San Blas Islands, formerly Mulatas, archipelago off the northeast coast of Panama. It consists of 332 coral islands. The inhabitants are almost pure-blooded aborigines of Carib origin; fishing...

Cannibalism [Span. caníbal, referring to the Carib], eating of human flesh by other humans. The charge of cannibalism is a common insult, and it is likely that some alleged cannibal groups hav...

Carolina, city (1990 pop. 177,806), Puerto Rico. Located 7 mi (11 km) SE of San Juan, it is a residential suburb of the capital, as well as a commercial and industrial center. Pharmaceuticals ...

Dominica, officially Commonwealth of Dominica, republic (2005 est. pop. 69,000) consisting of the island of Dominica (290 sq mi/750 sq km), located in the Windward Islands, West Indies. Roseau...

Arawak, linguistic stock of indigenous people who came from South America and, at the time of the Spanish Conquest, occupied the islands of the Greater Antilles, the Bahamas, Trinidad, and oth...

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, island nation (2005 est. pop. 118,000), 150 sq mi (388 sq km), West Indies, in the Windward Islands. It comprises the island of Saint Vincent (140 sq mi/363 s...

Ponce de León, Juan, c.1460–1521, Spanish explorer, first Westerner to reach Florida. He served against the Moors of Granada, and in 1493 he accompanied Columbus on his second voyage to Americ...

Characin, common name for members of the Characidae, a large and diverse family comprising 700 species of freshwater fishes. The characins are related to the carp and the catfish. They are fou...

Santo Domingo, former Spanish colony on the island of Hispaniola. The name has also been used for the Dominican Republic, and in early days it applied to Haiti. Columbus visited the island in ...

Couvade, imitation by the father of many of the concomitants of childbirth, at the time of his wife's parturition. The father may retire into seclusion as well as observe various taboos and re...