THE CARIBBEAN -
SETTLEMENT AND CONTRIBUTION OF THE JEWS TO THE LEEWARD AND WINDWARD ISLANDS
ORIGIN OF THE NAME
From Wikipedia
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
the West Indies, the prevailing winds, known as the trade winds, blow
from the northeast to the southwest. 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 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 "Leeward Islands".
Dominica is the dividing line between the Windward and Leeward islands.
Guadeloupe and the islands to the south were designated "Windward Islands".
Later on, all islands north of Martinique became known as the Leeward
Islands.[1] 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.
LIST OF THE LEEWARD ISLANDS
From the northwest to the southeast, the islands are:
- Puerto Rico Puerto Rican Virgin Islands: Vieques, Culebra (U.S.)
- United States Virgin Islands U.S. Virgin Islands: St. Thomas, St. John, St. Croix, Water Island (U.S.)
- British Virgin Islands British Virgin Islands: Jost Van Dyke, Tortola, Virgin Gorda, Anegada (U.K.)
- Anguilla Anguilla (U.K., under the British crown)
- Collectivity of Saint Martin Sint Maarten Saint Martin/Sint Maarten (Fr./Neth.)
- Saint Barthélemy Saint-Barthélemy (Fr.)
- Saba Saba (Neth.)
- Sint Eustatius Sint Eustatius (Neth.)
- Saint Kitts Saint Kitts (Commonwealth, forms a state under the British crown with St. Kitts, see Nevis)
- Nevis Nevis (Commonwealth, see St. Kitts)
- Antigua and Barbuda Barbuda (Commonwealth, see Antigua)
- Antigua and Barbuda Antigua (Commonwealth, forms a state under the British crown with Barbuda)
- Antigua and Barbuda Redonda (uninhabited part of Antigua & Barbuda, cfr supra)
- Montserrat Montserrat (U.K.)
- Guadeloupe Guadeloupe (Fr. overseas department)
- Guadeloupe la Désirade (dependency of Guadeloupe, Fr.)
- Guadeloupe Îles des Saintes (dependency of Guadeloupe, Fr.)
- Guadeloupe Marie-Galante (dependency of Guadeloupe, Fr.)
- Dominica Dominica (Commonwealth; sometimes in- or excluded)
THE WINDWARD ISLANDS
The Windward Islands are
called such because they were more windward to sailing ships arriving to
the New World than the Leeward Islands, given that the prevailing trade
winds in the West Indies blow east to west. The trans-Atlantic currents
and winds that provided the fastest route across the ocean brought
these ships to the rough dividing line between the Windward and Leeward
islands.
Dominica is the dividing line
between the Windward and Leeward islands. Guadeloupe and the islands to
the south were designated "Windward Islands". Later on, all islands
north of Martinique became known as the "Leeward Islands".
Vessels in the Atlantic slave
trade departing from the British Gold Coast and Gulf of Guinea in
Africa would first encounter the southeastern most "Windward" islands of
the Lesser Antilles in their west-northwesterly heading to final
destinations in the Caribbean and North and Central America. The chain
of Windward Islands forms a part of the easternmost boundary of the
Caribbean Sea.
Most of the present "Windward Islands" were once colonial island territories of France, also known as the French Antilles.
List of the Windward Islands
- Dominica Dominica (formerly administered as part of the colonial Leeward Islands)
- Martinique Martinique
- Saint Lucia Saint Lucia
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- Grenada Grenada
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