Talk:Caribbean

Vandalism? or simply plain crazy?
The following phrase is absurd, dunno if it was intentional or just a lapse (all islands are enclosed by the sea!):

"its islands (most of which are enclosed by the sea)," Vae victis (talk) 15:19, 5 November 2012 (UTC)


 * By "the sea" was meant "by the Caribbean Sea". I think that passage is absurd for the opposite reason: many of the Caribbean islands are bordered on one side by the Caribbean and on the other side by the Atlantic. I'll remove the passage. Duoduoduo (talk) 17:46, 1 March 2013 (UTC)

Present-day island territories
Hello everybody, the Caribbean is a body of water not a group of islands. It is not a region. The West Indies are a group of island and not the same as the Caribbean. The Bahamas and Turks are in the West Indies but NOT the Caribbean. Caribbean countries include all those bordering it from Venezuela around through the Mexican Yucatan and across the South shore of Cuba across the South coasts of Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and South to Trinidad. Some Islands and some mainland. Where did our schools go wrong? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.106.170.45 (talk) 00:49, 18 November 2009 (UTC)

On Present-day island territories, shouldn't Sint Marrten be removed, as it is still part of Netherlands Antilles? That would also make it's accompanying note, that it is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (implies in it's own right), incorrect? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Yipyapyup (talk • contribs) 23:00, 10 April 2009 (UTC)


 * Yes, and Curacao too. I'll remove them.  If someone has a reason why they should be re-added, please put it here.  Papercrab (talk) 17:22, 15 July 2009 (UTC)

I think Guyana should be remove from the list because it is no island. Besides it is not in the list of islands in the Caribbean. 212.77.163.106 (talk) 11:23, 29 July 2009 (UTC)

There Are Some Bad Conclusions Here
Some how the Caribbean Sea has been equated with the West Indies. They have a lot of similar traits and attributes but they are not synonyms.

The Caribbean Sea is a body of water that is contained in the oblong circle that goes from the North East tip of the Yucatan across the Southern boundaries of Cuba, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico and the British Virgin Islands. It then turns South at the Lesser Antilles past Trinidad to Venezuela across to Panama and back up to the Yucatan. The Bahamas, Turks and Caicos and Bermuda are not in the Caribbean.

The West Indies include the islands in the Caribbean from Cuba East and South to Trinidad and The Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos but not Bermuda.

It is all just simple geography and does not consider culture, trade relations or politics. It is not a hard concept to grasp. Is it?

Maybe we could include New York City. There are more Puerto Ricans in New York City than Puerto Rico. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Ranchodepato (talk • contribs) 01:31, 15 April 2009 (UTC)

what about Cauraco not included as a island why? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.5.40.113 (talk) 06:57, 18 April 2009 (UTC)

El Caribe?
Spanish Wikipedia has "El Caribe" redirecting to "Antillas". Shouldn't "El Caribe" be redirect to "Caribe"? --EarthFurst (talk) 08:09, 4 September 2009 (UTC)

Bajo Nuevo and Serranilla
Bajo Nuevo and Serranilla Banks were previously listed as territories of the United States in this template. Whatever U.S. government sources lists them as so is irrelevant until you can establish that the U.S. actually has these banks under its control. The Colombian government lists them as being part of the San Andres Department, so if we're adding random territories where actual control doesn't matter, then a whole list of other territorial claims have to be added aswell.

Unless an editor can find confirmation from an indisputable source, de facto jurisdiction over these banks will remain unconfirmed, and this template should reflect that. If you want this changed--you first need to have your sourced claim accepted on the Bajo Nuevo Bank and Serranilla Bank pages. Rennell435 (talk) 04:11, 10 October 2009 (UTC)

Largest cities
Since July 2009, there is a list of "Largest cities" in the infobox. However, this seems more to be a list of capitals/comparable centres, ordered by size. If really a list of all the largest Caribbean cities were intended, then some other larger cities from the largest islands should be included, above some smaller capitals. E. g. Santiago de Cuba should thus get into the list (just below San Juan, I suppose); and Oraniestad might drop out of the list altogether, if the list is not made considerably longer.

There are two possible remedies: Either to change the content of the list, to include e.g. all the cities with at least 100,000 inhabitants, or to change the title of the list to Capitals and administrative centres or something similar. In the second case, the list might have to be completed with a few more capitals. JoergenB (talk) 17:39, 26 November 2009 (UTC)


 * The infobox isn't a good place for a long list anyway. We should probably limit it to the top 5 cities. If there's a consensus for a longer list, that should go in the body of the article. - BilCat (talk) 20:51, 26 November 2009 (UTC)

Largest Cities: Port-of-Spain
Can someone please explain to me how Port-of-Spain is one of the largest Caribbean cities if it only has a population of just 49,000. The are PLENTY cities in the caribbean with a much larger population than that such as Guantánamo, Punta Cana, Nassau, etc. So as you can see, Port of Spain is not one of the largest cities in the caribbean; it might be one of the most developed though, but nevertheless development of the city should not be confused with it's actual population. - Uniongreen (talk) 06:05, 17 November 2010 (UTC-5)

No History Section?
I just realised that this article has no history section, though there is a History of the Caribbean article. Anyone care to help me summarise that article in a section of this one? ~ Hairouna (talk) 23:30, 11 August 2011 (UTC)


 * Possibly because it's a region of the world and not really a specific spot; more geographical, in other words. How would you present the history of a region of the world that already has history of islands and countries? Lhb1239 (talk) 04:10, 12 August 2011 (UTC)


 * The Caribbean region has a shared history of colonial jockeying, slavery, trade, etc. I think someone who knows that history well could put in a good history section. Duoduoduo (talk) 17:39, 1 March 2013 (UTC)

Spelling
The vast majority of English language speakers in North America use American English. American English should be used for all Wikipedia articles related to North America, including Central America and the Caribbean, except as follows: Yours aye, Buaidh  17:47, 8 September 2011 (UTC)
 * North American English
 * American English
 * Bermudian English in Bermuda.
 * Canadian English in Canada.
 * Caribbean English in Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
 * Bahamian English in the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands.
 * Trinidadian English in Trinidad and Tobago


 * The Cayman Islands are a British Commonwealth, ergo, the article should reflect British English, not American English. Lhb1239 (talk) 02:31, 9 September 2011 (UTC)

Bad Info
For some reason, it's stated that the sun rises throughout the Caribbean at 3-5 A.M. EST... Well I live in St. Lucia (quite close to the equator) and we usually don't see the sun until 6 or so. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 199.192.227.90 (talk) 02:34, 22 June 2012 (UTC)
 * Removed. It rises around 6am in Dominican Republic. Materialscientist (talk) 06:51, 25 June 2012 (UTC)


 * When the sun rises depends not only on where you are in the Caribbean but also on the time of year. That's true everywhere but along the equator. The Caribbean day is a good bit shorter when the sun is over the Tropic of Capricorn than when it is directly over the Caribbean. However, the seasonal variation in the length of the day is less in the tropics than in the temperate zone. Duoduoduo (talk) 17:35, 1 March 2013 (UTC)

West Indies
Seems that the Entymology section should explain where "West Indies" comes from. If you have a source that explains it, please do. Alanscottwalker (talk) 16:09, 4 September 2012 (UTC)

Wrong image
There is a picture with the caption "Cuban school children" but the picture is named "Venezuelan schoolchildren.jpg" maybe this picture should be removed since Venezuela is not part of the Caribbean? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 94.71.24.1 (talk) 21:32, 15 September 2012 (UTC)

Not only that, but there's a sign in the photo that says "Uru[...]", which could mean that it's Uruguay... which would be hilarious. 67.173.231.164 (talk) 11:01, 4 December 2012 (UTC)
 * That is exactly what the sign means. I have removed the image from this article. Someone should see about renaming the picture. --Khajidha (talk) 00:40, 24 December 2012 (UTC)


 * The children are quite recognisably wearing Cuban school uniforms. The school is only named "República Oriental del Uruguay" as homage to a fellow Latin American country. The picture can remain. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 129.194.252.40 (talk) 11:06, 13 December 2018 (UTC)

Etymology for “West Indies” missing
Since West Indies redirects here, the Etymology section should describe the origin of the term West Indies. — Timwi (talk) 23:17, 1 March 2013 (UTC)

Snow in Puerto Rico
Does anyone have a source that says that it has snowed in Puerto Rico? Because I am pretty sure it has ever snowed here in Puerto Rico. If I am right this is false information and it should be taken out of the page.Rebelplutarch (talk) 01:19, 18 June 2014 (UTC)

Can someone please connect this article to the Somali page
Hi there, there is a Somali Wikipedia version of the "Caribbean" page. I tried to connect it to English and every other language, but failed to do so. Can someone please connect it? The Somali article can be found here Kaaribiyaan. Thanks Ismail Suge (talk) 21:08, 18 September 2015 (UTC)


 * ✅ - BilCat (talk) 21:23, 18 September 2015 (UTC)

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United States
The United States should be added to the continental countries section because of Puerto Rico. Can somebody add it? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 161.185.153.53 (talk)


 * Puerto Rico is already listed under "Modern-day island territories", along with the mention that it is a commonwealth of the United States. - BilCat (talk) 19:14, 27 October 2017 (UTC)

Remove Lucayan Archipelago
The Lucayan Archipelago comprising The Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands should definitely  not  be including in this article on the Caribbean. The Lucayan Archipelago is located in the Atlantic Ocean and not the Caribbean Sea. To include the Lucayan Archipelago in this article merely perpetuates a common geographic misunderstanding. While the Lucayan Archipelago has much in common with the Caribbean including membership in CARICOM, it is geographically separate. This article should clearly state that the Lucayan Archipelago is not a part of the Caribbean, but that the Lucayan Archipelago and the Caribbean comprise the more extensive West Indies. Yours aye, Buaidh  talk contribs 18:30, 5 May 2018 (UTC)

Area of the Carribean??
In this article, the headline area of the Carribean is given as approximately 2.7 million km2. However, the total land area of the constituent countries/territories is given as approximately 236,000 km2. Encyclopedia Brittanica gives the total land area as approximately 234,000km2 - which largely agrees with the figure stated in the Wikipedia article. What is the explanation for the disparity in the headline number of 2.7million km2? Is that correct is the surrounding ocean is included? If so, should the figure then make clear that it is not land area, but the total area of the region including ocean? Many thanks. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 195.147.82.34 (talk) 13:23, 4 February 2019 (UTC)

Geography and geology
This section is quite short and actually does not contain any information on the geologic origins of the islands. I would like to expand this section, including information on the GAARlandia hypothesis and implications for biogeography. See: Iturralde-Vinent, M., & MacPhee, R. D. (1999). Paleogeography of the Caribbean region: implications for Cenozoic biogeography.

this Caribbean island geology section could include a link to the geology section of the Caribbean Sea wiki page.

Lindsaeaceae (talk) 18:36, 6 February 2019 (UTC)

Nomination of Portal:Caribbean for deletion
A discussion is taking place as to whether Portal:Caribbean is suitable for inclusion in Wikipedia according to Wikipedia's policies and guidelines or whether it should be deleted.

The page will be discussed at Wikipedia:Miscellany for deletion/Portal:Caribbean until a consensus is reached, and anyone is welcome to contribute to the discussion. The nomination will explain the policies and guidelines which are of concern. The discussion focuses on high-quality evidence and our policies and guidelines.

Users may edit the page during the discussion, including to improve the page to address concerns raised in the discussion. However, do not remove the deletion notice from the top of the page. North America1000 16:37, 15 April 2019 (UTC)

Deletion? Empty is now? — Preceding unsigned comment added by La Geno (talk • contribs) 11:04, 6 March 2020 (UTC)


 * This message is from a year ago. The portal was kept. Guettarda (talk) 12:26, 6 March 2020 (UTC)


 * Clearly an attempt to merge Caribbean articles into "North America" it seems. If that's the case it should get up-merged to Americas. CaribDigita (talk) 17:40, 7 March 2020 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 27 August 2020
2403:6200:8813:4837:9BC:7B1F:9B2F:8291 (talk) 11:47, 27 August 2020 (UTC)
 * Red question icon with gradient background.svg Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate. Victor Schmidt (talk) 11:48, 27 August 2020 (UTC)

Belize is missing from the country list
I tried to add it but wasn’t able to. The country of Belize is missing from the country list but included in the map and the page itself. Keithbarneslife (talk) 17:39, 31 August 2020 (UTC)

Should this article not discuss the plan by Jamaica and Barbados to remove the queen as head of state?
The situation in Barbados, for example

The government of Barbados announced on 15 September 2020 that it intends to become a republic by 30 November 2021, the 55th anniversary of its independence. If the plan is achieved (with a two-thirds majority vote in both houses of Parliament),   the Queen will be replaced by the country's own elected official as head of state. Barbados would then cease to be a Commonwealth realm, but will maintain membership in the Commonwealth of Nations. One news report stated that Guyana, as well as Trinidad and Tobago, already had such a relationship with the UK: a "loose association of former British colonies and current dependencies".

Peter K Burian (talk) 13:13, 18 March 2021 (UTC)


 * I'd say no. The article is about the Caribbean region as a whole, not the politics of individual nations. BilCat (talk) 15:03, 18 March 2021 (UTC)
 * Only if we have sources which talk about the transition away from traditional monarchs in a Caribbean wide context. If its just individual pieces about the individual states I would say no. Horse Eye&#39;s Back (talk) 15:08, 18 March 2021 (UTC)

West Indies vs Caribbean
Aren't the West Indies and Caribbean the same? 70.27.33.117 (talk) 01:12, 8 October 2021 (UTC)


 * No.
 * The West Indies includes countries in mainland South America that are not considered part of the Caribbean. Also, West Indies often means British West Indies, as opposed to the French or Dutch West Indies. One could argue that they all make up the West Indies, I would argue the term West Indies is confusing blakdogg (talk) 06:07, 6 May 2022 (UTC)

Highest Point
Assuming that "The Caribbean" is a generally accepted term for an area with an accepted definition, it seems like Pico Duarte should be in the infobox as its highest point, and Lake Enriquillo the lowest as well as the largest lake. 96.240.128.124 (talk) 04:14, 14 October 2021 (UTC)

Removing Status from the tasble
Could we remove status from the 'Countries and Territories' table, it is unclear what is meant by status, it is  not relevant to the citizens of these countries nor most visitors. Can we replace with something more useful, e.g., language? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Blakdogg (talk • contribs) 06:15, 6 May 2022 (UTC)

Lucuyan Archipelago confusion in lead?
From the lead: Island arcs delineate the eastern and northern edges of the Caribbean Sea: the Greater Antilles and the Lucayan Archipelago on the north and the Lesser Antilles on the south and east (which includes the Leeward Antilles). They form the West Indies with the nearby Lucayan Archipelago (the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands), which are considered to be part of the Caribbean despite not bordering the Caribbean Sea. doesn't seem to make sense. The "They" at start of 2nd sentence refers to the island arcs, which include Lucuyan Archipelago, and then it's "nearby". Could someone please clarify? Thanks. Pam D  04:52, 27 July 2022 (UTC)

Definition of Caribbean a
The Caribbean is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands and the surrounding coasts. Colomhe Caribbean is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands and the surrounding coasts. Colombia has a caribbean region that 12 million people live in. This includes not to only coats but actual islands in the Caribbean that people live in, such as san Andres. The map must react that Caribbean people exist beyond the antilles. Enlightened105747 (talk) 20:09, 7 October 2022 (UTC)


 * The first sentence is copied from the lead section of the article. Magnatyrannus (talk &#124; contribs) 20:11, 7 October 2022 (UTC)
 * im simply re-stating a fact. what type of response is that? wikipedia should report accurate information. this page is currently not doing that Enlightened105747 (talk) 20:25, 7 October 2022 (UTC)
 * Why is is this page not showing the Caribbean as a whole? why is it showing a map that doesn't accuratley depict all Caribbean people? Enlightened105747 (talk) 20:26, 7 October 2022 (UTC)
 * Wikipedia follows sources, not your personal beliefs about what the facts may or may not be. Which specific reliable sources support the changes you would like to make? - MrOllie (talk) 20:27, 7 October 2022 (UTC)


 * , can you help out here? You made some recent edits, so may be familiar with the article. and it's scope. Thanks. BilCat (talk) 23:33, 7 October 2022 (UTC)
 * BilCat - Unfortunately, my familiarity with this article isn't as impressive as you think, and it might leave you with much to be desired. However, what I can do is explain my recent edits. I was partolling through logs, edits, recent changes, etc as I usually do (yup, you know me... lol), and I ran into this edit, which removes a bunch of good and useful content. However, by the time that I saw this edit, many other editors had only not noticed the removal, but had already started manually adding missing pieces of it back (Ouch...). And so began the task of manually merging the edits and improvements made since the removal and with the restored content that was removed, and many edits and comparing of diffs later, we are where we are today. That's about it. I didn't research anything or write any content; I simply merged what I believe was a fork of contributions caused by unexplained content removal that didn't seem to follow a discussion. :-) If I can be of any further assistance (even though I really wasn't much of any at all... lol), do let me know and I'll be happy to help wherever I can. :-) Cheers -  ~Oshwah~  (talk) (contribs)   23:44, 7 October 2022 (UTC)
 * The reliable sources are within the article itself, which is why I copy and pasted a passage from it in my comment. Ill paste again here: The Caribbean (/ˌkærɪˈbiːən, kəˈrɪbiən/, locally /ˈkærɪbiæn/) (Spanish: El Caribe; French: la Caraïbe; Haitian Creole: Karayib; Dutch: De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean) and the surrounding coasts. The region is southeast of the Gulf of Mexico and the North American mainland, east of Central America, and north of South America. I don't understand why The region is southeast of the Gulf of Mexico and the North American mainland, east of Central America, and north of South America are not being included in the map or in the Caribbean people page. Enlightened105747 (talk) 02:56, 9 October 2022 (UTC)

A completely irrelevant history section
Any reason why the history section glosses over colonialism, the transatlantic slave trade and the independence/revolutions era to have a 3 paragraph section on cuban military aid to africa? What does that have to do with Caribbean history? US interventions in the region are more relevant but it could be moved to the politics section. Does someone want to argue against moving or deleting this section? 77.100.65.9 (talk) 21:05, 13 December 2022 (UTC)


 * I have changed this now -- 77.100.65.9 Eastern box turtle in Florida (talk) 19:03, 19 December 2022 (UTC)

Is America a part of the Caribbean
Jskekekeks 199.127.198.76 (talk) 17:48, 20 November 2023 (UTC)