Day Two of Presentations

 Barbados- Rhianna is from Barbados. They used to need all the instruments to record a song and now they just need the keyboard that has everything on it. They used to make their instruments out of tree bark.

British Virgin islands- good argument. Christmas, carnival, April Regatta- sailing festival. Culture has more of a Caribbean influence.

Martinique- sugar cane became a huge crop on the island and slavery was used to maintain the crops. During Napoleonic wars the demand for sugar dropped and cause the economy on the island to drop. Racial tensions still exist on the island.

Guadeloupe- known as the butterfly shaped island. Imported slaves to work with the sugar cane.  Bananas was a big export. Was once controlled by the French. Racial protests about low wage and high price of living occurred in 2009.

Saint Lucia- good argument. Dependence on tourism has caused a downfall in the economy. Tourists become a victim to crime because locals take advantage of them. Tourism has a negative effect on the crop exportation.

Saint Vincent and the grenadines- natives are provided with jobs due to tourism and new industries. Tourism is beneficial for the islands economy. There is a mutual relationship because the tourist enjoy the beautiful island and the locals gain jobs.

Barbados- Island is known as little England. Sugar industries was going down due to other islands also producing it. Tourism has positively influenced their economy. The island was hit by two hurricanes back to back. Still belong to England.

Day One of Presentations

Anguilla- they have a festival the first Monday and Friday of every other month. Festival bots are small festivals inside one large festival. Didn’t see or understand an argument

Costa Rica- land is used for farming exports. Rainforest is a big tourist item. Children don't leave the house till they are 30-40

Haiti- gained independence from slave revolt. Ruined their economy. Many dictatorships in Haiti.

 Grenada- made of three islands. French made island agricultural for cash crops. Britain introduced sports such as cricket. The United States brought democracy to the island.

Dominica- south of Guadeloupe. 751 square miles. Littering and pollution is an issue. Fees for littering have rose to try and stop the pollution

Dominican Republic- many racial issues on the island. People have problems with their sense of belonging and racial identity.

Curacao and Bonaire- the coral reefs surrounding the islands is being destroyed and causing negative issues for the people that live there. Most of the people that live there rely on fishing as a source of income and the population of fish has decreased due to the coral reef destruction. 

Extra Information About the Islands

Curacao has over fifty nationalities, but Afro Caribbeans make up most of the population.

Curacao and Bonaire celebrate many different holidays on the island. A celebration known as Carnival is the most popular celebration they have.






 Carnival is actually celebrated on the islands all throughout the Caribbean.




A lot of the music that is played during these celebrations is music that was actually made on the island. Below is a link to some of the local music.

http://youtu.be/_CWyvSncdNM

Overall, most of the presentations were very good, but I do think some people misunderstood the directions and they did not realize tis presentation was suppose to be about the final paper we are getting ready to write. A lot of people wrote about the cultures and history of their islands, but they did not have any kind of argument which I think is where things became confusing.

Coral reefs surrounding Curacao and Bonaire 

Curacao and Bonaire are surrounded by coral reefs. These coral reefs are highly depended on by the islands and they are very profitable. The people that live on these islands use the coral reefs to fish because the reefs attract many fish. There are a lot of fisheries set up on the islands and this is how many of the people that live there make a living. These coral reefs also attract many tourists bringing in a lot of money to the islands. Tourists love to snorkel and see the reefs ans fish surrounding them. 

Not only do these coral reefs make the islands a lot of money, but they also keep the islands and the people safe. They eat disease causing bacteria that is in the ocean so the bacteria never reaches the shore where it can cause people swimming in the water to become ill. When storms build up in the ocean the coral reefs act as a barrier and they keep the islands safe from destruction. 

Though these reefs are some of the best in the Caribbean, they are being destroyed at a rapid pace. The water near these reefs are being over fished and causing a lack of fish in the area which the reefs also depend on. 

The popularity of tourists that come to the islands are causing constant construction of new buildings and places for the tourists. The trash left from the construction is washing into the ocean and polluting the water near the coral reefs causing them damage. Coral bleaching has become a new thing on these islands to make the reefs "prettier" this is killing the reefs as well.

 With the reefs dying at such a rapid pace the bad, disease causing bacteria can grow in the water. The reefs are not there to eat the bacteria which is allowing it to move along in the ocean and can get near humans swimming in the area causing them to become ill. The destruction of these coral reefs has an impact on more than just the reefs, it impacts humans as well.

Curacao and Bonaire

Over View:

Curacao and Bonaire are two very small islands located in the southern part of the Caribbean. They are about forty miles off the Venezuelan coast. Curacao is the island in the middle of Aruba, which is to the West and Bonaire is to the East. Curacao is about 173 square miles while Bonaire is only 95 square miles. These islands were claimed by Spain in 1527 but later claimed by the Dutch in 1643. Curacao and Bonaire are now their own countries since the Netherland Antilles ended in 2010.

• The languages for Curacao and Bonaire are: Dutch (official language), Papiamentu, English, Spanish.

• The Races on the islands include: mixed black, Carib Amerindian, white, east Asian.

• Religions include: Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish.

• The cultures in these two islands are very unique. The language, music, and dance tie back to an African society.

• There are many tourists that visit these islands. A number of tourists that visit these two islands in a year almost triples the population of the two countries.

• Curacao's capital is Willemstad and Bonaire's capital is Kralendijk.

                     Interesting Facts:

•  Bonaire has a pink beach which is caused by crushed shells and tiny sea creatures called foraminifera.
•  Curacao has a democratic government
•  Netherlands Antillean guilder is the main currency in Curacao, but US currency is accepted due to all the tourism.
• Bonaire recently changed their currency to the US dollar in 2011.
•  The average temperature is 82 on these two islands.
•  Bonaire is one hour ahead of the Eastern Standard Time.
• The people that live there spell curaçao as Kursow, which is a Papiamentu word.
• The islands are both surrounded by coral reefs and snorkeling is very popular for the tourists.