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Dividing
Up The New World
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The
Spanish wanted only the larger, richer islands. The British and French
fought for the rest.
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Copyright Notice
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Although
the Spanish claimed possession of most of the Caribbean,
they did not attempt seriously to settle most islands
except for Hispaniola, Puerto Rico and Cuba,
the largest islands.
They
found far more profit in extracting gold from
the Indians on the mainland of South America .
Also, the Spanish preferred not to deal with the warring
Caribs.
Through
default, the Spanish left many islands to the British,
French and Dutch, allowing them to fight out any claims among
themselves.
The
British and French fought continually over their respective territories,
sometimes swapping them back and forth as many
as a dozen times.
On
some islands today, such as Dominica and St. Lucia, locals speak a
blend of both English and French, a patois
carryover from the continuous political turmoil.
And although these islands ended up belonging to the British, names
of the towns and major landmarks kept their French names, even until
today.
Pirates of the
Caribbean
Sugar
and Slavery
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