Why is the West Indies called the West Indies?

Why is the West Indies called the West Indies?

Quick Reference. The islands of the Caribbean. Columbus, who in 1492 was the first European to reach the islands, called them the West Indies because he believed he had arrived near India by travelling westward. The West Indies refers to a collection of islands in the Caribbean. These islands have nothing to do with India – they were named the West Indies because when Christopher Columbus arrived on the island of Hispanola (where the Dominican Republic and Haiti are), he thought that he was in India. Three major physiographic divisions constitute the West Indies: the Greater Antilles, comprising the islands of Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic), and Puerto Rico; the Lesser Antilles, including the Virgin Islands, Anguilla, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda, Montserrat, Guadeloupe, … From 1672 to 1917 Denmark had a colony in the Caribbean called the Danish West Indies, which consisted of the islands St. Thomas, St. Jan and St. Croix.

Who are called as West Indies?

The islands in the Caribbean are also sometimes referred to as the West Indies. Christopher Columbus thought he had reached the Indies (Asia) on his voyage to find another route there. Instead he had reached the Caribbean. The Caribbean was named the West Indies to account for Columbus’ mistake. British English: West Indies /ˌwɛst ˈɪndi:z/ NOUN. The West Indies is a group of islands off Central America, extending in an arc from Florida to Venezuela, separating the Caribbean Sea from the Atlantic Ocean. American English: West Indies /ˌwɛst ˈɪndiz/ A Note on Terminology. The term Indian, in reference to the original inhabitants of the American continent, is said to derive from Christopher Columbus, a 15th century boat-person. Some say he used the term because he was convinced he had arrived in the Indies (Asia), his intended destination. The first European sighting of the Virgin Islands was by Christopher Columbus in 1493 on his second voyage to the Americas. Columbus gave them the name Santa Ursula y las Once Mil Vírgenes (Saint Ursula and her 11,000 Virgins), shortened to Las Vírgenes (The Virgins), after the legend of Saint Ursula. At first the term East Indies was applied to India and “Farther India” (most of Southeast Asia). After the British developed India as a colony, the term East Indies came to apply only to the islands of the Malay Archipelago (though those of the Philippines are often excluded). Hispaniola, Spanish La Española, second largest island of the West Indies, lying within the Greater Antilles, in the Caribbean Sea. It is divided politically into the Republic of Haiti (west) and the Dominican Republic (east).

Is there a country called West Indies?

The West Indies is not one country. The West Indies cricket team, nicknamed the Windies, is a multi-national men’s cricket team representing the mainly English-speaking countries and territories in the Caribbean region and administered by Cricket West Indies. The correct answer is Columbus. Christopher Columbus became the first European to record his arrival at the West Indies islands in 1492. West Indies cricket team officially renamed as ‘WINDIES’ The West Indies cricket team has been officially renamed as ‘WINDIES’ while the West Indies Cricket Board has rebranded itself as ‘Cricket West Indies’ on its 90th anniversary.

What are the names of the two groups of islands in the West Indies?

The West Indies is made up of three main groups of islands- the Bahamas in the north, the Greater Antilles in the center, and the Lesser Antilles in the southeast. Established in 1958, the West Indies Federation comprised the ten territories of: Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Montserrat, the then St Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla, Saint Lucia, St Vincent and Trinidad and Tobago. Cuba is the largest island in the West Indies. It spans almost 41,000 square miles. Over 11.2 million people inhabit this island. The territories are now fully independent sovereign states, except for five – Anguilla, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Montserrat, and the Turks and Caicos Islands – which remain British Overseas Territories, as does Bermuda. The most restrictive and best-known use is as a synonym for the islands that now constitute the Republic of Indonesia (formerly known as the Netherlands Indies, or Dutch East Indies); these include the Greater Sunda Islands (Borneo, Celebes, Java, and Sumatra), the Lesser Sunda Islands (stretching eastward from Bali to …

How many islands are in the West Indies?

The West Indies are a geologically complex island system consisting of 7,000 islands and islets stretching over 3,000 km from the Florida peninsula of North America south-southeast to the northern coast of Venezuela. The islands of Bonaire, St Eustatius and Saba are jointly referred to as the Caribbean Netherlands, or the BES islands. Depending on their geological origin, islands forming archipelagos can be referred to as oceanic islands, continental fragments, and continental islands. However, with the two largest states gone, there was no real way for the federation to be viable, especially if the biggest burden had to be carried by Barbados, which was much smaller than Trinidad or Jamaica. With that, later in 1962, the British Parliament officially dissolved the Federation of the West Indies.