Christopher COLUMBUS claimed Saint Martin for Spain in 1493, naming it after the feast day of St. Martin of Tours,...

Resistance from native Caribs prevented colonization on Saint Vincent until 1719. France and England disputed the island for most of...

Christopher COLUMBUS claimed Saint Martin for Spain in 1493, naming it after the feast day of St. Martin of Tours,...

England and France contested Saint Lucia -- with its fine natural harbor at Castries and burgeoning sugar industry -- throughout...

Carib Indians occupied the islands of the West Indies for hundreds of years before the British and French began settlement...

In 1493, Christopher COLUMBUS named Saint Barthelemy for his brother Bartolomeo, but the island was first settled by the French...

Populated for centuries by aboriginal peoples, Puerto Rico was claimed by the Spanish Crown in 1493 after Christopher COLUMBUS' second...

Explored and settled by the Spanish in the 16th century, Panama broke with Spain in 1821 and joined a union...

The Pacific coast of Nicaragua was settled as a Spanish colony in the early 16th century. Independence from Spain was...

The US claimed uninhabited Navassa Island in 1857 for its guano. Mining took place between 1865 and 1898. The lighthouse,...

English and Irish colonists from St. Kitts first settled on Montserrat in 1632; the first African slaves arrived three decades...