Editing History of the Caribbean (section)

=== Other European powers ===
[[File:Political Evolution of Central America and the Caribbean 1700 and on.gif|thumb|300px|Political evolution of Central America and the Caribbean from 1700 to present]]
Although the Caribbean remained strategically important for the Spanish Empire, other European powers established a presence in the Caribbean after Spain's main interest turned toward [[New Spain|Mexico]] and [[Viceroyalty of Peru|Peru]], where there were dense indigenous populations that could be forced to labor and where there were rich deposits of silver. The [[Dutch Empire|Dutch]], the [[French colonial empire|French]] and the [[English colonial empire|English]] conquered islands claimed by Spain but not effectively controlled. For European powers without colonies in the Americas, the islands presented possibilities for commercial development of sugar plantations on the model established by the Spanish, using enslaved African laborers.<ref>[[James Lockhart (historian)|Lockhart, James]] and [[Stuart Schwartz|Schwartz, Stuart]].''Early Latin America'', New York: Cambridge University Press 1983, 62-80</ref> Also important was that the islands could serve as bases for trade and piracy in the region. [[Piracy in the Caribbean]] was widespread during the colonial era, especially between 1640 and 1680.  The term "[[buccaneer]]" is often used to describe a pirate operating in this region.<ref>Tony Martin, ''Caribbean History: From Pre-colonial Origins to the Present'' (2011)</ref>

* [[Francis Drake]] was an English [[privateer]] who attacked many Spanish settlements.  His most celebrated Caribbean exploit was the capture of the [[Spanish Silver Train]] at [[Nombre de Dios, Colón|Nombre de Dios]] in March 1573.
* British colonization of [[Bermuda]] began in 1612. British West Indian colonization began with [[Saint Kitts]] in 1623 and [[Barbados]] in 1627. The former was used as a base for British colonization of neighboring [[Nevis]] (1628), [[Antigua]] (1632),<ref>{{cite web |year=2009 |url = http://www.anguilla-vacation.com/island/history-culture|title = History & Culture|publisher = anguilla-vacation.com| access-date = 2009-05-07}}</ref> [[Montserrat]] (1632), [[Anguilla]] (1650) and [[Tortola]] (1672).
* French colonization too began on St. Kitts, the British and the French splitting the island amongst themselves in 1625. It was used as a base to colonize the much larger [[Guadeloupe]] (1635) and [[Martinique]] (1635), [[Collectivity of Saint Martin|St. Martin]] (1648), [[Saint Barthélemy|St Barts]] (1648), and [[St Croix]] (1650), but was lost completely to Britain in 1713. From Martinique the French colonized [[St. Lucia]] (1643), [[Grenada]] (1649), [[Dominica]] (1715), and [[Saint Vincent (island)|St. Vincent]] (1719).
* English admiral [[William Penn (admiral)|William Penn]] seized Jamaica in 1655 and it remained under British rule for over 300 years.<ref>{{cite web|year = 2009|url = http://www.cayman.gov.ky/servlet/page?_pageid=560&_dad=portal30&_schema=PORTAL30&_mode=3|title = History|publisher = The government of the Cayman Islands|access-date = 2009-05-07|url-status=dead|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060427100313/http://www.cayman.gov.ky/servlet/page?_pageid=560&_dad=portal30&_schema=PORTAL30&_mode=3|archive-date = 2006-04-27}}</ref>
* In 1625 French buccaneers established a settlement on [[Tortuga (Haiti)|Tortuga]], just to the north of Hispaniola, that the Spanish were never able to permanently destroy despite several attempts. The settlement on Tortuga was officially established in 1659 under the commission of [[King Louis XIV]]. In 1670 Cap François (later Cap Français, now [[Cap-Haïtien]]) was established on the mainland of Hispaniola. Under the 1697 [[Treaty of Ryswick]], Spain officially ceded the western third of Hispaniola<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/266962/Hispaniola |title=Hispaniola |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=4 January 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://cardiostart.org/blog/ |title=Dominican Republic 2014 |access-date=24 April 2014}}</ref> to France.<ref>{{cite web|first=Richard A.|last=Haggerty|title=Haiti, A Country Study: French Settlement and Sovereignty|url= http://countrystudies.us/haiti/7.htm|publisher=US Library of Congress|year=1989|access-date=2009-03-30}}</ref>
* The Dutch took over [[Saba (island)|Saba]], [[Sint Maarten|Saint Martin]], [[Sint Eustatius]], [[Curaçao]], [[Bonaire]], [[Aruba]],<ref>{{cite web |date=November 6, 2007|url = http://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/destination-hunter/north-america/caribbean-atlantic/aruba/aruba-history-heritage.html|title = Aruba - History and Heritage|work = [[Smithsonian (magazine)|Smithsonian]]| access-date = 2009-05-07}}</ref> Tobago, [[St. Croix]], [[Tortola]], [[Anegada]], [[Virgin Gorda]], [[Anguilla]] and a short time Puerto Rico, together called the [[Dutch West Indies]], in the 17th century.
* [[Denmark-Norway]] first ruled part, then all of the present [[U.S. Virgin Islands]] since 1672, [[Denmark]] sold sovereignty over the [[Danish West Indies]] in 1917 to the United States, of which they are still a part.