West Indies

The West Indies are the islands of the Caribbean Sea, from the Bahamas and the Greater Antilles to the Lesser Antilles, named after Columbus's belief that he had reached Asia. From the 16th century Spain, Britain, France, the Netherlands and Denmark built sugar colonies there worked by enslaved Africans and trading with Europe and North America. The British islands formed the short-lived West Indies Federation from 1958 to 1962.