﻿OUR 
  MAP 
  OF 
  

  

  THE 
  COUNTRIES 
  OF 
  THE 
  

   CARIBBEAN 
  

  

  LOOKING 
  southward 
  from 
  the 
  shores 
  

   of 
  our 
  Gulf 
  States, 
  the 
  geographer 
  

   .J 
  surveys 
  a 
  group 
  of 
  ten 
  republics 
  

   of 
  vast 
  potentialities, 
  clustered 
  in 
  and 
  

   around 
  two 
  great 
  warm 
  seas. 
  In 
  addi- 
  

   tion 
  to 
  these 
  independent 
  republics, 
  the 
  

   waters 
  of 
  the 
  Gulf 
  of 
  Mexico 
  and 
  the 
  

   Caribbean 
  Sea 
  are 
  dotted 
  with 
  innumer- 
  

   able 
  tropical 
  islands 
  of 
  riotous 
  vegetation 
  

   belonging 
  to 
  the 
  United 
  States, 
  Great 
  

   Britain, 
  France, 
  and 
  the 
  Netherlands. 
  

  

  These 
  semi-inclosed 
  seas 
  have 
  been 
  

   aptly 
  termed 
  "The 
  American 
  Mediter- 
  

   ranean," 
  for, 
  crisscrossing 
  and 
  meander- 
  

   ing 
  through 
  the 
  channels 
  between 
  the 
  

   Gulf 
  and 
  Caribbean 
  islands 
  run 
  the 
  great 
  

   ocean 
  lines 
  of 
  an 
  ever-increasing 
  com- 
  

   merce. 
  

  

  No 
  other 
  region 
  of 
  the 
  Western 
  Hemi- 
  

   sphere 
  embraces 
  so 
  many 
  geographical 
  

   names 
  of 
  historic 
  significance 
  as 
  that 
  

   charted 
  on 
  the 
  "Map 
  of 
  the 
  Countries 
  of 
  

   the 
  Caribbean," 
  which 
  is 
  issued 
  as 
  a 
  sup- 
  

   plement 
  to 
  this 
  number 
  of 
  the 
  National, 
  

   Geographic 
  Magazine.* 
  

  

  a 
  region 
  oe 
  romance 
  and 
  history 
  

  

  Here 
  are 
  place 
  names 
  which 
  quicken 
  

   the 
  imagination 
  and 
  the 
  romantic 
  im- 
  

   pulses 
  of 
  the 
  most 
  prosaic 
  : 
  

  

  The 
  first 
  land 
  of 
  the 
  New 
  World 
  

   sighted 
  by 
  Columbus 
  on 
  his 
  epochal 
  voy- 
  

   age 
  of 
  discovery 
  was 
  Watling 
  Island, 
  

   among 
  the 
  Bahamas, 
  and 
  on 
  its 
  sandy 
  

   beach, 
  on 
  the 
  morning 
  of 
  October 
  12, 
  

   1492, 
  he 
  knelt 
  "to 
  give 
  thanks 
  to 
  God 
  and 
  

   kiss 
  the 
  ground 
  with 
  tears 
  of 
  joy 
  for 
  the 
  

   great 
  mercies 
  received." 
  

  

  The 
  first 
  settlement 
  in 
  the 
  New 
  World 
  

   was 
  that 
  established 
  by 
  Columbus 
  in 
  

   Santo 
  Domingo, 
  and 
  the 
  fort 
  built 
  for 
  

   that 
  colony 
  was 
  constructed 
  from 
  the 
  

   hulk 
  of 
  his 
  wrecked 
  flagship, 
  the 
  Santa 
  

   Maria. 
  

  

  The 
  first 
  permanent 
  settlement 
  within 
  

   the 
  bounds 
  of 
  what 
  is 
  now 
  the 
  United 
  

  

  ^Additional 
  copies 
  of 
  the 
  Countries 
  of 
  the 
  

   Caribbean 
  Map 
  are 
  obtainable 
  from 
  the 
  head- 
  

   quarters 
  of 
  the 
  National 
  Geographic 
  Society, 
  

   Washington, 
  D. 
  C, 
  at 
  $1.00 
  each 
  in 
  paper. 
  $1.50 
  

   in 
  linen 
  ; 
  maps 
  in 
  color 
  of 
  the 
  New 
  Europe 
  

   (30x33 
  inches), 
  Asia 
  (28x36), 
  South 
  Amer- 
  

   ica 
  (25x35), 
  and 
  Islands 
  of 
  the 
  Pacific 
  ( 
  19 
  x 
  

   25) 
  at 
  the 
  same 
  prices. 
  

  

  States 
  was 
  made 
  by 
  the 
  Spaniards 
  at 
  St. 
  

   Augustine, 
  Florida, 
  in 
  1565. 
  

  

  The 
  foremost 
  intellectual 
  achievement 
  

   of 
  ancient 
  America 
  (see 
  pages 
  109-130) 
  

   was 
  consummated 
  in 
  southern 
  Mexico, 
  

   Guatemala, 
  and 
  Honduras, 
  and 
  such 
  ruins 
  

   as 
  those 
  at 
  Tical, 
  Chichen 
  Itza, 
  Copan, 
  

   and 
  Quirigua 
  continue 
  to 
  yield 
  their 
  fasci- 
  

   nating 
  secrets 
  to 
  explorers 
  and 
  archaeolo- 
  

   gists. 
  

  

  It 
  was 
  from 
  a 
  height 
  on 
  the 
  Isthmus 
  

   of 
  Darien 
  that 
  a 
  European 
  eye 
  looking 
  

   westward 
  first 
  caught 
  a 
  glimpse 
  of 
  the 
  

   mighty 
  " 
  South 
  Sea." 
  

  

  It 
  is 
  across 
  the 
  Isthmus 
  of 
  Panama 
  that 
  

   American 
  genius 
  for 
  organization, 
  sani- 
  

   tation, 
  and 
  mechanics 
  has 
  achieved 
  the 
  

   greatest 
  engineering 
  feat 
  in 
  the 
  history 
  

   of 
  mankind 
  — 
  the 
  Panama 
  Canal. 
  

  

  The 
  waters 
  of 
  Havana 
  Harbor 
  hold 
  a 
  

   sacred 
  interest 
  for 
  America 
  as 
  the 
  place 
  

   of 
  destruction 
  of 
  the 
  martyred 
  U. 
  S. 
  S. 
  

   Maine. 
  

  

  In 
  Caracas, 
  the 
  scene 
  of 
  his 
  earliest 
  

   efforts 
  to 
  free 
  South 
  America 
  from 
  the 
  

   Spanish 
  yoke, 
  repose 
  the 
  ashes 
  of 
  the 
  

   Great 
  Liberator, 
  Simon 
  Bolivar. 
  

  

  Throughout 
  the 
  Greater 
  and 
  Lesser 
  

   Antilles 
  are 
  countless 
  harbors 
  of 
  refuge 
  

   and 
  lairs 
  redolent 
  with 
  legends 
  of 
  the 
  

   buccaneers 
  of 
  the 
  Spanish 
  Main 
  (see 
  

   pages 
  146-187). 
  

  

  LANDS 
  OE 
  PHENOMENAL 
  AGRICULTURAL 
  

   AND 
  MINERAL 
  WEALTH 
  

  

  As 
  for 
  material 
  wealth, 
  what 
  other 
  

   part 
  of 
  the 
  globe 
  can 
  rival 
  the 
  cotton 
  plan- 
  

   tations 
  of 
  Mississippi, 
  Louisiana, 
  and 
  

   Texas, 
  the 
  oil 
  fields 
  of 
  Texas 
  and 
  Tam- 
  

   pico, 
  the 
  sugar 
  and 
  tobacco 
  lands 
  of 
  Cuba 
  

   and 
  Porto 
  Rico, 
  the 
  banana 
  plantations 
  

   of 
  Costa 
  Rica, 
  the 
  sisal 
  fields 
  of 
  Yucatan, 
  

   the 
  coffee 
  groves 
  of 
  Salvador, 
  the 
  plati- 
  

   num 
  and 
  emerald 
  mines 
  of 
  Colombia, 
  or 
  

   the 
  asphalt 
  lakes 
  of 
  Trinidad? 
  

  

  Only 
  a 
  few 
  years 
  ago 
  the 
  wealth, 
  the 
  

   beauty, 
  the 
  romance, 
  and 
  the 
  historical 
  

   remains 
  of 
  this 
  vast 
  region 
  were 
  shut 
  off 
  

   from 
  northern 
  civilization 
  by 
  the 
  dread 
  

   barriers 
  of 
  disease, 
  and 
  the 
  inhabitants 
  

   themselves 
  were 
  in 
  constant 
  peril 
  of 
  

   devastating 
  epidemics. 
  He 
  who 
  went 
  

  

  