Table of Contents

Part 1 - The Florida Keys and Bermuda

• The Florida Keys
• Bermuda

Part 2 - Islands of the Caribbean

Source:  About.com - Caribbean Travel 

There are many islands in the Caribbean with significant human population. There are thousands of small islands and keys, many uninhabited. In addition, The State of Florida Contains the Florida Keys and the Dry Tortugas that lie about 67 miles west of Key West. The Dry Tortugas are a small group of islands designated as a National Park and inhabited only by a group of about 15 National Park personnel.

#Part 1 - The Florida Keys and Bermuda 

#Source:  Miles Media Group, Inc. 

The Florida Keys consists of 1700 small islands, most of which are not inhabited. 800 of these keys are mapped and about 30 are inhabited. Whereas most of the Caribbean Islands are volcanic in origin, the Florida Keys are exposed portions of an ancient coral reef. Most keys are only accessible by boat such as those in Biscayne National Park. The inhabited islands are accessible via an overseas highway extending as a series of bridges from the Florida mainland south of Miami.

The Florida Keys (from the Spanish word Cayo, meaning small island) were first charted in 1513 by Juan Ponce de Leon. Until the completion of an overseas railway in 1910, the islands were only accessible by water. The Spanish had settlements on the keys, but United States settlers did not start appearing until the 1800’s. During the American Civil War, the Florida Keys were part of the Confederacy.

The following is a list of the inhabited islands in the Keys, starting with those in Miami-Dade County and ending at Key West in Monroe County: These are islands that have residences. Although inhabited, some of these keys are private owned and restricted to residents only. Some keys, although accessible, are not included because they have businesses such as fast food and service stations or provide road access to other keys, but have no permanent residents.

Florida Keys  

• Key Largo was settled sometime before 1870 when a Post Office was built on the island.
• Plantation Key
• Windley Key (Part of the Village of Islamorada)
• Tea Table Key (Part of the Village of Islamorada)
• Upper Matecumbe Key (Part of the Village of Islamorada)
• Lower Matecumbe Key (Part of the Village of Islamorada)
• Islamorada Key
• Craig Key
• Fiesta Key
• Long Key (the city of Layton is located on Long Key)
• Conch Key
• Duck Key
• Knights Key (Part of the City of Marathon)
• Grassy Key (Part of the City of Marathon)
• Key Vaca (Part of the City of Marathon)
• City of Marathon consists of a number of small keys, some uninhabited
• No Name Key
• Big Pine Key
• Little Torch Key
• Ramrod Key
• Summerland Key
• Sugerloaf Key
• Saddlebunch Keys. These are a series of mangrove islands. Bay Point and Bluewater Key are the only inhabited islands in the Saddlebunch Keys.
• Shark Key
• Geiger Key
• Big Coppitt Key
• Boca Chica Key
• Raccoon Key contains the community of Key Haven
• Stock Island (a portion of the Island is part of the City of Key West)
• Fleming Key (Part of the City of Key West but also part of the Key West Naval Air Station and only accessible to military personnel)
• Dredgers Key (Sigsbee Park) is part of the Key West Naval Air Station and has a population of military and civilian employee families. It is an artifical key created from material dredged to make seaplane runways in the shallow bay.
• Sunset Key (Part of the City of Key West)
• Key West was originally known as Cayo Hueso, which means Bone Island. Even though the British took control of Key West in 1763, it was not permanently settled. After the American Revolution it reverted to Spanish control . In 1822, Matthew Perry claimed Key West for the United States. Permanent settlement took place beginning in 1829. Most of the settlers were from the Bahamas. These were the children of British Loyalists who fled from the United States after 1776. Their descendants still live there in an area of the island known as Bahama Village in Old Town.

Bermuda  is not within the Caribbean, nor with any other area of this publication.  For research purposes, I have included in this chapter.  Bermuda is located in the Atlantic Ocean off the eastern coast of the U.S., 640 miles east-southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. It is now part of the British Overseas Territory.

Source:  Island Brides.com 

#Part 2 - Islands of the Caribbean

Source:  Caribbean Diving.com 

Most of the Caribbean Islands were formed by volcanic activity. They lie in a region of intense seismic activity, which includes frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

European contact began with the voyages of Christopher Columbus who first landed in the Bahamas in 1492. The Portuguese and Spanish began claiming territories. Gold, sugar cane, rum and other riches available in this area made it an area of European conquest, war, and exploitation for centuries. England, France and the Netherlands also established colonies to gain economic advantage. The Spanish in particular enslaved the native population nearly to the point of extinction. All of the European nations imported slaves from Africa to work the plantations in their colonies. Since there are thousands of islands, most are either uninhabited or have been settled recently. The presence of fresh water has always been a deciding factor, and with today's power boats available to bring water in on demand many small islands have private ownership or are used as research stations and lighthouses.

The following lists inhabited islands of the Caribbean, showing what countries colonized them. Dates are provided, along with changes in ownership, treaties, independence and current status to help Family Historians with ancestry in this area.

#The Bahamas are in the British Overseas Territory and consist of more than 3000 islands, cays, and islets in the Atlantic Ocean South of Florida.Source:  Ezilon Maps

Bahamas   

#Turks and Caicos.    

 Belize          Nicaragua          Mexico  Panama    Honduras

 Venezuela         Columbia

 

Lesser Antilles Leeward Islands: Puerto Rican Virgin Islands

Puerto Rico and its islands are an unincorporated territory of the United States.

Lesser Antilles Leeward Islands: United States Virgin Islands

The U.S Virgin Islands were acquired by the United States in 1917 and are classified as United States Protectorates.

Lesser Antilles Windward Islands:  Independent Nations

 Dominica     Saint Lucia

#Windward Islands - The Grenadines

The Grenadines are windward islands, but they lie south of  the boundary of the Lesser Antilles.  This chain consists of two large islands, Saint Vincent to the north and Grenada to the south with a series of small islands between.  There are over 600 islands total, most of which are uninhabited.  The small islands are divided between ownership, part to Saint Vincent and part to Grenada.  Saint Vincent with its islands is the country of "Saint Vincent and the Grenadines".  Grenada and its islands are the country of "Grenada".

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

These islands, along with Saint Vincent, make up the Grenadines Parish

• Young Island
• Bequia
• Petit Nevis
• Isle à Quatre
• Bettowia
• Baliceaux
• Mustique
• Petit Mustique
• Savan
• Petit Canouan
• Canouan
• Mayreau
• Tobago Cays
• Union Island
• Petit Saint Vincent
• Palm Island
• Mopion

Island of Grenada