The Caribbean (Spanish: Caribe; French: Caraïbe; Dutch: Cariben) is a region of the Americas consisting of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (most of which enclose the sea), and the surrounding coasts. Located southeast of Northern America, east of Central America, and to the north and west of South America, the Caribbean is commonly reckoned as a subregion of North America.

Situated largely on the Caribbean Plate, the area comprises more than 7,000 islands, islets, reefs, and cayes. The West Indies consist of the Antilles, divided into the larger Greater Antilles which bound the sea on the north and the Lesser Antilles on the east, and the Bahamas which are northeast of the sea. Bermuda lies much further to the north in the Atlantic Ocean and is sometimes included in the West Indies.

Geopolitically, the West Indies are organized into 28 territories including sovereign states, overseas departments, and dependencies. At one time, there was a short-lived country called the Federation of the West Indies composed of ten English-speaking Caribbean territories.

The name “Caribbean” is named after the Caribs, one of the dominant Amerindian groups in the region at the time of European contact during the late 15th century. The analogous “West Indies” originates from Christopher Columbus’ idea that he had landed in the Indies (then meaning all of south and east Asia) when he had actually reached the Americas.

The Spanish term Antillas was commonly assigned to the newly discovered lands; stemming from this, “Sea of the Antilles” is a common alternate name for the Caribbean Sea in various European languages.

Former colonial, trading and other influences are very strong and can be seen everywhere. Most obviously, perhaps, are the main languages - English, Spanish, French and Dutch - of those who were engaged in colonialism, sugarcane growing, slavery, fighting, mining and trading. And politically, here are some examples: British crown colonies are British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands and Turks and Caicos Islands; British dependent territories are Anguilla and Montserrat; the British Monarch is head of state of the independent countries of Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Grenada, Jamaica, St Kitts and Nevis, St Vincent and the Grenadines and St Lucia; Guadeloupe (with its arondissements (divisions) St Martin and St Barthelemy), Martinique and Guyane are French overseas departments; and Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles are autonomous members of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.