The Lucayan Archipelago (named for the original native

Lucayan people The Lucayan people ( ) were the original residents of the Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies The West Indies is a subregion ...

), also known as the Bahama Archipelago, is an island group comprising the Commonwealth of The Bahamas and the

British Overseas Territory The British Overseas Territories (BOTs), also known as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs), are fourteen territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain ...

of the Turks and Caicos Islands. The

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as w ...

is in the western North Atlantic Ocean, north of

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called ...

and the other

Antilles The Antilles (; gcf, label= Antillean Creole, Antiy; es, Antillas; french: Antilles; nl, Antillen; ht, Antiy; pap, Antias; Jamaican Patois: ''Antiliiz'') is an archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or i ...

, and east and southeast of

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America ...

. William Keegan writes: "Modern political considerations aside, the islands form a single archipelago with common geological, ecological, and cultural roots." Though part of the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the ...

, the Lucayan Archipelago is not located on the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's fiv ...

Proposed federation

In 2010, the leaders of The Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands discussed the possibility of forming a federation.

Countries and territories

The Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America North America is a continent in the ...

* Turks and Caicos Islands (

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

) The Mouchoir Bank, the Silver Bank, and the Navidad Bank are a submerged continuation of the archipelago, to the southeast of the Turks and Caicos Islands. Mouchoir Bank is disputed between the Turks and Caicos Islands and Dominican Republic, Silver Bank and Navidad Bank are part of the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl ...

Etymologies of island names

Julian Granberry and Gary Vescelius suggest the following Lucayan (

Taíno The Taíno were a historic indigenous people of the Caribbean whose culture has been continued today by Taíno descendant communities and Taíno revivalist communities. At the time of European contact in the late 15th century, they were the pri ...

) etymologies for various Lucayan islands.

Notes

References

* Keegan, William F. (1992) ''The People Who Discovered Columbus: The Prehistory of the Bahamas.'' University Press of Florida

Proposed federation

Countries and territories

Etymologies of island names

See also

Notes

References

Further reading