Why do they call it Caribbean?
Why do they call it Caribbean? Caribbean means “of or pertaining to the Caribs” and comes from the Spanish word for Caribbean: Caribe. Caribs or Island Caribs are names used to refer to the Indigenous people of the Lesser Antilles.
What was the Caribbean called before?
Along with a number of colonies in North America, the Caribbean formed the heart of England's first overseas empire. The region was also known as the 'West Indies' because when the explorer Christopher Columbus first arrived there in 1492, he believed that he had sailed to the 'Indies', as Asia was then known.
Who lived in Caribbean before slaves?
The Taíno, an Arawak people, were the major population group throughout most of the Caribbean. Their culture was divided into three main groups, the Western Taíno, the Classic Taíno, and the Eastern Taíno, with other variations within the islands.