the Caribbean Community.

Caribbean Community (1973–present)

Main article: Caribbean Community

The English-speaking parts of the Caribbean established the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) in 1973, and it currently includes all the independent English-speaking island countries plus Belize, Guyana and Montserrat, as well as all other British Caribbean territories and Bermuda as associate members. English was its sole official language until 1995, following the addition of Dutch-speaking Suriname.

Wider Anglophone communities in the region

Since there are other non-Commonwealth Caribbean islands in which English is the primary or secondary language, the term Commonwealth Caribbean is not necessarily inclusive of all islands that encompass the English-speaking Caribbean, such as being a former or current British colony in the Caribbean. Accordingly, the terms Anglophone Caribbean, English-speaking Caribbean, Anglo-Caribbean, or English-speaking West Indies are also used.

In addition to these formally recognised countries, there are substantial communities of Commonwealth Caribbean origin along the Atlantic or Caribbean coast of Central America, as a part of the western Caribbean zone. These communities, which began forming in the seventeenth century, include areas of Nicaragua and Honduras that made up the Miskito Kingdom (which was under British protection after 1740), the Garifuna community (which was deported to the coast in 1797 and took up English as its language), the Archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina (Colombia), and the many and numerous Anglophone Caribbean people who were brought to Central America by the canal companies (the French and American Panama Canal efforts), railroad companies, and particularly the fruit companies, such as United Fruit after the 1870s and particularly in the first decades of the twentieth century. Many have never fully integrated into the otherwise Spanish-speaking communities in which they reside, such as the Caracoles of Honduras.

References

References

1. Staff writer. (1989). "The Commonwealth Caribbean". [[Library of Congress]], USA.
2. Nilsen, Kirsti. (1980). "Commonwealth Caribbean government publications: Biographies and acquisition aids". Government Publications Review. Part A.
3. (12 July 2024). "Canada's unilateral tariff preference programs for imports from developing countries". Government of Canada.
4. (2024). "Standard Projections (Estimates and Projection scenarios)".
5. Tossini, J. Vitor. (2017-10-06). "A Guide to British Overseas Territories in the Caribbean".
6. "British Caribbean Territories (WMO Territory)".
7. (2024). "Standard Projections (Estimates and Projection scenarios)".
8. (17 February 2025). "Bermuda". Encyclopædia Britannica.
9. (2023). "Caribbean Free Trade Association (CARIFTA)". Caribbean Community Secretariat.
10. "English in Puerto Rico".
11. "Puerto Rico makes Spanish official language". Washington Post.
12. Valle, Sandra Del. (2003-01-01). "Language Rights and the Law in the United States: Finding Our Voices". Multilingual Matters.
13. Johannessen, B. Gloria Guzmán. (2019-01-14). "Bilingualism and Bilingual Education: Politics, Policies and Practices in a Globalized Society". Springer.
14. (4 September 2015). "P. Rico Senate declares Spanish over English as first official language". News Report.
15. link. (17 January 2023 ''. Doctoral dissertation, University of Puerto Rico. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing.)
16. link. (17 January 2023 ''. Doctoral dissertation, University of Puerto Rico. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing.)
17. (19 June 2014). "English to Be Sole Language of Instruction in St Eustatian Schools".
18. "Invoeringswet openbare lichamen Bonaire, Sint Eustatius en Saba". wetten.nl.
19. (2017). "Trends in the Caribbean Netherlands 2017". Tourism Bonaire.
20. "CIA World Factbook – Sint Maarten".
21. Klomp, Ank. "Saint Martin: Communal Identities on a Divided Caribbean Island." In: Niedermüller, Peter and Bjarne Stoklund (editors). ''Journal of European Ethnology'' Volume 30:2, 2000: ''Borders and Borderlands: An Anthropological Perspective''. [[Museum Tusculanum Press]], 2000. {{ISBN
22. "CIA World Factbook – Saint Martin".
23. Holm (1989) ''Pidgins and Creoles,'' vol. 2