Top Results for Caribbean

Sidney Wilfred Mintz was an American anthropologist whose Caribbean research connected everyday life with the political economy of colonialism. His fieldwork in Puerto Rico examined workers and their experiences within wider systems of production. Food became a way to investigate how local habits an...

Endemic to Jamaica, the red-billed streamertail, Trochilus polytmus, is the hummingbird commonly associated with the island's national bird, the doctor bird. Adult males have iridescent green plumage, a dark head and two greatly elongated black tail feathers. These streamers trail behind the bird in...

Long, slender spines give Diadema antillarum its recognizable outline in shallow Caribbean and western Atlantic waters. This sea urchin is often dark in color and uses its fragile, sharp spines for defense. Contact can cause painful punctures, but describing the spines simply as venom-tipped gives a...

Omeros is an epic poem written by Caribbean poet Derek Walcott, published in 1990. Structured in seven books and divided into 64 chapters, it is composed in terza rima and loosely reworks Homeric narratives into a Caribbean context. Set primarily on the island of Saint Lucia, the poem explores theme...

Anansi is a trickster character from Akan folklore, originating among the Ashanti people of present-day Ghana. Typically depicted as a spider, or sometimes as a man with spider traits, Anansi uses his intellect and cunning to outsmart much larger and more powerful opponents. The character's oral tra...

The Tufted Coquette (Lophornis ornatus) is a small hummingbird found throughout the Caribbean islands and parts of South America. It’s notable for its distinctive tufts on its head and vibrant turquoise plumage. Primarily breeding in Trinidad, Venezuela, Guyana, and Brazil, it's of interest to birdw...

From 1791 to 1804, conflicts in the French colony of Saint-Domingue developed into the Haitian Revolution. Enslaved people seeking freedom were its principal driving force, while rival local factions and European powers shaped the course of the struggle. Leaders including Toussaint Louverture and Je...

In Grand Cayman's North Sound, Stingray City Sandbar is a shallow marine site associated with regular gatherings of southern stingrays. The sandy bottom and often clear water allow visitors on guided boat trips to observe the animals at close range. Its shallow setting distinguishes it from the deep...

Diadema antillarum is a regular sea-urchin belonging to the Diadematidae family and found throughout the Caribbean. This extant species plays a significant role in maintaining healthy coral reefs by consuming algae. The 1983 mass mortality event dramatically impacted populations, making it particula...

The ruby-topaz hummingbird, *Chrysolampis mosquitus*, is a small hummingbird species native to open country habitats across the Caribbean and South America. Its distinctive bright red throat patch, or gorget, earned it its name. This extant bird is notable for being one of the few hummingbird speci...

Rum is a distilled alcoholic beverage produced by fermenting and then distilling sugarcane juice or sugarcane byproducts such as molasses. The clear liquid that results from the distillation process is typically aged in oak barrels, which imparts color and complex flavor profiles to the final produc...

The Bee Hummingbird, *Mellisuga helenae*, is a tiny hummingbird endemic to Cuba. It holds the title of world’s smallest bird, measuring approximately 5-6 centimeters long and weighing just 1.6 to 2 grams. This Cuban species is notable for its diminutive size and unique feeding habits, primarily focu...

A loud, two-note nighttime call gives the Puerto Rican coquí its common name and a strong place in Puerto Rican culture. Eleutherodactylus coqui is a small terrestrial frog native to Puerto Rico, often found on vegetation as well as near the ground. Males produce the familiar call, which plays a rol...

Maui combines a Pacific island beach holiday with opportunities to explore volcanic terrain and varied coastal scenery. Haleakala's summit is associated with sunrise visits, while Ka'anapali offers golden sand and an established resort setting. These contrasting places give the island a broader rang...

Playa Norte is a beach at the northern end of Isla Mujeres in Quintana Roo, Mexico. It faces the Caribbean Sea and is characterized by pale sand, shallow water, and generally gentle conditions near the shoreline. These features make it suitable for swimming, wading, and beach recreation, while its p...

The Scotch bonnet is a variety of chili pepper belonging to the species Capsicum chinense, widely cultivated in the Caribbean. Named for its resemblance to a tam o'shanter hat, it typically ranges from 100,000 to 350,000 Scoville heat units. Its heat level is comparable to the habanero, but it is of...

Native to Cuba, the Cuban Ivory-billed Woodpecker is usually treated as the Cuban subspecies of the ivory-billed woodpecker. It was a large bird with a pale ivory-colored bill, a feature closely associated with its identity. Historical records connect it with forest habitats, including pine forest,...

The Kingdom of the Netherlands encompasses Northwestern Europe and several Caribbean islands. It’s a constitutional monarchy shaped by historical events including the Dutch Golden Age and the 1815 formation of the kingdom. The Netherlands governs itself with a parliament while maintaining sovereignt...

Kamau Brathwaite is a significant Caribbean poet whose work explores themes of history, identity, and nationhood. He developed Nation Language theory, a unique approach to poetry that incorporates Barbadian Creole alongside Standard English. His writings, particularly the Caribbean trilogy, offer pr...

Playa Rincón is a broad beach on the Samaná Peninsula in the Dominican Republic, near the town of Las Galeras. The shoreline combines pale sand, clear Caribbean water, and vegetation along parts of the coast, while a small river reaches the sea near one end of the beach. It is used for swimming, wal...

Grace Bay Beach consistently earns accolades for its powdery white sand and calm, turquoise waters. Protected by a barrier reef, the water is ideal for swimming and snorkeling. A range of luxury resorts line the beach, catering to discerning travelers. Efforts are underway to protect the coral reef...

Sidney Mintz (1922–2015) was an American anthropologist known for his pioneering work in the anthropology of food and political economy. He conducted extensive fieldwork in the Caribbean, specifically studying the rural communities of Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and Haiti. Mintz is best known for his 1985...

Richard Price is an American anthropologist and historian whose work focuses on Afro-American history, Caribbean societies and Maroon communities. With Sally Price, he conducted extended collaborative research among the Saramaka Maroons of Suriname and wrote ethnographies and historical studies draw...

The Zapata Swamp Marshes, located in the Matanzas Province of Cuba, constitute the largest wetland ecosystem in the Caribbean. The region features a mix of sawgrass marshes, flooded forests, and mangrove swamps that provide a habitat for a high concentration of endemic and migratory bird species. Du...

Shoal Bay, often called Shoal Bay East, is a coastal beach and inlet on the eastern side of Anguilla in the eastern Caribbean. It is characterized by a long stretch of pale sand, shallow clear water, and a coral and reef environment that supports snorkeling and other water activities. The bay is dis...

In Jamaican rice and peas, the word peas refers to legumes, usually kidney beans or gungo peas, also known as pigeon peas. Rice cooks with them in seasoned coconut milk, absorbing both the bean cooking liquid and the coconut's richness. Scallions and thyme provide characteristic aromatics, with garl...

C. L. R. James was a Trinidadian historian, writer, and Marxist thinker whose work connected Caribbean history, colonialism, race, and international politics. His 1938 book The Black Jacobins examines the Haitian Revolution and the leadership of Toussaint Louverture within the wider history of slave...

Anse des Pitons is a coastal inlet at the base of the Pitons near Soufrière on the island of Saint Lucia. The surrounding landscape is defined by the volcanic peaks of Gros Piton and Petit Piton, steep slopes, tropical vegetation, and the Caribbean Sea. It lies within the Pitons Management Area, a p...

The Caribbean reef squid is a small, torpedo-shaped cephalopod commonly found in the shallow coastal waters of the Florida Keys, the Bahamas, and the Caribbean Sea. It is notable for its sophisticated and rapid color-changing abilities, controlled by pigment cells called chromatophores. These visual...