West Indies,
Islands discovered by Columbus; form a long archipelago reaching from Florida and Yucatan to the shores of Venezuela, South America, separating the open Atlantic from the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. Three great divisions are recognized in this archipelago:I. Greater Antilles: Cuba, Haiti, Porto Rica, and Jamaica. II Bahamas: Extending from about lat. 20° to 27° N., forming a British colonial possession, few inhabited; Nassau, on Providence Island, the capital.
They form a barrier which throws the Gulf Stream upon the Atlantic coast of the United States, thus greatly modifying the climate of the Eastern United States and Northern Europe. [312]
Omitting the insignificant islets the Lesser Antilles are:
| Names. | Possessors. | ||
| III. Lesser Antilles. | |||
| Leeward Isles. | |||
| Virgin Islands | British, Danish, Spanish. | ||
| Anguilla | British. | ||
| St. Christopher (St. Kitt's) | British. | ||
| St. Martin | French, Dutch. | ||
| St. Bartholomew | French. | ||
| Saba | Dutch. | ||
| St. Eustatius | Dutch. | ||
| Nevis | British. | ||
| Barbuda | British | ||
| Antigua | British | ||
| Montserret | British | ||
| Guadeloupe | French. | ||
| Marie-Galante | French | ||
| Dominica | British. | ||
| Windward Isles. | |||
| Martinique | French. | ||
| St. Lucia | British. | ||
| St. Vincent | British. | ||
| Grenada | British. | ||
| Barbadoes | British. | ||
| Tobago | British. | ||
| Trinidad | British. | ||
| Oruba | Dutch. | ||
| Curacoa | Dutch. | ||
| Buen Ayre | Dutch. | ||
| Aves (Bird) Islands | Venezuela. | ||
| Los Roques | |||
| Orchilla | |||
| Blanquella |
See Cuba; Porto Rico.
