Table of Contents
Why did they colonize the Caribbean?
The Europeans came to the Caribbean in search of wealth. The Spanish had originally looked for gold and silver, but there was little to be found. Instead, the Europeans tried growing different crops to be sold back home. This also made the Caribbean colonies valuable – and tempting targets for rival empires.
Why did the Spanish want to settle in the Caribbean?
When the Spanish (in the form of Columbus’s expedition) came to the Caribbean in the late 15th century, they were coming for “gold, God, and glory.” They wanted to get rich by finding gold, they wanted to spread Christianity, and they wanted to get glory (the glory of finding new things).
When was the Caribbean settled?
The islands of the Caribbean were discovered by the Italian explorer Christopher Columbus, working for the then Spanish monarchy. In 1492 he made a first landing on Hispaniola and claimed it for the Spanish crown as he did on Cuba.
How did the Caribbean islands get populated?
The history of the Caribbean did not begin in 1492 when Christopher Columbus landed in the Bahamas. The islands were already inhabited by the Ciboney, Arawak and Carib peoples from mainland America. They settled on a number of the Caribbean islands, where they lived by farming.
What was the first Caribbean island discovered?
On October 12, 1492, Italian explorer Christopher Columbus made landfall in what is now the Bahamas. Columbus and his ships landed on an island that the native Lucayan people called Guanahani. Columbus renamed it San Salvador.
Who was the first European to settle in the Caribbean?
European settlements in the Caribbean began with Christopher Columbus. Carrying an elaborate feudal commission that made him perpetual governor of all lands discovered and gave him a percentage of all trade conducted, Columbus set sail in September 1492, determined to find a faster, shorter way to China and Japan.
Why did the British move people to the Caribbean?
In the late 18th century, Britain moved soldiers and sailors to the Caribbean to defend against invasion by competing European powers and guard against anti-slavery revolutions and protests. Former enslaved people came from Canada to join the West India Regiment.
Why was Trinidad the only Caribbean island colonised?
Climate change may have been a cause for this sea level rise. Hence Trinidad was the only Caribbean Island that could have been colonised by indigenous people from the South American mainland by not traversing hundreds or thousands kilometres of open sea.
Why did the Spanish come to the Caribbean?
When the Spanish (in the form of Columbus’s expedition) came to the Caribbean in the late 15th century, they were coming for “gold, God, and glory.” They wanted to get rich by finding gold, they wanted to spread Christianity, and they wanted to get glory (the glory of finding new things).