LESSER ANTILLES

formerly Caribbees, long arc of small islands in the Caribbean Sea extending in a northsouth direction from the Virgin Islands to Trinidad and then in an eastwest direction from Margarita to Aruba off the northern coast of Venezuela. They comprise 6 percent of the total land area of the West Indies. The term Caribbees derives from the Carib Indians, who inhabited many of the islands at the time of their European discovery. Since the early times of Spanish colonization the Lesser Antilles have been divided into two groups; the division was adopted by the French, Dutch, and Germans. The Spanish names of the subgroups reflect the importance to the region of the prevailing easterly trade winds; they are Barlovento (Windward, or Upwind) and Sotavento (Leeward, or Downwind). The islands called windward are those ranging south from Dominica to Grenada; those that arc generally westerly from Guadeloupe to the Virgin Islands are the leeward group. The eastwest chain of islands, close to the South American coast, are arid because the tradewinds drop their moisture on the Windward group. Three small islands (Margarita, Coche, and Cubagua) form the Venezuelan state of Nueva Esparta (q.v.), and some 70 others, mostly uninhabited, also belong to Venezuela. See also Leeward Islands; Windward Islands; Netherlands Antilles.