Portal:Caribbean/Did you know

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...that in 2004, Hurricane Jeanne (pictured) hit the Haitian coastal city of Gonaïves, where it affected about 80,000 of the city's 100,000 residents? And that official reports counted 3,006 people dead, with 2,826 of those in Gonaïves alone?

...that groups opposed to Fidel Castro intitiated seven terrorist attacks in Los Angeles during 1975 against various targets including a radio station that had just announced the showing of a Cuban film, "Lucia."?

...that Errol Brown, frontman of the successful British band, Hot Chocolate, was born in Kingston, Jamaica and now lives in The Bahamas? And that in 2003, Brown was appointed as an MBE as well as being rewarded with an Ivor Novello Award for outstanding contributions to British music?

...that Trinidadian writer and historian C. L. R. James began his career as a cricket journalist?

...that Gens de couleur were Free people of color in French colonial Haiti? And that the Gens de couleur could own plantations, and often owned large numbers of slaves themselves?

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1	...that Isla Margarita (pictured), the largest Caribbean island of the Nueva Esparta State in Venezuela, was seized by Lope de Aguirre, a notoriously violent and rebellious conquistador in 1561? And that he held the islanders in a grip of terror until he returned to the mainland in an attempt to take Panama from the Spanish crown?
2	...that Bequia, the name of the largest island in the Grenadines (pictured), means "island of clouds" in Arawak?
3	...that in 2007, the Haitian national football team beat recent FIFA World cup finalists Trinidad and Tobago 2-1, to win the Caribbean Cup for the first time?
4	...that the world famous drink, the Piña Colada was invented in Puerto Rico and that its main ingredient Coco Lopez was invented by Ramon Lopez Irizarry?
5	...that Party politics of Trinidad and Tobago have generally run along ethnic lines, with most Afro-Trinidadians supporting the People's National Movement (PNM) and most Indo-Trinidadians supporting various Indian-majority parties, such as the United National Congress (UNC) or its predecessors?
6	...that Calico Jack (pictured), an English pirate captain during the early 18th century, was executed with most of his crew in Jamaica on 17 November 1720?
7	...that in 1596, Sir Francis Drake (pictured), the famed British Admiral who defeated the Spanish Armada, was defeated twice in his attempts to take San Juan, Puerto Rico and that he died of dysentery while attacking the island?
8	...that the Garífuna population (flag pictured), who are descendants of Amerindian and African slaves exiled to Punta Gorda, Belize, is estimated to be around 200,000 both in the Caribbean homeland and North America?
9	...that on 16 February 1942, an oil processing refinery in the Lesser Antilles island of Aruba (flag pictured) was attacked by a German submarine?
10	...that Fort San Felipe del Morro in Puerto Rico (pictured) was used to stand in for an African slave fortress in the 1996 motion picture "Amistad" by Steven Spielberg?
11	...that the Economy of Jamaica was given a boost after the discovery in the 1940s of bauxite (pictured), an aluminium ore?
12	...that the old lighthouse at Mona, Puerto Rico (pictured) was designed by Gustave Eiffel?
13	...that in 2004, Hurricane Jeanne (pictured) hit the Haitian coastal city of Gonaïves, where it affected about 80,000 of the city's 100,000 residents? And that official reports counted 3,006 people dead, with 2,826 of those in Gonaïves alone?
14	...that the Empire Windrush (pictured) was a ship that transported a group of 492 immigrants from Jamaica to Tilbury near London on 22 June 1948 to start a new life in Britain? And that these arrivals were the first of many subsequent migrants from the Caribbean to the United Kingdom via immigration campaigns created by successive British governments?
15	...that the Soufrière Hills volcano is an active complex stratovolcano with many lava domes forming its summit on the Caribbean island of Montserrat?
16	...that the boundaries of the Bermuda Triangle vary depending on the author; some stating its shape is akin to a trapezium covering the Straits of Florida, the Bahamas, and the entire Caribbean island area east to the Azores; others add to it the Gulf of Mexico? And that the more familiar, triangular boundary in most written works has as its points Miami, Florida; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and the mid-Atlantic island of Bermuda?
17	...that Sammy Sosa from the Dominican Republic has hit more than 60 home runs in a U.S. Major League Baseball season three times, the only player in history to do so?
18	...that Alexander Bustamante (pictured), the prominent Jamaican politician, was born William Alexander Clarke but took the name Bustamante to honour an Iberian sea captain who befriended him in his youth?
19	...that eating an unripe Ackee fruit (pictured), which were introduced to Jamaica from West Africa by Dr. Thomas Clark in 1778, can trigger an acute vomiting and hypoglycemic disease known as Jamaican vomiting sickness?
20	...that the Puerto Rico trench (pictured), located on the fringe of the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea just to the north of the island of Puerto Rico, is said to be the deepest point in the entire Atlantic Ocean?
21	...that during the American Revolutionary War, Montserrat was briefly captured by France before being returned to the United Kingdom under the Treaty of Versailles which ended that conflict?
22	...that the French West Indies refers to the two French overseas departments of Guadeloupe and Martinique, and also includes the Guadeloupean dependencies of French St. Martin, Saint-Barthélemy, Les Saintes, Marie-Galante and La Désirade?
23	...that Eugenia Charles, the Prime Minister of Dominica from July 21, 1980 until June 14, 1995, was the first female prime minister in the Caribbean?
24	...that Joséphine de Beauharnais, the first wife of Napoléon Bonaparte and thus the first Empress of the French was born in Les Trois-Îlets, Martinique in 1763?
25	that the word hurricane, used in the North Atlantic and Northeast Pacific, is derived from a native Caribbean Amerindian storm god, Huracan, via Spanish huracán?
26	...that record producer Lee "Scratch" Perry's first single "People Funny Boy" was directed as an insult to fellow Jamaican music mogul and former collaborator Joe Gibbs?
27	...that former President of Haiti Jean-Claude Duvalier, also known as "Baby Doc" was exiled to France after his disposition in 1986? And that he lost most of his wealth due to his divorce from his wife Michèle, and now reportedly lives in very modest circumstances?
28	...that with an average income of around $42,000, Cayman islanders enjoy the highest standard of living in the Caribbean? Due in large part to its status as a leading offshore financial centre.
29	...that the headquarters of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank are located at on the south western coast of Saint Kitts Island?
30	...that the major settlements on the island of Saba in the Netherlands Antilles are named Windwardside, The Bottom and Hell's Gate?
31	...that Trenchtown, a neighbourhood in Kingston, Jamaica, gets its name from a large open-trenched sewer that ran through the neighbourhood?
32	...that Bunny Wailer, an original member of Jamaican reggae group The Wailers, was born was born Neville O'Riley Livingston?
33	...that Errol Brown, frontman of the successful British band, Hot Chocolate, was born in Kingston, Jamaica and now lives in The Bahamas? And that in 2003, Brown was appointed as an MBE as well as being rewarded with an Ivor Novello Award for outstanding contributions to British music?
34	...that Stern John is Trinidad and Tobago's leading goalscorer in international football, and scored 68 goals in 100 games?
35	...that Joel Garner, a leading West Indian cricket player in the 1970s and 80s, was nicknamed Big Bird because he stood at 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)?
36	...that the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo is a public university in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic? And that it is the oldest institution of higher education in the western hemisphere?
37	...that Saint Vincent was a major filming location for the Pirates of the Caribbean movies?
38	...that William Thornton, architect of the U.S. Capitol Building, and John C. Lettsome, founder of the Royal Society of Medicine both hail from Jost Van Dyke, the smallest of the four main islands of the British Virgin Islands?
39	...that former Hollywood star Maureen O'Hara lives on Beef Island, in the British Virgin Islands? And that her third husband, Charles Blair, died in 1978 when the engine of a Grumman Goose he was flying from St. Croix to St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands exploded?
40	...that the Danish West India Company was a Danish chartered company that exploited colonies in the Danish West Indies but was liquidated in 1776?
41	...that the Blue Mahoe is the national tree of Jamaica, and that its flower changes colour as it matures, going from bright yellow to orange red and finally to crimson?
42	...that the island of Bonaire in the Lesser Antilles is famed for its flamingo populations and its donkeys which are the descendants of donkeys brought by the Dutch in the 16th century?
43	...that Léger-Félicité Sonthonax was a French politician and abolitionist who proclaimed the freedom of all slaves in the French colony of Saint-Domingue (now Haïti)?
44	...that Trinidadian writer and historian C. L. R. James began his career as a cricket journalist?
45	...that Navassa Island off the west coast of Haiti is claimed by the United States as an unorganized unincorporated territory?
46	...that the Corn Islands are found in what was called the Mosquito Coast, on Nicaragua's eastern coast? And that they were a British colony that became subject to United States law under the Bryan-Chamorro Treaty of 1914 between the U.S. and Nicaragua?
47	...that the New Jewel Movement was a populist political movement in Grenada established in 1973 by Maurice Bishop?
48	...that the Caribbean Development Bank estimated that Hurricane Ivan caused over $3 billion damage on island nations in 2004, mostly in the Cayman Islands, Grenada and Jamaica?
49	...that the Caribbean Sea is a Mediterranean sea largely situated on the Caribbean Plate? And that estimates of the sea's age range from 20,000 years to 570 million years?
50	...that immediately after the West Indies cricket team's victory against England at Lord's in 1950, Trinidadian calypsonians Lord Beginner and Lord Kitchener began a musical march from the ground to Piccadilly followed by dancing spectators?
51	...that former West indies cricket captain Clive Lloyd is the cousin of Lance Gibbs, one of the most successful spin bowlers in Test cricket history?
52	...that West Indian cricketer Garfield Sobers became the first ever batsman to hit six sixes off one over of six consecutive balls in first-class cricket?
53	...that West Indian cricketer Brian Lara holds two of the most prestigious World Records for batting : highest individual test innings (400*) alongside the record for the highest individual score in all first class cricket (501), and is also the all-time leading run scorer in Test cricket?
54	...that Saint Martin, an island in the northeast Caribbean is divided roughly in half between French Saint Martin and Dutch Sint Maarten?
55	...that Alison Hinds, sometimes dubbed the "Queen of Soca", was born in England before moving to her mother's homeland of Barbados?
56	...that Errol Barrow was Prime Minister of Barbados twice, firstly from 1966 to 1976 and later from 1986 to 1987?
57	...that Orisha is a spirit that reflects one of the manifestations of Olodumare (God) in the Yoruba spiritual or religious system, and forms part of a religion that is practised in many areas of the Caribbean including Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago?
58	...that Operation Power Pack was the name of a 1965 United States military intervention in the Dominican Republic designed to prevent Juan Bosch, the first democratically elected president of the nation, from resuming power?
59	...that Spanish Town is the former Spanish and English capital of Jamaica. It held the status of capital city from the 16th to the 19th century, and is now a World Heritage Site?
60	...that Michael Manley defeated his own cousin, Hugh Shearer, in a national election to become Prime Minister of Jamaica in 1972?
61	...that the West Indies Federation was a short-lived Caribbean federation that existed from January 3, 1958 to May 31, 1962 consisting of several Caribbean colonies of the United Kingdom?
62	...that the national dish of Antigua and Barbuda is fungie (pronounced foon-gee), a dish very similar to the Italian Polenta made mainly from cornmeal?
63	....that Jamaican Creole contains many words borrowed from English as well as from Spanish, Portuguese, Hindi, and African languages?
64	...that Gens de couleur were Free people of color in French colonial Haiti? And that the Gens de couleur could own plantations, and often owned large numbers of slaves themselves?
65	...that the Guano Islands Act was federal legislation passed by the U.S. Congress on August 18, 1856 which enables citizens of the U.S. to take possession of islands containing guano deposits? And that disputes remain with Haiti over the status of Navassa Island, and with Colombia and Honduras over the status of the Caribbean island Serranilla Bank and with Jamaica concerning Bajo Nuevo Bank island, after all were seized by the U.S. following the passing of the act?
66	...that Queen Anne's Revenge was a ship originally named Concord that was seized by the pirate Captain Benjamin Hornigold in 1717 near the island of Martinique? And that Hornigold turned the ship over to Edward Teach, later known as Blackbeard, who renamed it before ranging the west coast of Africa and the Caribbean?
67	...that La Visite National Park is one of the two national parks in Haiti? And that it contains the country's highest mountain, Pic de la Selle?
68	...that Ato Boldon, the former athlete from Trinidad and Tobago who was a former World Champion and four-time Olympic medal winner, is currently an Opposition Senator in the Trinidad and Tobago Parliament representing the United National Congress?
69	...that the Trinidad and Tobago national football team are nicknamed the Soca Warriors?
70	...that Chaguaramas in the North West Peninsula of Trinidad was leased to the United States between 1940 and 1963 for the construction of a naval base under the Destroyers for Bases Agreement?
71	...that Mother Mary Lange was the founder of the Oblate Sisters of Providence in Haiti, and is a "Servant of God", meaning that a Roman Catholic pope has opened a "cause of sainthood" for the subject?
72	...that the East Caribbean dollar is the currency of eight of the nine members of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States, which are Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines?
73	...that novelist Jean Rhys (b.1890), from the island of Dominica, was published and promoted by Ford Madox Ford, and co-wrote a sardonic love song for British jazz singer George Melly called Life With You?
74	...that Zouk is a style of rhythmic music originating from the French Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique?
75	...that Jamaican ska music pioneer Prince Buster had been a skillful amateur boxer as a teenager, and was first hired by record producer Coxsone Dodd not as a musician but as security?
76	that the song Israelites was written by Jamaican musician Desmond Dekker after he heard a couple arguing about money?
77	...that Saint Lucian poet Derek Walcott wrote Omeros, a retelling of the story of the Odyssey, set on the Caribbean island of St. Lucia?
78	...that the University of the West Indies consists of three major campuses at Mona in Jamaica, St. Augustine in Trinidad and Tobago, and Cave Hill in Barbados?
79	...that the Jayuya Uprising was a revolt against the Government of the United States in Puerto Rico which occurred on October 30, 1950 in the town of Jayuya?