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AWest Indian is anative or inhabitant of theWest Indies (theAntilles and theLucayan Archipelago). According to theOxford English Dictionary (OED), the termWest Indian in 1597 described the indigenous inhabitants of the West Indies, by 1661 the term defined "an inhabitant or native of the West Indies, of European origin or descent." In the 1950s, coinciding with decolonization and the arrival ofAfro-Caribbean migrants in the United Kingdom,West Indian referred to those who were Black. Inclusively, in 1961 all inhabitants of theWest Indies Federation were termedWest Indian regardless of their descent, besides West indianIndo-Caribbean people sometimes also use the termEast Indian West Indian.[1] TheOED now defines it simply as a citizen of any West Indies nation. Some West Indian people reserve this term for citizens or natives of theBritish West Indies only, to the exclusion of not just the Hispanophones, but also French and Dutch West Indians.
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