West Indies

(Spanish: Antillas, English and the franc. A ntilles, niderl. Antillen) - a group of islands located in the Ca ribbean Sea, extending the length archwise 4.5 thousand. km from the Strait of Jukatańskiej until the coast of Venezuela. Most of the mountainous islands, the climate humid, equatorial and equatorial. Plantations of sugar cane, cocoa, coffee, cotton. Area of islands is about 221 thousand. km ². Population: about 40 million [1]. Islands were discovered by Christopher Columbus in the years 1492-1504, then partially colonized by the Spaniards.