The Lesser Antilles is a group of islands in the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere, located south of the Gulf of Mexico and southwest of the Sargasso Sea. It is bounded by the Greater Antilles to the north from Cuba ...

, forming part of the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

in Caribbean region of the

Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...

. They are distinguished from the larger islands of the

Greater Antilles The Greater Antilles is a grouping of the larger islands in the Caribbean Sea, including Cuba, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, and Jamaica, together with Navassa Island and the Cayman Islands. Seven island states share the region of the Greater Antille ...

to the west. They form an arc which begins east of

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

at the archipelago of the Virgin Islands, swings southeast through the

Leeward In geography and seamanship, windward () and leeward () are directions relative to the wind. Windward is ''upwind'' from the point of reference, i.e., towards the direction from which the wind is coming; leeward is ''downwind'' from the point o ...

and

Windward Islands The Windward Islands are the southern, generally larger islands of the Lesser Antilles of the Caribbean islands or the West Indies. Located approximately between latitudes 10° and 16° N and longitudes 60° and 62° W, they extend from D ...

towards

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

, and turns westward through the

Leeward Antilles The Leeward Antilles (; ) are a chain of islands in the Caribbean, specifically part of the southerly islands of the Lesser Antilles (and, in turn, the Antilles and the West Indies) along the southeastern fringe of the Caribbean Sea, just no ...

along the Venezuelan coast. Most of them are part of a long, partially

volcanic A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often fo ...

island arc Island arcs are long archipelago, chains of active volcanoes with intense earthquake, seismic activity found along convergent boundary, convergent plate tectonics, tectonic plate boundaries. Most island arcs originate on oceanic crust and have re ...

between the

to the north-west and the continent of South America."West Indies." ''Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary'', 3rd ed. 2001. () Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster Inc., p. 1298. The islands of the Lesser Antilles form the eastern boundary of the Caribbean Sea where it meets the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

. Together, the Lesser Antilles and the Greater Antilles make up the

Antilles The Antilles is an archipelago bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the south and west, the Gulf of Mexico to the northwest, and the Atlantic Ocean to the north and east. The Antillean islands are divided into two smaller groupings: the Greater An ...

. The Lesser and Greater Antilles, together with the

Lucayan Archipelago The Lucayan Archipelago, also known as the Bahamian Archipelago, is an island group comprising the Commonwealth of The Bahamas and the British Overseas Territory of the Turks and Caicos Islands. The archipelago is in the western North Atlant ...

, are collectively known as the

Caribbean islands Most of the Caribbean countries are islands in the Caribbean Sea, with only a few in inland lakes. The largest islands include Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica and Puerto Rico. Some of the smaller islands are referred to as a ''rock'' or ''reef.'' ''I ...

. The islands were dominantly

Kalinago The Kalinago, also called Island Caribs or simply Caribs, are an Indigenous people of the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean. They may have been related to the Mainland Caribs (Kalina) of South America, but they spoke an unrelated language know ...

compared to the

which was settled by the

Taíno The Taíno are the Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean, Indigenous peoples of the Greater Antilles and surrounding islands. At the time of European contact in the late 15th century, they were the principal inhabitants of most of what is now The ...

, the boundary set between them is known as the " poison arrow curtain" for the Kalinago's favoured weapon for fending off Europeans that came to conquer the islands in the 16th century.

History before European arrival

The First Islanders

The earliest Archaic Age habitation is evidenced at sites like St. John and Banwari Trace in

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...

, dating between 7700 and 6100 B.P. Artifacts from this period include stone and bone tools used for hunting and fishing. A total of 29 Archaic Age sites have been identified in Trinidad and Tobago, associated with the

Ortoiroid The Ortoiroid people were the second wave of human settlers of the Caribbean who began their migration into the Antilles around 2000 BC. They were preceded by the Casimiroid peoples (~4190-2165 BC). They are believed to have originated in the Orino ...

series, divided into the Banwarian (5000–2500 BC) and Ortoiran (1500–300 BC) subseries. During the Late Archaic Age, wild plant foods became more significant, with evidence of early plant management, including crops such as

maize Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from wild teosinte. Native American ...

sweet potatoes The sweet potato or sweetpotato (''Ipomoea batatas'') is a dicotyledonous plant in the morning glory family, Convolvulaceae. Its sizeable, starchy, sweet-tasting tuberous roots are used as a root vegetable, which is a staple food in parts of the ...

, achira, and

chili peppers Chili peppers, also spelled chile or chilli ( ), are varieties of berry-fruit plants from the genus ''Capsicum'', which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for their pungency. They are used as a spice to add pungency ( ...

had been imported and cultivated from the continent. The archaeological record for the rest of the southern Lesser Antilles is sparse, with sites in

Tobago Tobago, officially the Ward of Tobago, is an List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, island and Regions and municipalities of Trinidad and Tobago, ward within the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is located northeast of the larger islan ...

Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...

, and

Martinique Martinique ( ; or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It was previously known as Iguanacaera which translates to iguana island in Carib language, Kariʼn ...

yielding potential Archaic Age artifacts. Factors like local tectonic activity and hurricanes or other storms have likely distorted the archaeological evidence in these regions. Entire islands may now be submerged. Severe erosion, landslides, and volcanic eruptions are fairly common and may contribute to the preservation of archaeological sites. Three migration scenarios have been proposed. First, Archaic Age communities from

reached Trinidad, Tobago, and Barbados. Second, the southern Lesser Antilles (Windward Islands) were bypassed by early settlers, with migration directly to the northern islands. Third, technological diffusion occurred without significant population movement from northeastern South America. Chronometric data divide the Archaic Age in the northern Lesser Antilles into three phases: Early Archaic Age (3300–2600 BC), Middle Archaic Age (2600–800 BC), and Late Archaic Age (800 BC–AD 100). Coastal areas were favored for settlement, particularly for their proximity to marine resources and flint quarries. Material culture showing reliance on

seafood Seafood is any form of Marine life, sea life regarded as food by humans, prominently including Fish as food, fish and shellfish. Shellfish include various species of Mollusca, molluscs (e.g., bivalve molluscs such as clams, oysters, and mussel ...

(fish and mollusks) and terrestrial animals.

Antigua Antigua ( ; ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the local population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the most populous island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua ...

and St. Martin seem to be the most heavily populated during the Archaic Age. Notably, all known Archaic Age sites are in the northern islands, with no evidence in the Windward Islands south of

Guadeloupe Guadeloupe is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre Island, Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Guadeloupe, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galant ...

. Trinidad, Tobago, and

are exceptions, likely colonized separately from South America. Sites in the Lesser Antilles were established on small islands and in coastal seetings; most habitations were temporary and small, suggesting annual mobility for resource procurement. Despite similarities, each site displayed differences in the consumption of marine species and variety of shell and coral tools. Each site showed diverse adaptations to locally available resources and/or activity patterns.

Neolithic Period

Archaeological findings, including Huecoid and

Saladoid The Saladoid culture is a pre-Columbian Indigenous culture of territory in present-day Venezuela and the Caribbean that flourished from 500 BCE to 545 CE. Concentrated along the lowlands of the Orinoco River, the people migrated by sea to the Less ...

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other raw materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. The place where such wares are made by a ''potter'' is al ...

, provide radiocarbon dates for Early Ceramic Age sites, pointing to an initial sphere of interaction between coastal South America and the northern Lesser Antilles that started around 400–200 BC. The discovery of Saladoid pottery in

and the northern Lesser Antilles is understood as a result of exploratory activities, cultural exchanges, and gradual migrations from the mainland during the Archaic Age. This process involved the interaction of local communities with established insular societies, creating a web of dynamic social relationships. However, debates and controversies has occurred over conflicting stratigraphic data, radiocarbon dates, and stylistic difference of the potteries.

History after European arrival

The Spanish were the first Europeans to arrive on the islands with the arrival of

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus (; between 25 August and 31 October 1451 – 20 May 1506) was an Italians, Italian explorer and navigator from the Republic of Genoa who completed Voyages of Christopher Columbus, four Spanish-based voyages across the At ...

. In 1493, on his second voyage, Columbus reached the coast of the Caribbean Sea, where he sailed to discover several islands of the Lesser Antilles archipelago. He called the first island he discovered on this trip the Deseada. The Spanish claimed the island of Dominica and took solemn possession on the land of the island they called Marigalante. They then anchored next to the island they called Guadeloupe. Later they visited Montserrat, Antigua and San Cristobal. They then crossed the archipelago of the Eleven Thousand Virgins. Over the next centuries, the Spanish, French, Dutch, Danish and English fought over several of the islands. Pierre Belain d'Esnambuc was a French merchant and adventurer in the Caribbean, who established the first permanent French colony, Saint-Pierre, on the island of Martinique in 1635. Belain sailed to the Caribbean in 1625, hoping to establish a French settlement on the island of St Christopher ( St Kitts). In 1626 the French under Pierre Belain d'Esnambuc began to take an interest in Guadeloupe, driving out the Spanish colonists.

was mapped by Columbus in 1493, but Spain had little interest in the territory. Christopher Columbus landed on 15 June 1502 after 21 days of crossing with trade winds, his fastest oceanic journey. In 1635,

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

had ceded Martinique to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

after 133 years of Spanish control that was once discovered by Columbus. On 15 September 1635, Pierre Belain d'Esnambuc, the French governor of the island of San Cristóbal, landed in the port of San Pedro with 80–150 French settlers after being expelled from San Cristóbal by the English. D'Esnambuc claimed Martinique for the French King Louis XIII and the "Compagnie des Îles de l'Amérique". MargaritaCastle

Margarita Island Margarita Island (, ) is the largest island in the States of Venezuela, Venezuelan state of Nueva Esparta, situated off the north west coast of the country, in the Caribbean Sea. The capital city of Nueva Esparta, La Asunción, is located on the ...

in present-day Venezuela was discovered on 15 August 1498 during Columbus' third voyage. On that trip the Admiral would also discover the mainland, Venezuela. On that August day, Columbus spotted three islands, two of them small, low and arid (the present day Coche and Cubagua), The province of Trinidad was created in the 16th century by the Spanish, and its capital was San José de Oruña. But during the Napoleonic Wars, in February 1797, a British force began occupying the territory. And in 1802 Spain recognized the British sovereignty. In 1917 the United States bought the

Danish Virgin Islands The Danish West Indies () or Danish Virgin Islands () or Danish Antilles were a Danish colony in the Caribbean, consisting of the islands of Saint Thomas with , Saint John () with , Saint Croix with , and Water Island. The islands of St ...

. Most of the British colonies became independent states, the islands of the Lesser Antilles belonging to Venezuela were divided into 2 different entities the State of

Nueva Esparta The Nueva Esparta State (in Spanish: ''Estado Nueva Esparta'', ) is one of the 23 states of Venezuela, states of Venezuela. It comprises Margarita Island, Coche, Venezuela, Coche, and the lightly inhabited Cubagua. The state is located off the ...

and the

Federal Dependencies The Federal Dependencies of Venezuela () encompass most of Venezuela's offshore islands in the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Venezuela, excluding those islands that form the states of Venezuela, State of Nueva Esparta and some Caribbean coastal ...

(1938). In 1986

Aruba Aruba, officially the Country of Aruba, is a constituent island country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, in the southern Caribbean Sea north of the Venezuelan peninsula of Paraguaná Peninsula, Paraguaná and northwest of Curaçao. In 19 ...

seceded from the

Netherlands Antilles The Netherlands Antilles (, ; ), also known as the Dutch Antilles, was a constituent Caribbean country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands consisting of the islands of Saba (island), Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten in the Lesser Antilles, ...

, officially becoming a country of the

Kingdom of the Netherlands The Kingdom of the Netherlands (, ;, , ), commonly known simply as the Netherlands, is a sovereign state consisting of a collection of constituent territories united under the monarch of the Netherlands, who functions as head of state. The re ...

. In 2010 the rest of the Netherlands Antilles was dissolved to form smaller entities. On July 18, 1995, the previously dormant Soufrière Hills volcano on the southern part of the island of Montserrat became active. The eruptions destroyed the Georgian-era capital of Montserrat, Plymouth. Between 1995 and 2000, two-thirds of the island's population was forced to flee, mainly to the UK, leaving less than 1200 people on the island in 1997 (rising to almost 5000 by 2016). The two official French overseas departments are Guadeloupe and Martinique. St. Martin and St. Barthélemy, formerly part of the department of Guadeloupe, have had a separate status as overseas entities since 2007.

Geography

The islands of the Lesser Antilles are divided into three groups: the

in the south, the

Leeward Islands The Leeward Islands () are a group of islands situated where the northeastern Caribbean Sea meets the western Atlantic Ocean. Starting with the Virgin Islands east of Puerto Rico, they extend southeast to Guadeloupe and its dependencies. In Engl ...

in the north, and the

in the west. The Windward Islands are so called because they were more

windward In geography and seamanship, windward () and leeward () are directions relative to the wind. Windward is ''upwind'' from the point of reference, i.e., towards the direction from which the wind is coming; leeward is ''downwind'' from the point ...

to sailing ships arriving in the New World than the Leeward Islands, given that the prevailing trade winds blow east to west. The trans-Atlantic currents and winds that provided the fastest route across the ocean brought these ships to the rough dividing line between the Windward and Leeward Islands. The Leeward Antilles consist of the Dutch ABC islands just off the coast of

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

, plus a group of Venezuelan islands.

Geological formation

The Lesser Antilles more or less coincide with the outer cliff of the Caribbean Plate. Many of the islands were formed as a result of the

subduction Subduction is a geological process in which the oceanic lithosphere and some continental lithosphere is recycled into the Earth's mantle at the convergent boundaries between tectonic plates. Where one tectonic plate converges with a second p ...

of oceanic crust of the Atlantic Plate under the Caribbean Plate in the Lesser Antilles subduction zone. This process is ongoing and is responsible not only for many of the islands, but also for volcanic and earthquake activity in the region. The islands along the South American coast are largely the result of the interaction of the

South American Plate The South American plate is a major tectonic plate which includes the continent of South America as well as a sizable region of the Atlantic Ocean seabed extending eastward to the African plate, with which it forms the southern part of the Mid ...

and the Caribbean Plate which is mainly

strike-slip In geology, a fault is a planar fracture or discontinuity in a volume of rock across which there has been significant displacement as a result of rock-mass movements. Large faults within Earth's crust result from the action of plate tectonic ...

, but includes a component of compression. Geologically, the Lesser Antilles island arc stretches from Grenada in the south to Anguilla in the north. The Virgin Islands and Sombrero Island are geologically part of the Greater Antilles, while Trinidad is part of South America and Tobago is the remainder of a separate island arc. The Leeward Antilles are also a separate island arc, which is accreting to South America.

Political divisions

The Lesser Antilles are divided into eight independent nations and numerous dependent and non-sovereign states (which are politically associated with the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, and the United States). Over one third of the total area and population of the Lesser Antilles lies within

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...

, a sovereign nation comprising the two southernmost islands of the Windward Island chain.

Sovereign states

Non-sovereign states and territories

Several islands off the north coast of Venezuela and politically part of that country are also considered part of the Lesser Antilles. These are listed in the section below.

Islands

The main Lesser Antilles are (from north to south to west):

Leeward Islands

Anguilla Anguilla is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is one of the most northerly of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles, lying east of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and directly north of Sa ...

(UK) * Saint Martin (France) /

Sint Maarten Sint Maarten () is a Countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands located in the Caribbean region of North America. With a population of 58,477 as of June 2023 on an area of , it encompasses ...

(Netherlands) *

Saint Barthélemy Saint Barthélemy, officially the Collectivité territoriale de Saint-Barthélemy, also known as St. Barts (English) or St. Barth (French), is an overseas collectivity of France in the Caribbean. The island lies about southeast of the island ...

(France) *

Saba Saba may refer to: Places * Saba (island), an island of the Netherlands located in the Caribbean Sea * Sabá, a municipality in the department of Colón, Honduras * Șaba or Șaba-Târg, the Romanian name for Shabo, a village in Ukraine * Saba, ...

(Netherlands) *

Sint Eustatius Sint Eustatius, known locally as Statia, is an island in the Caribbean. It is a Caribbean Netherlands, special municipality (officially "Public body (Netherlands), public body") of the Netherlands. The island is in the northern Leeward Islands ...

(Netherlands) *

Saint Kitts Saint Kitts, officially Saint Christopher, is an island in the West Indies. The west side of the island borders the Caribbean Sea, and the eastern coast faces the Atlantic Ocean. Saint Kitts and the neighbouring island of Nevis constitute one ...

(St. Kitts and Nevis) *

Nevis Nevis ( ) is an island in the Caribbean Sea that forms part of the inner arc of the Leeward Islands chain of the West Indies. Nevis and the neighbouring island of Saint Kitts constitute the Saint Kitts and Nevis, Federation of Saint Kitts ...

(St. Kitts and Nevis) *

Barbuda Barbuda (; ) is an island and dependency located in the eastern Caribbean forming part of the twin-island state of Antigua and Barbuda as an autonomous entity. Barbuda is located approximately north of Antigua. The only settlements on the i ...

(Antigua and Barbuda) *

(Antigua and Barbuda) **

Redonda Redonda is an List of uninhabited regions, uninhabited Caribbean island which is a dependency of Saint John, Antigua and Barbuda, in the Leeward Islands, West Indies. The island is about long, wide, and is high at its highest point. It lie ...

(Antigua and Barbuda) uninhabited *

Montserrat Montserrat ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is part of the Leeward Islands, the northern portion of the Lesser Antilles chain of the West Indies. Montserrat is about long and wide, wit ...

(UK) *

Basse-Terre Basse-Terre (, ; ; ) is a communes of the Guadeloupe department, commune in the France, French overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department of Guadeloupe, in the Lesser Antilles. It is also the ''prefectures in France, pref ...

and

Grande-Terre Grande Terre or Grande-Terre (, French for "large land") is a generic term used in French to designate the main island of any given archipelago. As a specific toponym, it may refer to the following: * Grande-Terre, Guadeloupe, the eastern half of ...

(often combined as

) (France) **

La Désirade La Désirade (; or ) is an island in the French West Indies, in the Lesser Antilles of the Caribbean. It forms part of Guadeloupe, an Overseas region, overseas regions of France, region of France. History Archaeological evidence has been disc ...

(Guadeloupe dependency) (France) **

Marie-Galante Marie-Galante (, or ) is one of the dependencies of Guadeloupe, an overseas department of France. Marie-Galante has a land area of . It had 11,528 inhabitants at the start of 2013, but by the start of 2018 the total was officially estimated to ...

(Guadeloupe dependency) (France) ** Îles des Saintes archipelago (Guadeloupe dependency) (France) Beach at Hillsborough - panoramio

Windward Islands

Dominica Dominica, officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. It is part of the Windward Islands chain in the Lesser Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of t ...

(Dominica) *

(France) *

Saint Lucia Saint Lucia is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. Part of the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines), Saint Vincent ...

(St. Lucia) * Saint Vincent (St. Vincent and the Grenadines) * Grenadines (St. Vincent and the Grenadines) * Carriacou and Petite Martinique (Grenada) *

Grenada Grenada is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean Sea. The southernmost of the Windward Islands, Grenada is directly south of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and about north of Trinidad and Tobago, Trinidad and the So ...

(Grenada)

Leeward Antilles

Islands north of the Venezuelan coast (from west to east): *

(Netherlands) *

Curaçao Curaçao, officially the Country of Curaçao, is a constituent island country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located in the southern Caribbean Sea (specifically the Dutch Caribbean region), about north of Venezuela. Curaçao includ ...

(Netherlands) *

Bonaire Bonaire is a Caribbean island in the Leeward Antilles, and is a Caribbean Netherlands, special municipality (officially Public body (Netherlands), "public body") of the Netherlands. Its capital is the port of Kralendijk, on the west (Windward an ...

(Netherlands) * Federal Dependencies of Venezuela (Venezuela) ** Los Monjes Archipelago ** La Tortuga Island ** La Sola Island ** Los Testigos Islands ** Los Frailes Islands ** Patos Island ** Los Roques Archipelago ** La Blanquilla Island ** Los Hermanos Archipelago ** La Orchila Island ** Las Aves Archipelago ** Aves Island *

(Venezuela) **

** Coche ** Cubagua

Isolated islands in the Lesser Antilles

^† *

^†Arbitral Tribunal Constituted Pursuant to Article 287, and in Accordance with Annex VII, of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea in the Matter of an Arbitration Between: Barbados – and – The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
– The Hague, April 11, 2006 (Pages 15–16) ^† Physiographically, these are continental islands not part of the volcanic Windward Islands arc. However, based on proximity, these islands are sometimes grouped with the

culturally and politically.

References

Bibliography

*Rogonzinski, Jan. ''A Brief History of the Caribbean''. New York: Facts on File. 1992. . * Keegan, William F. & Hofman, Corinne L. ''The Caribbean before Columbus''. New York: Oxford University Press. 2017.

External links

* *
The Lesser Antilles Island Arc: Structure And Geogynamic Evolution
{{Authority control Archipelagoes of the Caribbean Sea West Indies Volcanic islands mr:अँटिल्स#लेसर अँटिल्स

History before European arrival

The First Islanders

Neolithic Period

History after European arrival

Geography

Geological formation

Political divisions

Sovereign states

Non-sovereign states and territories

Islands

Leeward Islands

Windward Islands

Leeward Antilles

Isolated islands in the Lesser Antilles

See also

References

Bibliography

External links