Although Columbus claimed all the Caribbean islands for Spain, adventurers from other European countries colonised many of them. Islands changed hands as a result of wars between Spain, Britain, France, Denmark and the Netherlands: Saint Eustatius changed flags 22 times until it finally became Dutch in 1816. The Caribbean islands were very valuable to the Europeans because the land was good for growing crops like sugar and tobacco. The Amerindians were made to work as slaves on the plantations, but many of them died. Then, European traders brought slaves captured in West Africa to work on the plantations.
“In the English Speaking World” |