The island ofDominica was traditionally considered a part of theLeeward Islands until 1940, when it was transferred from theBritish Leeward Islands colony to the British Windward Islands. It now composes the fourth sovereign state in the group.
Barbados (until 1885) andTobago (until 1889) were also part of theBritish Windward Islands colony but are not today regarded as being part of the Windward Islands grouping.Martinique is the only windward island that is anoverseas département ofFrance, which it has been since 1946 and which is 7,000 kilometers away fromParis.
The prevailingtrade winds in theWest Indies blow east to west. The combination of trans-Atlanticcurrents and winds that provided the fastest route across the ocean broughtsailing ships heading to theNew World to the rough dividing line between two groups of islands. Those that fell towindward became the Windward Islands, toleeward theLeeward Islands.
Sailing vessels departing from Africa would first encounter the southeasternmost "Windward" islands of the Lesser Antilles in their west-northwesterly heading to the final destinations in theCaribbean,Central America, andNorthern America. The chain of Windward Islands forms a part of the easternmost boundary of theCaribbean Sea.[1][2]
However, even in modern usage in languages other than English, notably Dutch, French, and Spanish, all of theLesser Antilles from theVirgin Islands toTrinidad and Tobago are known as the 'Windward Islands' (Bovenwindse Eilanden in Dutch,Îles du Vent in French, andIslas de Barlovento in Spanish). TheABC Islands and the other islands along the Venezuelan coast, known in English as theLeeward Antilles, are known in languages other than English as the 'Leeward Islands'.
^ab"Windward Islands". Encyclopædia Britannica.[A] line of West Indian islands constituting the southern arc of the Lesser Antilles, at the eastern end of the Caribbean Sea, between latitudes 12° and 16° N and longitudes 60° and 62° W. They include, from north to south, the English-speaking islands of Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent, and Grenada, and, between Saint Vincent and Grenada, the chain of 32 islands known as the Grenadines. Though near the general area, Trinidad and Tobago (at the south end of the group) and Barbados (just east) are usually not considered part of the Windward Islands.
†Physiographically, thesecontinental islands are not part of the volcanic Windward Islands arc, although sometimes grouped with them culturally and politically.
#Bermuda is an isolatedNorth Atlanticoceanic island, physiographically not part of the Lucayan Archipelago, Antilles, Caribbean Sea nor North American continental nor South American continental islands. It is grouped with theNorthern American region, but occasionally also with the Caribbean region culturally.
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