Search

In current U.N. usage the “major area” (i.e., continent) “Latin America and the Caribbean” includes the entire continental landmass south of the United States, plus the collection of islands roughly enclosing the Caribbean Sea. Besides the Caribbean (also called the West Indies), this major area comprises the regions of Central America (here referring to the eight countries from Mexico south to Panama) and South America. 1. Latin America 1.1. Term “Latin America” was from the beginning a cultural-historical rather than a geographic term. Although the origin of this term is disputed, Mónica Quijada has shown that it has roots in Spanish America, where it came into use beginning in the 1850s. Hence the previously widespread thesis that the term reflects exclusively the expansionist French politics of Napoléon III must be revised. In the following discussion the term “Latin America” is also used anachronistically in reference to the colonial period and g…

[German Version] For historical reasons, the Caribbean is described as the region that encompasses the archipelago of the greater and lesser Antilles, Belize and the Guyanas. It comprises a surface area of 599, 276 km2. The population numbers 33,791,000. The majority of the population is black or mulatto, stemming from African slaves who mixed with European conquerors. After the arrival of the Spaniards in 1492, “the great death” affected the orig…

[German Version] a state located in Central America and covering 22.965 km2; culturally, it belongs to the Caribbean. British colonial rule of Belize – then called British Honduras – dates back to the mid-17th century and lasted until 1981, when Belize gained its political independence. Belize has a population of 200,000 (1991), comprising many different ethnical groups. Most …

[German Version] is a small town in the south-east of Guatemala, close to the borders of Honduras and El Salvador, at …

[German Version] is the largest, most westerly and most thickly populated island in the Caribbean. Cuba's location between the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean gives the island strategic advantages. The republic encompasses 114,524 km2 with a population…

[German Version] is the third largest of the Greater Antilles situated in the Caribbean with an area of 10,991 km2. Jamaica's population in 2000 was approx. 2.6 million, of whom 90% were of African origin and 7.3% Creoles; 5.5% belong to the Anglican Church, 55.8% belongs to other Protestant churches (see below), approx. 8% are Catholic, 5% Rastafari, 5% Hindu, and 2% of Chinese religion. In 1494 C. Columbus discovered the island, which was populated by the Arawak Indians. These almost completely disappeared during Spanish rule. In 1655 Jamaica became a British colony. Jamaica has been an independent nation since 1962. Until the abolition of the slave trade in 1807, the black slaves were imported from West Africa to Jamaica. The abolition of slavery in 1834 led to increased numbers of immigrant laborers arriving on the island, mainly from Asia. Already in 1516 a Catholic abbacy w…

[German Version] (CCC) was founded in 1973 by 18 churches in Kingston, Jamaica. The CCC became the first ecumenical institution in the world, with the Roman Catholic Church as one of its founding members. The other Churches are: the Anglican Church, Baptists, Methodists, Orthodox Churches, Reformed Churches, Lutherans, Bohemian and Moravian Brethren, Presbyterians, and the Salvation Army. The CCC was the result of a process of closer cooperat…

[German Version] (Jan 28, 1853, Havana – May 19, 1898, Boca de Dos Ríos), poet, philosopher, and freedom fighter. His works of prose and lyric poetry focused particularly on the theme of freedom ( Versos Libres, 1913). A global appreciation of Martí's work proves difficult: social-Christian, anticlerical, revolutionary, and nationalist were some of the characteristics used as a description of his thought. His work contained clear, perceptible Christian-ethical elements, and he considered himsel…

[German Version] term for the descendants of European migrants who settled in Latin America during the colonial period, or for the descendants of African slaves in the Caribbean. White Creoles played a crucial role in the independence movements that led to the establishment of the Latin American states. In addition, they formed the first indigenous clergy of the Catholic Church. The term “Creole languages” denotes local dialects that emerged within the slave comm…

[German Version] The Guyana coast, which today includes the countries of Guyana, Surinam, and French Guyana (as well as portions of Brazil and Venezuela), had been the object of many colonization attempts during the 16th and 17th centuries by Dutch, English, and French settlers. Many settlements not only failed because of the the opposition of the indigenous population, the Caribs and the Arawaks who named the region Guiana (“land of waters”), but some were also eliminated by the Portuguese in the Amazon River delta. As a result of the turbulent history of the …

[German Version] (Dec 7, 1576, Seville – Dec 25, 1651, Cartagena, Columbia) was educated in Lima, Peru, where he became a Jesuit. After 1605 he dedicated his life to the service of the African slaves in Cartagena, Colombia. An observer of the African cultural background of the slaves, he developed a pastoral method for integrating slaves in the Catholic Church. He inspired other Jesuits, including the famous P. Claver, to work for the good of black people. Armando Lampe Bibliography Works include: De instauranda Aethiopum salute. El mundo de la esclavitud negra en América, 1627, 1956.