Spanish West Indies

• The Bay Islands were ceded to England in 1643 and then to Honduras in 1861.
• Colony of Santiago—Jamaica was lost to England in 1655, confirmed in the Treaty of Madrid (1670).
• The Cayman Islands were lost to England in the Treaty of Madrid (1670).
• Haiti (western Hispaniola) was lost to France in the Treaty of Ryswick in 1697 (Saint-Domingue).
• Trinidad was lost to Britain during the Invasion of Trinidad (1797), confirmed in the Treaty of Amiens in 1802.
• Captaincy General of Santo Domingo (eastern Hispaniola) gained its independence from Spain as Spanish Haiti in 1821, then from Haiti as the Dominican Republic, and again from Spain at the end of the Dominican Restoration War in 1865, when the second Dominican Republic was proclaimed.[2]
• Captaincy General of Cuba was lost to the United States in 1898, after the Spanish–American War concluded by the 1898 Treaty of Paris.
• Captaincy General of Puerto Rico was lost to the United States in 1898, after the Spanish–American War concluded by the 1898 Treaty of Paris.

Today, the term Spanish Caribbean or Hispanophone Caribbean refers to the Spanish-speaking areas in the Caribbean Sea, chiefly Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico.[3] An even broader definition can include the Caribbean coasts of Mexico, Central America (Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, & Panama), and South America (Colombia and Venezuela), however aside from Panama, Venezuela, and parts of Colombia, most of these countries share little with the Spanish speaking Caribbean islands culturally.[4] It includes regions where Spanish is the main language, and where the legacy of Spanish settlement and colonization influences culture, through religion, language, cuisine, and so on. The varieties of Spanish that predominate in this region are known collectively as Caribbean Spanish.

The Spanish Caribbean (Cuba, Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico) can be considered a separate subregion of Latin America, culturally distinct from both continental Spanish speaking countries and the non-Spanish speaking Caribbean. Apart from culture, the Spanish Caribbean is different racially as well, in comparison to the majority unmixed black non-Spanish Caribbean and the majority Mestizo continental Latin America, Mulattos and Tri-racials are most dominant in this region. The Spanish Caribbean also has higher Canarian influence compared to continental Latin America, making them the primary European ancestral group. And more French ancestry, due to white French fleeing Haiti after independence to the surrounding Hispanic Caribbean, around 18% of surnames in the Spanish Caribbean are of French origin, second highest after Spanish. This mixture of European (especially Canarian), West African, and Taino, is heavily reflected in the culture.

The term is used in contrast to Anglophone Caribbean, French Caribbean, and Dutch Caribbean, which are other modern linguistic divisions of the Caribbean region. The Hispanophone Caribbean is a part of the wider Hispanic America, which includes all the Spanish-speaking countries in the Americas. Historically, coastal areas of Spanish Florida and the Caribbean South America (cf. the Spanish Main) were closely tied to the Spanish Caribbean. During the period of Spanish settlement and colonization of the New World, the Spanish West Indies referred to those settlements in islands of the Caribbean Sea under political administration of Spain, as in the phrase "a 1765 cedula authorized seven sea ports, in addition to the port of San Juan, to trade with the Spanish Caribbean."[5] Until the early 19th century these territories were part of the Viceroyalty of New Spain.

In a modern sense, the Caribbean islands of Colombia could be included in the Hispanophone Caribbean as well, due to the fact they are located in the Caribbean, but not in the Antilles.

Below is a list of islands belonging geographically to the Greater and Lesser Antilles and that were under Spanish rule in various stages of history, until it became independent from Spain. Several islands which were previously largely under Spanish rule, but since they were passed into the domain of France, England or the Netherlands, are no longer considered part of the Spanish Caribbean.[6][7]

In addition, the Colombian islands of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina are located in the Caribbean, but are not part of the Antilles. Under intermittent periods of Spanish rule, these islands were administered as part of the Spanish Main (initially Guatemala, later New Granada).

West Indian islands that were under Spanish rule

Political entity	Islands of the West Indies	Status
Cuba	Isla de Cuba — Isla de la Juventud — Sabana-Camagüey Archipelago — Cayo Blanco del Sur — Cayo Levisa — Cayo Los Ensenachos — Cayo Largo del Sur — Jardines de la Reina — Cayo Guillermo — Cayo Coco — Cayo Romano — Cayo Guajaba — Cayo Sabinal — Cayo Santa María — Cayo Paredón Grande — Colorados Archipelago — Cayo Saetía — Cayo Blanco	Independent republic from Spain since 1898
Dominican Republic	Eastern Hispaniola — Saona — Beata — Catalina — Alto Velo — Cayo Levantado	Independent republic from Haiti since 1844. Independent from Spain since 1865
Puerto Rico	Isla de Puerto Rico — Culebra — Vieques — Mona — Monito — Desecheo — Caja de Muertos — Isla de Cabras — Cayo Batata — Isla Cardona — Cayos de Caña Gorda — Culebrita — Icacos — Cayo Luis Peña — Isla Magueyes — Cayo Norte — Isla Palominos — Isla de Ratones — Isleta de San Juan — Cayo Santiago — Spanish Virgin Islands	Commonwealth of the United States, independent from Spain since 1898
Venezuela	Isla de Margarita — Coche — Cubagua (form the state of Nueva Esparta) Los Monjes — Las Aves — Los Roques (Gran Roque, Francisquí, Isla Larga, Nordisquí, Madrisquí, Crasquí, Cayo Espenquí, Cayo Carenero, Cayo de Agua, Dos Mosquises, Cayo Sal, Cayo Grande) — Los Hermanos — Los Frailes — Aves — La Sola — La Tortuga (Cayo Herradura — Islas Los Tortuguillos) — La Orchila — La Blanquilla — Los Testigos — Patos (ceded from British Trinidad in 1942,[8] form the Federal Dependencies of Venezuela)	Independent republic from Spain since 1811, recognized by Spain in 1845

• (in English and Spanish) "Method of Securing the Ports and Populations of All the Coasts of the Indies" was written in 1694 and discusses the Spanish West Indies