Caribbean Studies presentation.

7/28/2019 Caribbean Studies presentation.

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DefiningTheCaribbean


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Objectives of this Lesson

1. Identify and describe the four means by

which the Caribbean is defined.

2. Show how these definitions impact the

people of the region.


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Brief Glimpse of the Earths makeup

In composition, the Earth is made of three parts. At

the center of the Earth, a body of intensely hot iron

and nickel forms the core. A less dense and much

larger middle sphere is made of materials rich in iron,

magnesium and calcium comprises the mantle. The

outermost layer is a thin veneer of lighter rocks called

the crust. The crust beneath the oceans is composedof heavy, dark volcanic rocks such as basalt.

Continental crust is composed mostly of lighter

rocks rich in silica such as granite.


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The crust is made up of continental

plate.


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The Caribbean falls between the north and

South American and the Coco Plates


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The Caribbean

How would you define

the Caribbean?


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1. Geological Definition of the Caribbean


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The Geological Caribbean is not widely used as a

means of defining the region. It however shows

that there are deep seated structural featureswhich identify commonalities. It is defined by

the Caribbean Plate and experiences similar

tectonic, seismic and volcanic features andprocesses.


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The Caribbean is situated in a geologic feature knownas the Caribbean Plate which has boundaries ormargins with other plates nearby. A plate is a large

piece of crust (on which there may be both land andocean) and it moves in relation to other plates. On thewhole the earth is made up of six or seven plates andmany smaller ones. The Caribbean Plate is a small

plate.


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Geological commonalities

1. Earthquakes the region is in a known

earthquake zone.

2. Hurricane the region experienceshurricanes yearly from June 1 Nov. 30

3. Volcanic activities especially in the Lesser

Antilles (the basis of their formation)


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Diagram of a Volcano


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Diagram of how an earthquake operates

FOCUS - The pointwithin the earth wherethe actual fault slipoccurs, causing the

release of earthquakeenergy. It may be at thesurface of the earth, ormany miles below the

earth's surface. When afault slips, the wavesradiate in all directions.


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Diagram of how an earthquake operates

EPICENTER - The point onthe surface of the earth thatis directly above the focus.Once the earthquake energy

reaches the epicenter, ittravels along the surface ofthe earth in all directions. Itcan cause waves on the

surface of the earth that willvary in amplitude dependingon the composition of theearth surface.


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2. The Geographical Caribbean


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This describes the area washed by the

Caribbean Sea and is often described as the

Caribbean Basin


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The Geographical Caribbean

It would therefore include most of the islands of

the Lesser and Greater Antilles as well as themainland territories of Central America and

Northern South America such as Venezuela and

Columbia.


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Red Marks The Spot


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The Historical Caribbean

This describe the area that saw the impact of

European colonization, slavery, indentureship and the

plantation system. This refers to all the territories, so

that one means by which we can define the Caribbean

is by identifying those countries that experienced the

rule of specific European countries, namely the

English, French, Dutch and the Spanish. The common

feature in this definition is that they share the same

historical or cultural experiences.


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LEGENDENGLISHSPANISH

FRENCH

DUTCH


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The legend indicates the territories that

were under the control of the various

European powers. It should be noted thatGuyana (which was first under Dutch control,

then English), Surinam (which was under

Dutch control) and French Guiana (which is

STILL under French control) are not

represented in the previous slide. They are a

part of the Caribbean because they share

the same historical/cultural experiences as

all those which are represented.


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The Political Caribbean

The Caribbean has three main government systems,

namely:

Independent States these are former colonieswhich are now self-governing. These are islands

which have chosen a method of governance that

is different from that of their colonial masters,

namely democracy or communism;


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The Political Caribbean

Associated States these are territories which

are not independent but enjoy all the rights and

privileges of the country that governs it;

Colonial Dependencies these ate territories

which are directly governed by other countries

but do not enjoy the rights and privileges thats

enjoyed by inhabitants in an Associated State.

LEGEND


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LEGENDIndependent

States

Associated

State

Colonial

Territories

bl d f h bb


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Problems defining the Caribbean

Geographical Historical Geological

1 Guyana and theBahamas do not have

coastlines on the

Caribbean Sea. Yet both

countries are commonly

accepted as part of the

Caribbean

The problem withdefining the Caribbean

according to linguistic or

European heritage, is

that, that tends to ignore

the commonalities of

Caribbean experience atthe hands of these

colonial powers.

The western edge of theCaribbean Plate is located

in the Pacific and includes

Honduras, Costa Rica,

Nicaragua and Panama in

the Caribbean.

2 This definition includes

countries not normally

associated with theCaribbean Panama,

Columbia and the other

countries of Central

America.

This definition would

include Guyana and the

Bahamas. It should alsoinclude the French, Dutch

and Spanish speaking

countries of the

Caribbean and Central

America.

This definition would

include Guyana and the

Bahamas. It should alsoinclude the French, Dutch

and Spanish speaking

countries of the

Caribbean and Central

America.


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Caribbean Studies presentation.

Documents

Transcript of Caribbean Studies presentation.