Caribbean in 1492: Colonization · 440

Cultures are not sports teams. This atlas explains practices and histories without superior/inferior scores. Major lingua francas and heritage languages appear together; minority tongues are named where they structure identity. Through staples, techniques and social meals — not tourist clichés alone — with note of regional variation.

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Indigenous peoples settle the archipelago. Enslaved African labor fuels plantation wealth. Only successful slave revolt creates a Black republic. Britain, France, Spain, Netherlands end slavery unevenly. Spanish-American War shifts regional power. Most British colonies become nations.