Antilles 250125 225755485 2008-07-15T06:57:56Z DocWatson42 38455 Updated dashes. [[Image:CaribbeanIslands.png|right|400px|thumb|Map of the Antilles]] The '''Antilles''' (the same in [[French language|French]]; ''Antillas'' in [[Spanish language|Spanish]]; ''Antillen'' in [[Dutch language|Dutch]]) refers to the islands forming the greater part of the [[Caribbean|West Indies]] in the [[Caribbean Sea]]. The Antilles are divided into two major groups: the "[[Greater Antilles]]" to the north including the larger islands of [[Cuba]], [[Jamaica]], [[Hispaniola]] ([[Haiti]] and the [[Dominican Republic]]), and [[Puerto Rico]]; and the smaller "[[Lesser Antilles]]" on the southeast—comprising the northerly [[Leeward Islands]], the southeasterly [[Windward Islands]], and the [[Leeward Antilles]] just north of [[Venezuela]]. [[The Bahamas]], though part of the West Indies, are generally not included among the Antillean islands.<ref> Some sources, such as Encarta in Spanish, consider the Bahamas part of the Antilles. [http://es.encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761555176/Antillas.html] {{es icon}} </ref> [[Geography|Geographically]], the Antilles are generally considered part of [[Americas|America]]. Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico—due to the prevalence of [[Spanish language|Spanish]]—are included in [[Latin America]]. In terms of [[geology]], the Greater Antilles are made up of [[continent]]al rock, as distinct from the Lesser Antilles, which are mostly young [[volcano|volcanic]] or [[coral]] islands. == Background ==<!-- This section is linked from [[Caribbean]] --> [[Image:Carte antilles 1843.jpg|thumb|Map of Antilles / Caribbean in 1843.]] The word ''Antilles'' originated in the period before the European conquest of the [[New World]]—''[[Antilia]]'' being one of those mysterious lands which figured on the [[medieval]] [[chart]]s, sometimes as an [[archipelago]], sometimes as continuous land of greater or lesser extent, its location fluctuating in mid-ocean between the [[Canary Islands]] and [[India]]. After the [[1492]] arrival of [[Christopher Columbus]]'s expedition in what was later called the West Indies, the European powers realized that the dispersed lands comprised an extensive archipelago enclosing the [[Caribbean Sea]] and the [[Gulf of Mexico]]. Thereafter, the term ''Antilles'' was commonly assigned to the formation, and "Sea of the Antilles" became a common alternate name for the Caribbean Sea in various European languages. == Greater Antilles == {{main|Greater Antilles}} * {{flagicon|Cuba}} [[Cuba]] * [[Hispaniola]] ** {{flagicon|Dominican Republic}} [[Dominican Republic]] ** {{flagicon|Haiti}} [[Haiti]] * {{flagicon|Jamaica}} [[Jamaica]] * {{flagicon|Puerto Rico}} [[Puerto Rico]] ([[Unites States of America|U.S.]] [[Commonwealth (U.S. insular area)|commonwealth]]) == Lesser Antilles == {{main|Lesser Antilles}} * {{flagicon|Anguilla}} [[Anguilla]] (UK) * {{flagicon|Antigua and Barbuda}} [[Antigua and Barbuda]] ** [[Redonda]] (Ant.) * {{flagicon|Aruba}} [[Aruba]] (Neth.) * {{flagicon|Barbados}} [[Barbados]] * {{flagicon|British Virgin Islands}} [[British Virgin Islands]] (UK) * {{flagicon|Dominica}} [[Dominica]] * {{flagicon|Grenada}} [[Grenada]] * {{flagicon|Guadeloupe|local}} [[Guadeloupe]] (Fr.), known as the [[French Antilles]] together with Martinique. * {{flagicon|Martinique|local}} [[Martinique]] (Fr.), known as the [[French Antilles]] together with Guadeloupe. * {{flagicon|Montserrat}} [[Montserrat]] (UK) * [[Netherlands Antilles]] (Neth.) ** {{flagicon|Bonaire}} [[Bonaire]] (Neth. Ant.) ** {{flagicon|Curaçao}} [[Curaçao]] (Neth. Ant.) ** {{flagicon|Saba}} [[Saba]] (Neth. Ant.) ** {{flagicon|Sint Eustatius}} [[Saint Eustatius]] (Neth. Ant.) * {{flagicon|Saint Barthélemy|local}} [[Saint Barthélemy]] (Fr.) * {{flagicon|Saint Kitts and Nevis}} [[Saint Kitts and Nevis]] * {{flagicon|Saint Lucia}} [[Saint Lucia]] * [[Saint Martin]] ** {{flagicon|Saint Martin|local}} [[Saint Martin (France)|Saint Martin]] (Fr.) ** {{flagicon|Sint Maarten}} [[Sint Maarten]] (Neth. Ant.) * {{flagicon|Saint Vincent and the Grenadines}} [[Saint Vincent and the Grenadines]] * {{flagicon|Trinidad and Tobago}} [[Trinidad and Tobago]] ** [[Tobago]] ** [[Trinidad]] * {{flagicon|U.S. Virgin Islands}} [[U.S. Virgin Islands]] ==Footnotes== {{reflist}} == References == *{{1911}} [[Category:Caribbean islands]] [[Category:Archipelagoes]] [[Category:Greater Antilles| ]] [[Category:Lesser Antilles| ]] [[ar:جزر الأنتيل]] [[ca:Antilles]] [[cs:Antily]] [[de:Antillen]] [[es:Antillas]] [[eo:Antiloj]] [[eu:Antillak]] [[fr:Antilles]] [[fy:Antillen]] [[ko:안틸레스 제도]] [[is:Antillaeyjar]] [[it:Antille]] [[he:האיים האנטילים]] [[lt:Antilai]] [[nl:Antillen]] [[ja:アンティル諸島]] [[no:Antillene]] [[nn:Antillane]] [[pl:Antyle]] [[ru:Антильские острова]] [[scn:Antilli]] [[sk:Antily]] [[sr:Антили]] [[tr:Antiller]] [[uk:Антильські острови]] [[vec:Antiłe]] [[zh:安的列斯群島]]