ISLANDS AND PEOPLE: THE CARIBBEAN CRUCIBLE

The islands of the Eastern Caribbean come as close to the eternal fantasy of an earthly paradise as almost anywhere in the world. Dramatic forest-clad mountains loom over lush, fertile valleys where, it seems, anything grows. Long white beaches are framed by rows of coconut palms and by a sea which covers the spectrum of shades, from pale aquamarine to deep blue. Cool trade winds temper the tropical heat; rain rarely lasts long.

The topography varies from island to island. Some are spectacularly rugged and mountainous, where steep hillsides are cut by ravines and waterfalls in a dramatic testimony to volcanic activity. Others are more flat and tranquil, sugar-cane and pasture stretching away over a gently undulating landscape. Some are humid and covered with extensive rainforest; others are arid and rely on imported water.

The island arc is geologically quite recent, having been formed between one and two million years ago. Many of the islands are volcanic, with imposing conical mountains and headlands created by lava flows moving down into the sea. Small valleys have been carved out by rivers and streams running down precipitous slopes. In islands such as Martinique, St. Lucia, Dominica and St. Vincent, rainfall is heavy, there are still areas of impenetrable rainforest, and much land cannot be farmed.

Running to the east or Atlantic side of the volcanic chain is another arc of islands, made up primarily of coral limestone. This platform, known as the "foreland," runs the length of the Caribbean and starts from the Bahamas. It meets the Eastern Caribbean in Anguilla and continues via Antigua down to Guadeloupe's easterly Grande-Terre and Barbados. On these islands the landscape is flat and better for plantation agriculture. But water supply is a problem, especially as lower rainfall tends to drain quickly through the permeable limestone rock, running into underground streams.

The islands are commonly divided into two groups, the Leewards and the Windwards. It is unclear how the division came about and several islands have at different times been included in both. The terms leeward and windward refer to the position of the islands in relation to the prevailing easterly wind, the more northerly group, from Anguilla down to Montserrat, being said to lie to the leeward of Barbados or of ships arriving from Europe. The Windwards, on the other hand, stretching from Dominica down to Grenada, lie in the direction from which the prevailing wind blows.

The geography of the Eastern Caribbean has largely determined its history. The first European settlers saw the islands primarily as places in which to grow crops such as sugar-cane for export. Although the flatter terrain of islands such as Barbados and Antigua was more suitable for plantation agriculture, almost every island, even the most mountainous, was used to produce tropical commodities. In the course of its history, the Eastern Caribbean has seen the cultivation of sugar, indigo, cotton, cocoa, tobacco, citrus, and, most recently, bananas.

Some of these crops were introduced into the region from outside and have fundamentally transformed the landscape. Sugar-cane was first cultivated in the Atlantic islands of Sao Tome, Madeira, and the Canaries and was introduced into the Caribbean by Spanish colonists. It spread inexorably across the Americas, and only a handful of islands, either too small or too infertile, were spared the plantation system. Citrus fruit and bananas arrived via Asia and Europe and were found to flourish in the tropical climate. Perhaps the most celebrated transplant was that of the breadfruit, brought from the South Pacific by Captain Bligh as a source of cheap carbohydrate for slaves. After the mutiny aboard the notorious Bounty, his second expedition in 1793 was more successful, and cuttings from the first breadfruit tree in the Caribbean can still be seen in St. Vincent's Botanic Gardens.

More recently, the islands' scenery and climate have been their chief assets in attracting tourists from North America and Europe. Tourism is now by far the biggest industry in the Eastern Caribbean, and every island depends on the daily arrival of jetloads of visitors for income and employment. Some, such as Barbados, are mass market destinations; others, like Dominica or St. Vincent, receive far fewer visitors because they lack extensive tourist amenities and airports capable of handling large jets. There are exclusive enclaves, like Mustique, which cater to a millionaire clientele and "down-market" package destinations.

Hurricanes and Volcanoes

The benign climatic conditions which draw hundreds of thousands of visitors to the islands have another, more unpredictable, aspect. Hurricanes are the scourge of the Eastern Caribbean, and every year between July and November the region is on more or less permanent alert for signs of impending storms which rise in the Atlantic and move northwest, sometimes extending as far as 500 miles in width. These can create wind speeds of almost 125 miles per hour with bursts of 180 miles per hour or more. A passing hurricane can be devastating, ripping roofs off houses, blowing cars over, and washing boats out of the sea and smashing them. When Hurricane Hugo carved a swathe through Montserrat in 1989, it wrecked 95 per cent of the island's houses and caused $260 million of damage.

There is concern that hurricanes are becoming more frequent, perhaps as a result of global warming or other climatic change. In 1995 a series of storms and hurricanes, of which the worst was Hurricane Luis, which cut through Anguilla, Antigua and Guadeloupe. Fortunately, warning systems and civil defense procedures have improved significantly, and loss of life is much smaller than it used to be. Most islands now have hurricane shelters in sturdy buildings such as churches and community centers.

Situated where Atlantic and Caribbean tectonic plates meet, the chain of islands from Saba down to Grenada sit on top of the boiling magma which bubbles up between the plates. The resulting upward pressure is the force behind the volcanic eruptions which have punctuated the region's history. There are still active volcanoes on Montserrat, Guadeloupe, Martinique and St. Vincent, and in St. Lucia and Dominica "fumaroles" produce regular emissions of steam which relieve the pressure below ground. Soufrière is the name given to volcanoes throughout the region, derived from the French word for the evil-smelling sulphur which sometimes accompanies the steam.

Imperial Reminders

In the middle of Bridgetown, the bustling capital of Barbados, stands a statue of Horatio Nelson, the British admiral whose exploits against the French are traditionally celebrated in British history books. He looks towards a war memorial commemorating the men of Barbados who fought for Britain in two world...