Geography GEO 1310 Lecture 6: GEO2-14
16 May 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
The Caribbean
• 26 countries and dependent territories
• Includes Belize (former UK territory) and the Guianas
• Hotspot for tourism
• Isolated proximity
• Caribbean sea is link to region
• Divided into Greater Antilles and Lesser Antilles
• More diverse colonial history than Latin America
• Plantation agriculture (sugar and citrus farms everywhere)
• Uncertain economic well-being
Crisis Mapping
• 2010 Haiti earthquake that destroyed 90% of urban area
• Hurricanes also major problem
• Humanitarian aid is essential
Climate of Caribbean
• Hurricanes defined by wind speeds of 74mph intensified by warm Caribbean
water
• Typically enter through the Lesser Antilles
• Vulnerable to climate change
1. Sea-level rise
2. Increased storm power
3. Floods and droughts
Agriculture’s Legacy of Deforestation
• Plantations replace forest cover leading to deforestation
• Haiti suffers from DF and Dominican Republic is relatively fine
Population
• High pop density
• 85% live in Greater Antilles
Demographic Trends
• High morality rates of native (Slave) populations
• fertility rate declines and longer lives – cuba,
• Impact of HIV/AIDS
• Emigration – people leave countries at higher rate than entering
• High negative net migration rates
• Caribbean diaspora
Rural-Urban Continuum
• Planation America – ruled by European elites
• Dependent on an African labor force
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