So firstly my name is Alfred Matthias III 🇻🇮🇩🇲. Born in St. Thomas USVI 🇻🇮 my Father is from USVI my Mother is from Commonwealth of Dominica. So my Fathers Father is born/from Tortola BVI🇻🇬 which is not far from where I’m born, his name is Alfred Matthias Sr. So I’m trying to figure out where this last name Matthias comes from because the BVI was colonized by the Dutch and English plus in recent years (1900s) a lot of Spanish immigrants from Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic arrived and settled. Another thing I want to note is that this last name is all over USVI, I’ve talked with different people and was told individually by different people that it’s a last name found in BVI (my Grandfather/father told me) Saint Croix USVI (A man from St. Croix) St. John (A woman from USVI) St. Thomas (Obvious) so If anyone knows the origin, like what ethnicity of people it comes from let me know below 👇 Thanks.

New president, trump is back in sire everyone has read the news. I’ve heard a lot of Americans talking about getting citizenship in other countries or going back to”home.”

Now realistically I know not everyone can do so. But should we be concerned about a potential influx of Americans? Bringing in their American dollars and likely inflating prices here even further? But some of them could bring back valuable jobs and services that the Caribbean needs. What do you guys think?

When I was younger I thought that I might be part Dominican or something because of my last name but one day I decided to do some research. I saw that it apparently originates in the UK (England) and can be found in the U.S. and Canada. Just wanted to know y'all's input and strange surnames y'all have to.

For a few years, there has been a debate on whether or not Spanish should become Jamaicas second language.

Andrew Holness wanted to make it happen and many Jamaicans think it would be a good idea since Jamaica is surrounded by a bunch of Spanish speaking countries.

Many think it would be a good idea for things like business And then theres also the Jamaicans who dont like the idea because they feel like more spanish immigrants will come to Jamaica and we will lose our culture and they think Jamaicans should "work on our English first" which is just ridiculous in my opinion.

I personally dont think its a bad idea. Jamaica was meant to be a Spanish colony anyway (along side cayman islands, Belize and Trinidad) and where Jamaica is located, everyone around us speaks Spanish and it would be good for things like trading and Jamaica could end up becoming an economic hub What are your thoughts?

anybody got more knowledge on the ciguayos from ayiti?

Anybody else has had ancestral experiences where their 🇩🇴 ancestors refer to the island AS AYITI?

I've noticed that most Caribbean people view the West as an ally.

I really hope that people in the Global South are beginning to see through the deeply troubling issues facing the West:

. Extreme polarization.

. Stagnant economies.

. Declining birth rates.

. Rising suicide rates.

. A fixation on race and immigration, despite Europeans being the largest group living outside their own continent—not as immigrants but as settlers.

. The lengths Western nations go to in order to interfere with and limit the growth of other countries, just to maintain the illusion of their own superiority.

I hope this disillusionment inspires people in the Global South to focus on their own development and progress, even if it means aligning with those whom the West labels as enemies.

I'm seeing all of this unfold up close, and it's even more intense in real life.

I just want to say to Caribbean people: stay safe. Economies rise and fall, buildings can be rebuilt, but the environment and natural beauty you have are irreplaceable and deserve protection—especially from those who disregard human life and have little respect for people of other ethnicities.

I'm a non-carib living stateside who loves Brazilian churrasco restaurants. I've tried incorporating some of their sides, like plantains and fried cassava, but I can rarely find plantains that cook properly. Figured this was the place to ask. Thanks, in advance.

Let me start with this: my family roots are in Calibishie and I was raised in Miami, Florida. II’m proud to be a citizen of Dominica (not the DR), but I feel a growing frustration and sadness watching the state of politics unfold, especially in areas like healthcare, education, and citizenship. Every time I hear about the struggles people face, it feels like Dominica is being taken away from the people who cherish it most. The current strategy of selling citizenship through foreign land ownership feels like selling our culture and community piece by piece, making it harder for Dominicans to afford the land they’ve called home for generations. It’s heartbreaking to see, and I can’t help but feel that there’s a better way forward. Im not a politician, but I am highly educated by the US education system and heres what I would do if I were a government official, I know I am not, and also forgive me if some of these opinions of mine are culturally insensitive:

To make Dominica’s government more progressive and inclusive, I’d start with meaningful electoral reform. This includes regularly updating voter rolls, implementing secure voter ID cards, and creating an independent electoral commission to ensure transparency. Introducing term limits for key positions like the PRIME MINISTER!!!! would prevent power from concentrating in one place!!! making space for fresh perspectives and ideas. Strengthening these processes would address longstanding concerns about election fairness and HOPEFULLY boost public trust in the government.

Combating corruption would be another priority. Reforming the Citizenship by Investment program to increase transparency like publishing an annual report on CBI fund allocations would help citizens see how these revenues are being used. Also incentivizing people in sectors like education and healthcare with land and citizenship in exchange for a few years of working or education on the island (not for free of course) would not be a bad idea. We also need stricter anti-corruption laws and a dedicated oversight unit to hold officials accountable. Open government initiatives, where departments make decisions and budgets accessible to the public, would further build trust and encourage accountability.

Finally, implementing comprehensive anti-discrimination laws to protect marginalized groups, expanding social safety nets, and supporting gender and youth representation in politics would foster a more inclusive society. Diversifying the economy, especially through sustainable tourism and renewable energy, would reduce reliance on the CBI program and make Dominica more resilient to global changes.....But that's just me tho, however, I am just a girl

I just had to get some of these ideas off my chest feel free to disagree, tell me Im delusional, or, agree lol

Hi is anyone from 🇩🇲 that lives in Florida and wanna have a gc where we can hang talk etc ?? Looking for more people to be friends with and everything within our community

Especially from the OECS (who I believe had identical creoles?) y’all wanna make a group chat and speak only in creole? We won’t get better unless we practice. Or take some sort of online initiative for further communication? What can we do as an online community? Share any resources you may have online.

For anyone who did not originally speak it, why did you start to learn the creole of your country, E.g. Grenadian, St. Lucian, Dominican, Haitian, Seychellois etc. and how was your experience? Where was your starting point?

I’m of Grenadian heritage and I know the language is dying out in my country. I’d LOVE to keep it alive but I don’t know where to find creole content to help me.

I plan on learning basic French to give me a starting point but I’m not too sure where to go from then on.

As a Jamaican I am tired of seeing these lifeless bland modern architecture styles being built it’s all just eyesore that this point, I will always say this colonial architecture is far more aesthetic than what we have now, if you visit downtown Kingston or Spanish town in Jamaica u see all types of old architecture that’s still there and it is awesome to see even old photos of Kingston it looked far better in terms of the architecture or the colonial zone in dr and Havana Cuba man I wish our government see what we already have and expand on it why let such fine architecture go to waste.

Hi all. Just curious would it be weird for me as a white person from Ireland living in the car Caribbean to speak Patois to a Jamaican colleague? How would they react?

I'm not talking about shouting Wagwaan at them in the morning but a genuine attempt to learn some phrases.

On a Caribbean literature reading spree, would love to get some more recommendations!

Please help me satiate curiosity. How many of you are...

View Poll

I have ties to the Caribbean, but I am not born there. I noticed that Caribbean families are always building some house back home however, while searching online for housing prices, the prices are always out of the reach of a normal inhabitant. Where do people actually live on the island go to buy houses? I assume Remax is not the way people go about buying houses. Is it cheaper to purchase a house that already exist or build your own?

Cooking question!

As a Brit, we apparently love or hate Brussels Sprouts... I hated them but I've found ways to make them interesting with traditional UK roasts etc - but never used them in foreign dishes! I'm wondering if this sub has any cool ways for me to incorporate them into Caribbean meals? I imagine your flavours could make them seriously delightful! I'd love any tips from you!

Thank you <3

I’ve seen black ppl fight each other sometimes it’s West Indian vs AA or AA vs African or African vs West indian , do non black Caribbean ppl (Indians, whites, Chinese etc…) also have diaspora wars ?

Why have some Caribbean countries struggled to develop well-planned urban infrastructure with high-quality, luxurious buildings or at least proper roads for cycling infrastructure?

What are the main obstacles, whether economic, historical, or political, that have held back this kind of development?

I also have to point out that, even with the existing roads, there’s little effort being made to establish an infrastructure for electric vehicles. Adding some small electric cars and buses could make a substantial positive impact on the environment and help preserve the natural beauty of the region for the future.

I've been to most of the Dutch Caribbean islands (Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao and Sint Maarten) and i had a great time. Great islands with very diverse populations (the amount of different ethnicities, languages and cultures i saw and heard in such small islands was crazy). Locals were pretty friendly and multi-lingual too.

One commonality i noticed on all the islands i visited was that Dutch was not the common language anywhere. I heard more English and Spanish than Dutch on every island (especially on Sint Maarten and Aruba). I later found out (by speaking to locals) that Papiamento (a Portuguese creole) is the common language on Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao while English is the common language on Sint Maarten, Sint Eustatius and Saba.

Locals have told me that although they can speak Dutch (pretty decently), it is not the main language. They said Dutch is mainly used in jobs and government while the other languages (Papiamento, English and Spanish) are more widespread in daily life. I did notice that Dutch has more prominence on Curaçao and Bonaire, while English and Spanish have more prominence (than Dutch) on Aruba and Sint Maarten.

Can any Dutch Caribbean people from the islands (sorry Suriname) give me any answers?

Or if this isn't the place for this but I want to let you English-speaking Caribbean people know that I've created a sub specifically for the Anglo Caribbean to discuss issues that specifically relate to our side of the Caribbean. It's ---> r/AngloCaribbean. Go join if you're interested.

First, for some context. I live in the smaller island of a twin-island microstate. The country is a rump state of the British Leeward Islands and is composed of two unrelated islands.

While most people I have met appear to be against the idea of Caribbean integration, there is still a vocal minority that advocates for the revival of the OECS or CARICOM or whatever. I hope some of you will respectfully consider the following:

a. Closer Caribbean integration will not improve our economies. I am not advocating for the abolishment of Caribbean trade. In these current circumstances, many countries have already achieved developed status. A prime example of this is Saint Kitts and Nevis. Saint Kitts and Nevis has the highest Human Development Index in the Caribbean, and instead of going on about how we are "Caribbean brothers and sisters", they have respected the federal rights of their component entities, and leave failed states like Antigua and Barbuda and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in the dust. They have done this while not stealing other countries' labour.

A contrast, as mentioned earlier, is Antigua and Barbuda. Their government pushes a narrative that the Caribbean is a single family, and they have attempted to structure their country in a similar way. Antigua and Barbuda is one of the most unequal countries in the world (gini coefficient), stealing immigrant labour from countries like Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, and Dominica. If they stopped this, they could form an independent and diversified economic system like the Bahamas. They could also respect the rights of their component entities and allow them to compete with each other, this differing from Caribbean integration as they are already a single nation. I find it ridiculous that people consider Dominicans and say Vincentians to be one people group. This isn't an anti-immigration post by the way.

b. Respect current Caribbean borders

If Caribbean countries focused on themselves rather than each other, countries would be more willing to compete and waste less resources on useless wars in say Grenada (instigated by the OECS) or Haiti. We shouldn't be deciding how other countries are run.

c. Caribbean integration would especially affect smaller countries

Barbados, Trinidad, Guyana, and Jamaica have a reputation of not respecting "small island folk", and that doesn't even matter. As long as they keep to themselves, who cares? But how would you feel if one of these countries wanted to become a "regional power", policing around the poorer and less influential states. Many people in these countries want to be the regional hegemon, and they will use your country to achieve this.

d. I'm not trying to push some kind of political ideology

I'm not part of some radical political movement. But, my island is now outnumbered by labourers who refuse to speak our language or integrate into our culture. I can elaborate on this. This is an extreme example however, and this almost certainly does not exist in your country. I support taking in immigrants and refugees as long as they strive to be just as loyal to a country as its current inhabitants are, and leave their past (conflicting) values behind.

e. A rant

Some will be offended and will go on about how the small island states rely on the larger countries for everything, and that anyone who seeks to change this "hates their identity". I love my identity. I love my country, and I identify with it before I identify with the Caribbean. I love how we are so unique, just like how every other Caribbean country is. You love your country and I love my country, but the people who push Caribbean unity wish to strip our identity from us to create a Caribbean fusion. We must free ourselves from CARICOM, the OECS, and other failed institutions!

f. Conclusion

I just want to make this clear again. I don't dislike other countries. I just value my country's identity over some artificial Caribbean one. If there were any mistakes or discrepancies, please tell me so I can clarify. I look forward to a respectful discussion :)