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The Caribbean: Myths and Realities for the 1990s*
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 January 2018
Extract
Jaribbean scholars and analysts frequently point out that, despite its predominantly insular nature, it is not geography that accounts for the complexities and division of the Caribbean but, rather, history. Contemporary politics and international relations only confirm this judgment. As a result, and however unwillingly, we have become accustomed to viewing the region through narrow definitions and categories which, even though validated over time, contrast with the region's geographic, historical, political and economic reality.In the process, these limited views have given rise to persistent myths regarding both the region and its future.
Throughout its history, many names have been given to the area: from Antilles to West Indies to Caribbean Basin. The varying colonial contexts, as well as the diverse cultural and political assumptions of the main state actors involved in the area, have ascribed a wide variety of names to the region.
When speaking of the Caribbean, and taking into account the different historical assumptions and perceptions, three distinct definitions generally arise.
- Type
- What's Ahead for the Caribbean?
- Information
- Journal of Interamerican Studies and World Affairs , Volume 32 , Issue 2 , Summer 1990 , pp. 121 - 142
- Copyright
- Copyright © University of Miami 1990
Footnotes
This article is based upon a keynote address presented at the Annual Conference of the European Association of Caribbean and Central American Studies (ASERCCA), 8 October 1989, Aix-en-Provence, France
References
- 3
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