Leeward Islands

The Leeward Islands /ˈliːwərd/ are a group of islands in the West Indies. They are the northern islands of the Lesser Antilles chain. As a group they start east of Puerto Rico and reach southward to Dominica. They are situated where the northeastern Caribbean Sea meets the western Atlantic Ocean. The more southerly part of the Lesser Antilles chain is called the Windward Islands.

Explanation of name

The Leeward Islands are called such because they were more leeward (away from the wind) to sailing ships arriving in the New World than the Windward Islands, given that the prevailing trade winds in the West Indies blow east to west. The trans-Atlantic currents and winds that provided the fastest route across the ocean brought these ships to the rough dividing line between the Windward and Leeward islands. Vessels in the Atlantic slave trade departing from the African Gold Coast and Gulf of Guinea would first encounter the southeasternmost islands of the Lesser Antilles in their west-northwesterly heading to final destinations in the Caribbean and North and Central America.

Geography

The Leeward Islands fall under a number of national administrations.

There is some active volcanism within the islands, with a notable eruption in Montserrat in the recent past.

History

Anciently, the islands were inhabited by the Carib people, who gave their name to the Caribbean, and the Taíno people. Some descendants of these groups still survive in the islands.

The islands were amongst the first parts of the Americas to fall under the control of Spanish Empire. European contact commenced with Christopher Columbus' second voyage, and many of the islands' names originate from this period, e.g. Montserrat was named for Santa Maria de Montserrate, after the Blessed Virgin of the Monastery of Montserrat, which is located on the Mountain of Montserrat, the national shrine of Catalonia.