The West Indies are a chain of over 3000 islands located south and slightly east of Florida, east of Central America and southern Mexico, and north of South America. They are divided into three main island groups: the Bahamas, the Greater Antilles, and the Lesser Antilles. The Bahamas are the northernmost set of islands, while the Greater Antilles make up the central part of the West Indian Islands, and the Lesser Antilles are the southernmost islands of the chain. The West Indies were named by Columbus, who mistakenly believed he had arrived at or near the country of India. Today, they are also referred to as the Caribbean.
The West Indies refers to several large islands and island chains, over 3000 islands in all, that are mostly south and slightly east of Florida, east of Central America and southern Mexico, and north of South America. Some of these islands are located in the Caribbean Sea, while others form a bridge between the Caribbean and the North Atlantic Ocean. Just as the aboriginal peoples of South and North America were called Indians, under Columbus’s mistaken impression that he arrived at or near the country of India, the West Indies were Columbus’s name to differentiate these islands from the East Indies. They had nothing to do with Indian people, but Columbus believed he had arrived at a handful of eastern islands near India.
Today you may hear the West Indies still referred to by that name due to Columbus’ mistake. Alternatively, you may hear the West Indies referred to as the Caribbean. The Caribbean is a fairly extensive chain of islands, approximately 2500 miles (4023.36 km) from upper to lower island. At any point in this range, it is no wider than 160 miles (257.5 km)
There are three main island groups in the West Indies: the Bahamas, the Greater Antilles and the Lesser Antilles. The Lesser Antilles can be divided into two additional groups. These are called the Leeward Islands and the Windward Islands.
The Bahamas are the northernmost set of islands, some of which are east of and not south of Florida. Grand Bahama is located off the east coast of Florida, slightly north of Fort Lauderdale. Nassau, one of the most popular tourist spots, is the capital of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. San Salvador, located east and south of Grand Bahama, is believed to be the landing point of Christopher Columbus and today boasts a healthy tourism industry. Although there are 700 islands in the Bahamas, only a few of them are large enough to support populations. In addition to those mentioned above, these larger islands include: New Providence, Andros and Berry Islands, Abaco, Eleuthera, Cat Island, Exuma, Long Island and Ragged City, Crooked Islands, and Mayaguana and Inagua.
The Greater Antilles make up the central part of the West Indian Islands, with some of the largest Caribbean islands in this chain. These islands include Cuba, Haiti and Hispaniola, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. During the conquest of the New World, this section of the West Indies was extremely important, as these islands were close to Mexico, South America and Florida. From Cuba, the northernmost island, the explorers were within easy reach of the Gulf of Mexico and the southern tip of Florida.
The Lesser Antilles are the southernmost islands of the West Indies chain. The upper Lesser Antilles includes the Virgin Islands, which lie just east of Puerto Rico. Islands north of the Virgin Islands that are popular tourist destinations include St. Croix, Antigua, St. Kitts, and St. Martin, among others. These are all part of the Leeward Islands.
Further south, in the Windward Islands, you find Barbados, Saint Lucia, Martinique and Trinidad and Tobago. There are also collections of islands north of the coast of Venezuela, which may be called the Leeward Antilles. These include Aruba and Curacao.
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