ANTILLES, name given both to the group of large islands forming the northern limit and the chain of small islands forming the eastern border of the Caribbean Sea. Prac tically all of the West Indian islands (see WEST INDIES), except the Bahamas are thus included. The Greater Antilles (Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti and Porto Rico) have about 6,700,000 inhabitants, or more than three-fourths of the entire popu lation. The Lesser Antilles extend toward the southeast in a curved line from Porto Rico to the coast of Venezuela and follow the line of that coast from the Orinoco delta westward to the Gulf of Maracaibo. Their total area is pbout 5,500 square miles, and their population is approximately 1,307,000.
The following classification shows the nat ural grouping of the Lesser Antilles, with the area (in square miles) and the population of the islands in each of the groups: (1) Virgin Islands.- Saint Croix (A. 74, pop. 19,683) ; Saint John (A. 21, pop. 918) ; Saint Thomas (A. 23, pop. 10,000) ; Tortola (A. 58, pop. 4,222) ; Anegada (A. 13, pop. 300) ; Virgin Gorda (A. 176, pop. 417). (2) Outer Chain of Caribbee Islands.- Anguilla (A. 35, pop. 3,890) ; Saint Martin (A. 38, pop. 6,700) ; Saint Bartholomew (A. 8, pop. 2,650); Barbuda (A. 62, pop. 639) ; Antigua (A. 108, pop. 34,971); Desirade (A. 10, pop. 1,400) ; Marie Galante (A. 65, pop. 13,850). (3) Inner Chain of Carib bee Islands.- Saba (A. 5, pop. 1,909) ; Saint Eustatius or Saint Eustache (A. 7, pop. 1,408) ; Saint Christopher or Saint Kitts (A. 65, pop. 29,781) ; Nevis (A. 50, pop. 12,774) ; Montser rat (A. 32, pop. 12,215) ; Guadeloupe and de pendencies (A. 600, pop. 212,430) ; Dominica (A. 305, pop. 28,891) ; Martinique (A. 400, pop. 194,000) ; Saint Lucia (A. 233, pop. 50,809) ; Saint Vincent (A. 150.3, pop. 45,605) ; Grenada (A. 133, pop. 69,307). (4) Barbados.- (A. 166, pop. 173,359). (5) South American Is lands.- Tobago (A. 114, pop. 20,463) ; Trini dad (A. 1,754 pop. 352,145) • Buen Ayre or Bonaire (A. 95, pop. 6,547) ; Curacao (A. 210, pop. 32,959) ; smaller islands (A. 470, pop. 40,000).
English geographers call the northern part of . the chain of Lesser Antilles °The Leeward Islands," the capital of the Leeward govern ment being on Antigua, and the southern half The Windward Islands," Grenada being head quarters of the Windward government. The present holdings of Great Britain, France, and Holland in the Lesser Antilles are re minders of the early struggles of the European nations to win supremacy in the New World; for the West Indies were commonly regarded up to the end of the 18th century as the most valuable part of America, and these is lands were the chief battle ground of the rival powers. Admiral Rodney's victory over the
French admiral De Grasse, 12 April 1782, gave England her commanding position in this re gion. Her possessions constituting several dis tinct colonial governments, include the Virgin group (except the American islands, Saint Thomas, Saint Croix, and Saint John) ; all be low the centre of the chain, namely, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent, Bardados, Grenada, To bago and Trinidad; the important island of Dominica, etc. The Virgin Islands are im portant because they command the deep-water Anegada passage between the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea; and the only deep har bors (except Saint Thomas) in the Lesser An tilles are in Trinidad and Saint Lucia. The French retain among their possessions the somewhat larger islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique in the centre of the chain. The Dutch, in addition to Curacao and Buen Ayre, have a part of Saint Martin and a few small islands below the Anegada Passage, the whole width of the Caribbean Sea intervening. The economic history of the islands of the Lesser Antil'es is simple. Nearly all of them derived their wealth in the past from sugar culture, and with the decline in the price of sugar have sunk into poverty. Meanwhile, the black population has crowded out the Caucasians. The increase in the population of the Greater Antilles since the early years of this century is decidedly noteworthy.
Aspinall, A. E., Pocket Guide to the West Indies,' etc. (Chicago and New York 1914); Baedeker, K., 'The United States, with Excursions into Mexico, Cuba, Porto Rico,' etc. (4th ed. rev., Leipzig 1909); 'Latin America; General Descriptive Data' (Washington 1915) ; 'Latin American Foreign Trade' (Washington 1915); Lyde, L. W., 'A Geography of South America, Including the West Indies' (Black's School Geography Lon don 1914); MacCorkle, W. A., 'The Monroe Doctrine in Its Relation to the Republic of Haiti' (New York 1915); Ober, F. A., 'Guide to the West Indies' (New York 1908) ; Ortiz, F., and Cabrera, R., Revista Bimestre Cubana) • Shepherd, W. R., 'Latin America' (New York 1914) ; Verrill, A. H. 'Cuba Past and Present' (New York 1914); 'Isles of Spice and Palm' (New York 1915), and 'Porto Rico Past and Present and San Domingo of Today' (New York 1914).