The island of Dominica was traditionally considered a part of the Leeward Islands until 1940 when it was transferred from the British Leeward Islands colony to the British Windward Islands. It now composes the fourth sovereign state in the group.
Barbados (until 1885) and Tobago (until 1889) were also part of the British Windward Islands colony, but are not today regarded as being part of the Windward Islands grouping.
The prevailing trade winds in the West Indies blow east to west. The combination of trans-Atlantic currents and winds that provided the fastest route across the ocean brought sailing ships heading to the New World to the rough dividing line between two groups of islands. Those that fell to windward became the Windward Islands, to leeward the Leeward Islands.
Sailing vessels departing from Africa would first encounter the southeasternmost "Windward" islands of the Lesser Antilles in their west-northwesterly heading to the final destinations in the Caribbean, Central America, and Northern America. The chain of Windward Islands forms a part of the easternmost boundary of the Caribbean Sea.[1][2]
However, even in modern usage in languages other than English, notably, Dutch, French, and Spanish, all of the Lesser Antilles from the Virgin Islands to Trinidad and Tobago are known as the 'Windward Islands' (Bovenwindse Eilanden in Dutch, Îles du Vent in French, and Islas de Barlovento in Spanish). The ABC Islands and the other islands along the Venezuelan coast, known in English as the Leeward Antilles, are known in languages other than English as the 'Leeward Islands'.
Countries and territoriesedit
There are four countries and one territory in the Windward Islands:[1][3][4]
^ ab"Windward Islands". Encyclopædia Britannica. [A] line of West Indian islands constituting the southern arc of the Lesser Antilles, at the eastern end of the Caribbean Sea, between latitudes 12° and 16° N and longitudes 60° and 62° W. They include, from north to south, the English-speaking islands of Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent, and Grenada; and, between Saint Vincent and Grenada, the chain of 32 islands known as the Grenadines. Though near the general area, Trinidad and Tobago (at the south end of the group) and Barbados (just east) are usually not considered part of the Windward Islands.
^Chapter 4 - The Windward Islands and Barbados - U.S. Library of Congress
^"Windward Islands". Footprint Travel Guides. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
^"Windward Islands". Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Retrieved 7 July 2018.
windward, islands, this, article, about, caribbean, island, group, other, uses, disambiguation, southern, generally, larger, islands, lesser, antilles, part, west, indies, they, south, leeward, islands, approximately, between, latitudes, longitudes, english, f. This article is about the Caribbean island group For other uses see Windward Islands disambiguation The Windward Islands are the southern generally larger islands of the Lesser Antilles Part of the West Indies they lie south of the Leeward Islands approximately between latitudes 10 and 16 N and longitudes 60 and 62 W Windward IslandsEnglish Windward Islands French Iles du VentGeographyLocationCaribbean SeaNorth Atlantic OceanCoordinates14 N 61 W 14 N 61 W 14 61Total islands90 Major islandsCarriacouDominicaGrenadaMartiniquePetite MartiniqueSaint LuciaSaint VincentArea3 232 5 km2 1 248 1 sq mi Highest elevation1 447 m 4747 ft Highest pointMorne Diablotins DominicaAdministrationDominicaLargest settlementRoseauGrenadaLargest settlementSt George sMartiniqueLargest settlementFort de FranceSaint LuciaLargest settlementCastriesSaint Vincent and the GrenadinesLargest settlementKingstownDemographicsPopulationc 854 000Pop density227 km2 588 sq mi The name was also used to refer to a British colony which existed between 1833 and 1960 and originally consisted of the islands of Grenada Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent Today these islands constitute three sovereign states with the latter now known as Saint Vincent and the Grenadines The island of Dominica was traditionally considered a part of the Leeward Islands until 1940 when it was transferred from the British Leeward Islands colony to the British Windward Islands It now composes the fourth sovereign state in the group Barbados until 1885 and Tobago until 1889 were also part of the British Windward Islands colony but are not today regarded as being part of the Windward Islands grouping Contents 1 Name and geography 2 Countries and territories 3 Politics 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksName and geography editThe prevailing trade winds in the West Indies blow east to west The combination of trans Atlantic currents and winds that provided the fastest route across the ocean brought sailing ships heading to the New World to the rough dividing line between two groups of islands Those that fell to windward became the Windward Islands to leeward the Leeward Islands Sailing vessels departing from Africa would first encounter the southeasternmost Windward islands of the Lesser Antilles in their west northwesterly heading to the final destinations in the Caribbean Central America and Northern America The chain of Windward Islands forms a part of the easternmost boundary of the Caribbean Sea 1 2 However even in modern usage in languages other than English notably Dutch French and Spanish all of the Lesser Antilles from the Virgin Islands to Trinidad and Tobago are known as the Windward Islands Bovenwindse Eilanden in Dutch Iles du Vent in French and Islas de Barlovento in Spanish The ABC Islands and the other islands along the Venezuelan coast known in English as the Leeward Antilles are known in languages other than English as the Leeward Islands Countries and territories editThere are four countries and one territory in the Windward Islands 1 3 4 nbsp Dominica nbsp Grenada Carriacou and Petite Martinique nbsp Martinique France nbsp Saint Lucia nbsp Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Grenadines Saint Vincent nbsp The Windward Islands are on the map s lower right above and to the right of VenezuelaPolitics editThis section is empty You can help by adding to it November 2021 See also editWindward Islands at Wikipedia s sister projects nbsp Definitions from Wiktionary nbsp Media from Commons nbsp News from Wikinews nbsp Quotations from Wikiquote nbsp Texts from Wikisource nbsp Textbooks from Wikibooks nbsp Resources from Wikiversity nbsp Travel information from Wikivoyage nbsp Geography portalBritish Windward Islands Deafness in the Windward Islands Intra Americas Sea Leeward Antilles Leeward Islands Lesser Antilles Lesser Antilles topics Leeward Islands topics Windward Islands topics Southern Caribbean Windward Islands Cricket Board of Control Windward Islands cricket teamReferences edit a b Windward Islands Encyclopaedia Britannica A line of West Indian islands constituting the southern arc of the Lesser Antilles at the eastern end of the Caribbean Sea between latitudes 12 and 16 N and longitudes 60 and 62 W They include from north to south the English speaking islands of Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and Grenada and between Saint Vincent and Grenada the chain of 32 islands known as the Grenadines Though near the general area Trinidad and Tobago at the south end of the group and Barbados just east are usually not considered part of the Windward Islands Chapter 4 The Windward Islands and Barbados U S Library of Congress Windward Islands Footprint Travel Guides Retrieved 23 March 2013 Windward Islands Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc Retrieved 7 July 2018 External links editChisholm Hugh ed 1911 Windward Islands Encyclopaedia Britannica Vol 26 11th ed Cambridge University Press p 716 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Windward Islands amp oldid 1183167649, 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