INVESTICE DO ROZVOJE VZDĚLÁVÁNÍ
Podpora rozvoje cizích jazyků pro Evropu 21. stol.
Tento projekt je spolufinancován Evropským sociálním fondem a
státním rozpočtem České republiky.
The West Indies
• a large group of islands - over 3,000
individual islands and reefs
• separate the Caribbean Sea from the
Atlantic Ocean
• Today the West Indies are better known as
the Caribbean
• three main island groups:
Bahamas (north)
Greater Antilles (central)
Lesser Antilles (southeast)
Why Indies?
• Columbus called these islands the Indies - he thought he reached Asia
• Spanish renamed them the West Indies, - to distinguish them from the Spice
Islands in the Pacific Ocean, (the East
Indies) which we now call Indonesia.
History
• Indians from Central America migrated to
the West Indies since 5000 B.C.
• Europeans arrived at the end of the 15th
century.
• first explorer was Christopher Columbus in
1492
• Spain began colonization in the 1500's,
sugarcane plantations, Indian population
enslaved for labor
• Indians soon died out, importing slaves
from Africa
• the 1600's British, Dutch, and French
colonies were established - rivalry
• Piracy – on islands bases from which they
preyed on treasure ships carrying gold and
silver from the New World to Spain
Blackbeard
• most infamous pirate who ever lived
• born in England - Bristol around the year 1680
• served as a privateer inflicting heavy damage on
Spanish shipping
• when prohibitted, took to piracy
• In 1718 left to raid the coastal towns of Virginia
and the Carolinas
• The governor of Virginia put a price on
Blackbeard's head, captured
• the 19th century, Great Britain dominant
power in the West Indies
• Cuba and Puerto Rico (Spanish colonies)
ceded to the United States in 1898 after
the Spanish-American War
• Cuba was granted independence in 1902
• Several British colonies were given their
independence in the 20th century
• The United States intervened in the affairs
of West Indian nations to maintain peace
in the Caribbean
• American forces occupied Haiti, 1915–34,
the Dominican Republic, 1916–24, and
Grenada
1. The Bahamas
• consist of 700 islands
• Capital: Nassau - one of the most popular
tourist spots
• people: cca 300,000, most of West African
descent
• abolition of slavery, life changed
drastically. The plantations dissolved,
people turned to the sea (sponging and
fishing) or tried to farm.
• lack of fertile cropland
• Religion is an integral part of Bahamian
life. Every village has a church.
• the new industry of tourism - the beauty
and life of the islands
2. The Greater Antilles
• include the island Cuba, Haiti and
Hispaniola, Jamaica, the Dominican
Republic and Puerto Rico
• these islands are close to Mexico, South
America and Florida
• Sharks, Turtles and Whales are found in
the water of this small island
The Republic of Cuba
• Capital: Havana (the largest city in Cuba)
• Population: 11 million people,
mainly Spanish and African origins
• Language: Spanish
• Totalitarian communist state controlled by General
Raul Castro who replaced his brother Fidel Castro
as president of Cuba in 2008
• Agriculture: sugar, citrus, tropical fruits, tobacco,
coffee, rice, beans, meat, vegetables
• a highly militarized society
• last major Spanish colony to gain
independence
• The Spanish-American War – 1895 Cuban
rebellion against Spanish rule, Americans
wanted to help
• 1898 Cuba - a Spanish colony, sugar and
tobacco plantations, ship Maine – blown to
pieces
• Spain and the United States signed the
Treaty of Paris (1898), Spain loses their
colonies in Puerto Rico and the Philippines
to the United States
Aftermath of
Spanish – American War
Cuba - after war independent country
BUT! the Platt Amendment: USA could
control Cuba whenever it felt
Americans interests were in danger
Economy
• Sugar, the highlight of the economy,
undergoes troubled times
• 1989 production was more than 8 mil. tons
• in 2005 it was only 1.3 million tons
• half of the sugar mills were closed,
100,000 workers were laid off, government
promised them to be "retrained" in other
fields, but no new jobs available in Cuba's
stagnant economy
• Tourism = "heart of the economy”
• workers in Cuba's tourist sector prohibited
from accepting gifts, tips, or even food
from foreigners
• 2004 the government mandated that U.S.
dollars be exchanged for "convertible
pesos"- a local currency that can be used
only in special shops on the island - for a
10% charge
• affects Cubans who receive remittances
from relatives in the U.S.
Jamaica
• One of the largest island in the Caribbean
• mountainous in the interior with a peak in
the Blue Mountains of 7,402 feet
• Population: 2.8 million people
• The capital: Kingston
• Official language: English
• Remains a part of Commonwealth with
Queen Elizabeth II as Head of State
History of Jamaica
• Christopher Columbus claimed Jamaica
for Spain after landing there in 1494
• The English seized the island in 1655
• the Jamaican Maroons – run-away slaves
• Was one of the world's leading sugarexporting and slave-dependent nations
• abolition of the slave trade – import of
Indian and Chinese workers
Jamaican creole
• an English–African language spoken primarily in
Jamaica
• the language developed in the 17th century,
slaves from Africa learned dialectal forms of
English spoken by their masters
• exists mostly as a spoken language
• pronunciation and vocabulary very different from
English
• similarities to the pidgin languages of West
Africa due to their common descent
Famous Jamaicans
Bob Marley (1945 – 1981)
A singer, performer of reggae music
Claude McKay (1889 – 1948)
writer and poet, involved in
the Harlem Renaissance,
also wrote in his native dialect
Haiti
• One of the poorest and least developed
countries in the world
• the first black-led republic
in the world
• Population: 9 mil., 95% black
• Capital: Port-au-Prince
• Official languages: Haitian Creole and French
• terrain consists mainly of rugged mountains
Disaster in Haiti
• disasters include
hurricanes and storms
• In Jan. 2010 a massive
earthquake struck Haiti
• thousands of people
sitting in the streets with
nowhere to go or waiting
for treatment
• Czech charities involved
too
The Lesser Antilles
• are islands to the southeast
• divided into two 2 groups
1. the Leeward Islands - westerly from
Guadeloupe to the Virgin Islands
2. Windward Islands - from Dominica to
Grenada
INVESTICE DO ROZVOJE VZDĚLÁVÁNÍ
Tato výuková prezentace byla pořízena z finančních
prostředků hrazených Evropským sociálním fondem
a rozpočtem České republiky.
Tento projekt je spolufinancován Evropským sociálním fondem a státním
rozpočtem České republiky.