Lesser Antilles

Lesser Antilles Kleine Antillen (Dutch) Petites Antilles (French) Antiyas Minores (Papiamento) Antillas Menores (Spanish)
Region
Location within the Caribbean
Map of the Lesser Antilles
Coordinates: 14°N 61°W / 14°N 61°W / 14; -61
Region	Caribbean
Island States	24  Anguilla (UK)  Antigua and Barbuda  Aruba (NL)  Barbados  Bonaire (NL)  British Virgin Islands (UK)  Curaçao (NL)  Dominica  Grenada  Federal Dependencies of Venezuela (VE)  Guadeloupe (FR)  Martinique (FR)  Montserrat (UK)  Nueva Esparta (VE)  Saba (NL)  Saint Barthélemy (FR)  Saint Kitts and Nevis  Saint Lucia  Saint Martin (FR)  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines  Sint Eustatius (NL)  Sint Maarten (NL) / Spanish Virgin Islands (PR)  Trinidad and Tobago  United States Virgin Islands (US)
Area
• Total	14,364 km2 (5,546 sq mi)
Population  (2009)
• Total	3,949,250
• Density	274.9/km2 (712/sq mi)
Demonym	Lesser Antillean
Time zone	UTC−4 (AST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−3 (ADT)

The Lesser Antilles^[1] is a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea, forming part of the West Indies in Caribbean region of the Americas. They are distinguished from the larger islands of the Greater Antilles to the west. They form an arc which begins east of Puerto Rico at the archipelago of the Virgin Islands, swings southeast through the Leeward and Windward Islands towards South America, and turns westward through the Leeward Antilles along the Venezuelan coast.

Most of them are part of a long, partially volcanic island arc between the Greater Antilles to the north-west and the continent of South America.^[2] The islands of the Lesser Antilles form the eastern boundary of the Caribbean Sea where it meets the Atlantic Ocean. Together, the Lesser Antilles and the Greater Antilles make up the Antilles. The Lesser and Greater Antilles, together with the Lucayan Archipelago, are collectively known as the Caribbean islands or West Indies.

The islands were dominantly Kalinago compared to the Greater Antilles which was settled by the Taíno, the boundary set between them is known as the "poison arrow curtain" for the Kalinago's favoured weapon for fending off Europeans that came to conquer the islands in the 16th century.^[3]

The earliest Archaic Age habitation is evidenced at sites like St. John and Banwari Trace in Trinidad, dating between 7700 and 6100 B.P. Artifacts from this period include stone and bone tools used for hunting and fishing. A total of 29 Archaic Age sites have been identified in Trinidad and Tobago, associated with the Ortoiroid series, divided into the Banwarian (5000-2500 BC) and Ortoiran (1500-300 BC) subseries. During the Late Archaic Age, wild plant foods became more significant, with evidence of early plant management, including crops such as maize, sweet potatoes, achira, and chili peppers had been imported and cultivated from the continent.^[4]

The archaeological record for the rest of the southern Lesser Antilles is sparse, with sites in Tobago, Barbados, and Martinique yielding potential Archaic Age artifacts. Factors like local tectonic activity and hurricanes or other storms have likely distorted the archaeological evidence in these regions. Entire islands may now be submerged. Severe erosion, landslides, and volcanic eruptions are fairly common and may contribute to the preservation of archaeological sites.^[4]

Three migration scenarios have been proposed. First, Archaic Age communities from South America reached Trinidad, Tobago, and Barbados. Second, the southern Lesser Antilles (Windward Islands) were bypassed by early settlers, with migration directly to the northern islands. Third, technological diffusion occurred without significant population movement from northeastern South America.^[4]

Chronometric data divide the Archaic Age in the northern Lesser Antilles into three phases: Early Archaic Age (3300–2600 BC), Middle Archaic Age (2600–800 BC), and Late Archaic Age (800 BC–AD 100). Coastal areas were favored for settlement, particularly for their proximity to marine resources and flint quarries. Material culture showing reliance on seafood (fish and mollusks) and terrestrial animals. Antigua and St. Martin seem to be the most heavily populated during the Archaic Age.^[4]

Notably, all known Archaic Age sites are in the northern islands, with no evidence in the Windward Islands south of Guadeloupe. Trinidad, Tobago, and Barbados are exceptions, likely colonized separately from South America. Sites in the Lesser Antilles were established on small islands and in coastal seetings^{[check spelling]}; most habitations were temporary and small, suggesting annual mobility for resource procurement. Despite similarities, each site displayed differences in the consumption of marine species and variety of shell and coral tools. Each site showed diverse adaptations to locally available resources and/or activity patterns.^[4]

Archaeological findings, including Huecoid and Saladoid pottery, provide radiocarbon dates for Early Ceramic Age sites, pointing to an initial sphere of interaction between coastal South America and the northern Lesser Antilles that started around 400–200 BC. The discovery of Saladoid pottery in Puerto Rico and the northern Lesser Antilles is understood as a result of exploratory activities, cultural exchanges, and gradual migrations from the mainland during the Archaic Age. This process involved the interaction of local communities with established insular societies, creating a web of dynamic social relationships. However, debates and controversies has occurred over conflicting stratigraphic data, radiocarbon dates, and stylistic difference of the potteries.^[5]

The Spanish were the first Europeans to arrive on the islands with the arrival of Christopher Columbus. In 1493, on his second voyage, Columbus reached the coast of the Caribbean Sea, where he sailed to discover several islands of the Lesser Antilles archipelago. He called the first island he discovered on this trip the Deseada. The Spanish claimed the island of Dominica and took solemn possession on the land of the island they called Marigalante. They then anchored next to the island they called Guadeloupe. Later they visited Montserrat, Antigua and San Cristobal. They then crossed the archipelago of the Eleven Thousand Virgins.

Over the next centuries, the Spanish, French, Dutch, Danish and English fought over several of the islands.

Pierre Belain d'Esnambuc was a French merchant and adventurer in the Caribbean, who established the first permanent French colony, Saint-Pierre, on the island of Martinique in 1635. Belain sailed to the Caribbean in 1625, hoping to establish a French settlement on the island of St Christopher (St Kitts). In 1626 the French under Pierre Belain d'Esnambuc began to take an interest in Guadeloupe, driving out the Spanish colonists.

Martinique was mapped by Columbus in 1493, but Spain had little interest in the territory. Christopher Columbus landed on 15 June 1502 after 21 days of crossing with trade winds, his fastest oceanic journey. On 15 September 1635, Pierre Belain d'Esnambuc, the French governor of the island of San Cristóbal, landed in the port of San Pedro with 80–150 French settlers after being expelled from San Cristóbal by the English. D'Esnambuc claimed Martinique for the French King Louis XIII and the "Compagnie des Îles de l'Amérique".

Margarita Island in present-day Venezuela was discovered on 15 August 1498 during Columbus' third voyage. On that trip the Admiral would also discover the mainland, Venezuela. On that August day, Columbus spotted three islands, two of them small, low and arid (the present day Coche and Cubagua),

The province of Trinidad was created in the 16th century by the Spanish, and its capital was San José de Oruña. But during the Napoleonic Wars, in February 1797, a British force began occupying the territory. And in 1802 Spain recognized the British sovereignty.

In 1917 the United States bought the Danish Virgin Islands. Most of the British colonies became independent states, the islands of the Lesser Antilles belonging to Venezuela were divided into 2 different entities the State of Nueva Esparta and the Federal Dependencies (1938). In 1986 Aruba seceded from the Netherlands Antilles, officially becoming a country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. In 2010 the rest of the Netherlands Antilles was dissolved to form smaller entities.

On July 18, 1995, the previously dormant Soufrière Hills volcano on the southern part of the island of Montserrat became active. The eruptions destroyed the Georgian-era capital of Montserrat, Plymouth. Between 1995 and 2000, two-thirds of the island's population was forced to flee, mainly to the UK, leaving less than 1200 people on the island in 1997 (rising to almost 5000 by 2016).

The two official French overseas departments are Guadeloupe and Martinique. St. Martin and St. Barthélemy, formerly part of the department of Guadeloupe, have had a separate status as overseas entities since 2007.

The islands of the Lesser Antilles are divided into three groups: the Windward Islands in the south, the Leeward Islands in the north, and the Leeward Antilles in the west.

The Windward Islands are so called because they were more windward to sailing ships arriving in the New World than the Leeward Islands, given that the prevailing trade winds blow east to west. The trans-Atlantic currents and winds that provided the fastest route across the ocean brought these ships to the rough dividing line between the Windward and Leeward Islands.

The Leeward Antilles consist of the Dutch ABC islands just off the coast of Venezuela, plus a group of Venezuelan islands.

The Lesser Antilles more or less coincide with the outer cliff of the Caribbean Plate. Many of the islands were formed as a result of the subduction of oceanic crust of the Atlantic Plate under the Caribbean Plate in the Lesser Antilles subduction zone. This process is ongoing and is responsible not only for many of the islands, but also for volcanic and earthquake activity in the region. The islands along the South American coast are largely the result of the interaction of the South American Plate and the Caribbean Plate which is mainly strike-slip, but includes a component of compression.

Geologically, the Lesser Antilles island arc stretches from Grenada in the south to Anguilla in the north. The Virgin Islands and Sombrero Island are geologically part of the Greater Antilles, while Trinidad is part of South America and Tobago is the remainder of a separate island arc. The Leeward Antilles are also a separate island arc, which is accreting to South America.

The Lesser Antilles are divided into eight independent nations and numerous dependent and non-sovereign states (which are politically associated with the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, and the United States). Over one third of the total area and population of the Lesser Antilles lies within Trinidad and Tobago, a sovereign nation comprising the two southernmost islands of the Windward Island chain.

Several islands off the north coast of Venezuela and politically part of that country are also considered part of the Lesser Antilles. These are listed in the section below.

The main Lesser Antilles are (from north to south to west):

• Anguilla (UK)
• Saint Martin (France) / Sint Maarten (Netherlands)
• Saint Barthélemy (France)
• Saba (Netherlands)
• Sint Eustatius (Netherlands)
• Saint Kitts (St. Kitts and Nevis)
• Nevis (St. Kitts and Nevis)
• Barbuda (Antigua and Barbuda)
• Antigua (Antigua and Barbuda)
  • Redonda (Antigua and Barbuda) uninhabited
• Montserrat (UK)
• Basse-Terre and Grande-Terre (often combined as Guadeloupe) (France)
  • La Désirade (Guadeloupe dependency) (France)
  • Marie-Galante (Guadeloupe dependency) (France)
  • Îles des Saintes archipelago (Guadeloupe dependency) (France)

• Dominica (Commonwealth)
• Martinique (France)
• Saint Lucia (St. Lucia)
• Saint Vincent (St. Vincent and the Grenadines)
• Grenadines (St. Vincent and the Grenadines)
• Carriacou and Petite Martinique (Grenada)
• Grenada (Grenada)

Islands north of the Venezuelan coast (from west to east):

• Aruba (Netherlands)
• Curaçao (Netherlands)
• Bonaire (Netherlands)
• Federal Dependencies of Venezuela (Venezuela)
  • Los Monjes Archipelago
  • La Tortuga Island
  • La Sola Island
  • Los Testigos Islands
  • Los Frailes Islands
  • Patos Island
  • Los Roques Archipelago
  • La Blanquilla Island
  • Los Hermanos Archipelago
  • La Orchila Island
  • Las Aves Archipelago
  • Aves Island
• Nueva Esparta (Venezuela)
  • Margarita Island
  • Coche
  • Cubagua

• Barbados^{†[a][6][7][8]}
• Trinidad and Tobago^{†[b][2][9][10]}

^† Physiographically, these are continental islands not part of the volcanic Windward Islands arc. However, based on proximity, these islands are sometimes grouped with the Windward Islands culturally and politically.

• Lesser Antilles Volcanic Arc
• Greater Antilles
• Lucayan Archipelago
• Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States

• Rogonzinski, Jan. A Brief History of the Caribbean. New York: Facts on File. 1992. ISBN 978-0816024513.
• Keegan, William F. & Hofman, Corinne L. The Caribbean before Columbus. New York: Oxford University Press. 2017. ISBN 978-0190605278

• Media related to Lesser Antilles at Wikimedia Commons
• The dictionary definition of Lesser Antilles at Wiktionary
• The Lesser Antilles Island Arc: Structure And Geogynamic Evolution