Islands, enclosing the Caribbean Sea.
Lying between southeastern North America and northern South America, they may be divided into the following groups: the Greater Cuba , Jamaica , Hispaniola ( Haiti and the Dominican Republic ), and Puerto Rico ; the Lesser Antilles, including the Virgin Islands , Windward Islands , Leeward Islands , Barbados , and the islands in the southern Caribbean Sea north of Venezuela (generally considered to include Trinidad and Tobago ); and the Bahamas . Although physiographically not a part of the West Indies, {{link=Bermuda">Bermuda is often included.