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Food Culture: Highly influenced by African, Spanish, and French cuisines, food from the Caribbean is frequently describes simply as tropical. The early cuisine was highly spiced with chili peppers and grilled on early makeshift barbecues.
European colonists had their say on the food culture, introducing, among other things, sugarcane, coconut, cilantro, onions, garlic, oranges, limes, and mangoes. Eventually, the African slave trade brought additional foods and influences.
The Caribbean cuisine of the present day combines all of these influences (albeit at varying levels in the different countries) into culinary delights such as ackee and flavorful jerk pork. Of course, seafood is also a staple in these island nations with cracked conch being one of the region’s most popular foods.
One of the great food traditions of the region is pepper-pot stew, which was historically unique each time it was made as the recipes were not formally handed down but observed and modified at will. Whatever your tastes, you are likely to find a pleasing meal in this diverse region—just don’t forget your bottle of rum!
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While diminutive in size, the island nations of the Caribbean have played an important role in history, not only of the Americas, but to the western world as a whole. Originally colonized by European settlers in the 1500s, mostly for profit, European cultures had a significant impact on the region. Slaves were also brought into the colonies, thus new cultures, which melded parts of the settlers' and slaves' with the resources of the tropical islands, were born.
While Spain claimed the lion's share, the British, French, Dutch, Danish, and others also colonized the region. Of course, all of the wealth in the region spawned a new breed of thieves which preyed on the rich: pirates.
Eventually, the people of the Caribbean worked toward independence; for example, Haiti's slave rebellion earned the people their freedom and distinction as the first black republic in the world. Some of the islands, however, still live under European rule. To learn more about the Caribbean, please see the Research the Continents page.
