For many, the Caribbean is the closest thing to paradise on earth. With pristine beaches and consistently warm, sunny weather, it is no surprise that the region is a favorite for tourists and locals alike. But it was not sun and sand that brought the first three major groups of settlers to the Caribbean. Some came because of the need to discover new locales, others were brought there forcibly and others came in search of economic prosperity.
Arawaks & Caribs
- The first people to arrive in the Caribbean were the Arawaks. They migrated northward from South America in search of adventure and populated many Caribbean islands. The Arawaks were eventually wiped out by the Caribs, whose descendants referred to themselves by different names depending on the island they inhabited. In the Bahamas, they called themselves the Lucayanos. People of Arawak descent called themselves and still refer to themselves as Borequinos or Boriquas in Puerto Rico. The Carib Indian population was forced close to extinction, but in Dominica, however, there is a Carib Indian territory where many Kalinago people, as they call themselves, live.
Europeans
- Europeans came to live in the Caribbean after Christopher Columbus visited the region in 1492. The abundance of precious resources, such as gold and silver encouraged Europeans to settle on various islands. Upon settlement, the local population were forced into slavery. In due time, various European monarchies colonized certain islands. For instance, the French colonized the islands that became known as Guadeloupe, Martinique and Marie Galante. The Dutch colonized Saba, Curacao, Aruba and St. Maarten. The British claimed what became Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados and the Bahamas. Each country sent citizens to live on their claimed islands, where many of their descendants still remain.
Africans
- Raw materials and resources of the Caribbean were removed and shipped back to Europe to enrich monarchs and wealthy patrons who financed exploratory expeditions. These included precious metals, spices and sugar cane. To access these resources, the indigenous population was forced to work and many Carib Indians were wiped out. To maintain the needed labor levels to keep Europe wealthy, Africans were forcibly brought to the Caribbean to work as slaves. About 1.6 million Africans were brought to the British Caribbean between 1640 and 1808. Eventually, Africans outnumbered European settlers and remain the majority group across the region.
Asians
- Once slavery came to an end, former slaves on the islands of the British Caribbean had to work for their previous owners for four years. Once that period ended, several chose to do other work, which caused a labor shortage. To counter the problem, Asians were encouraged to emigrate to the Caribbean. The largest group of Asian immigrants came from India to work as indentured servants. However, many came from China as well.
