Caribbean Nations

[OyCrumbler]

Originally Posted by AntonioR

While the DR has not been lucky getting into the CARICOM despite it’s the country that will most benefit for it (and I think the CARICOM countries know this and that is why they always come up with an excuse fo not accepting the DR in that year), lately winds appear to be blowing in a different direction in Kingston. Jamaica and the DR are in fact getting closer. Not long ago a Jamaican delegation went to Santo Domingo to meet with Dominican government officials and see what the DR has done in the economic front. The Jamaicans noticed that when Jamaica became indepedent in the 1960’s it bad a wealthier economy than the DR and now it’s the DR that is ahead in that front.

Personally, I like Jamaica and Jamaicans (that one of my best friends when I was younger was Jamaican no doubt set the tune for that, plus I’ve met many Jamaicans after that. All I can say about them is that Jamaicans are some really good people. So the getting closer between the DR and Jamaica sounds good to me.

Now, I don’t see Cuba and Jamaica getting closer, and with Puerto Rico I think that would be via Uncle Sam.

Historically, this isn’t the first time Kingston and Santo Domingo get closer. In 1808/09 when the Dominicans rose up against the ruling French (basically finishing off what the Haitians started earlier minus the massacres, the French were ruling over the Dominicans since 1802), England was giving the Dominicans a helping hand. Guess from where all the English help came from? Kingston, Jamaica. Each and every single help. In fact, it was a resident of Kingston that took the keys of Santo Domingo away from the French and gave it to the Dominicans. Most of the help was from Kingston, Jamaica and San Juan, Puerto Rico.

I'm not saying that DR isn't close to or is pulling away from other English speaking countries. I'm saying that its ties to other nearby Spanish speaking countries (and the US) are closer. You can see that in migration patterns, travel patterns, media consumption, and trade.

I also expect Jamaica to do better. They banned leaded gasoline in 2000 and they started reducing usage a bit earlier than that. It should pay pretty good dividends as you get generations who didn't have that during their formative years. It potentially has a good shot at being a major transshipment point, so that's helpful as well.

Originally Posted by kyle19125

English is very widely spoken among the independent island nations and in the Dominican Republic, Guyana and Suriname despite the prevalence of Creole. The French-speaking component comprises Haiti, Guadeloupe and Martinique with neither of the latter two as independent nations. Puerto Rico is the only other participant beyond the DR that is Spanish-speaking and as a US territory out of the conversation as well.

Yes, English is widely spoken. So is Spanish, and one of my questions was if you're including countries lining the Caribbean that are the continent. DR is in multiple organizations with Central American countries and a good deal of their media consumption, if not local or the US, comes from other Spanish speaking countries. This likely is similar for English speaking West Indies where if the media is not local to the country or from the US, then a good portion of it is from other English speaking countries.