Estonia has always attracted the attentions of others, due to it facing the Baltic Sea. Because of that, Estonia’s history is riddled with periods of invasion by various foreign powers. Before the Middle Ages, locals and Vikings from nearby Sweden skirmished with one another for control over the Baltic region (at one point, the Estonians […]
The Alpine Mountain region includes the entire countries of Switzerland and Liechtenstein, and portions of Austria, France, Germany & Italy. This mountain region fascinated Europeans as far back as the Roman era. Remains of Roman baths, villas, arenas and temples can be found in alpine towns such as Aosta (named for Augustus) in Italy, Martigny […]
The U.S. Virgin Islands (BVI), located between Puerto Rico and the British Virgin Islands, consist of three islands (St. Croix, St. John, and St. Thomas). The most populous of the three is St. Thomas (whose population is 51,634 – out of USVI’s total population of 104,737). USVI’s capital, Charlotte Amalie, is located at St. Thomas. […]
In Old San Juan, Calle Fortaleza and Calle San Francisco have everything from T-shirt emporiums to jewelry stores to shops that specialize in made-to-order Panama hats. Running perpendicular to those streets is Calle Cristo, lined with factory-outlet stores, including Coach, Gant, Guess, and Ralph Lauren. On weekends, artisans sell their wares at stalls around Paseo […]
The tropical island of Puerto Rico is located in the middle of the Caribbean Basin, between the Greater Antillean island of Hispaniola (Dominican Republic & Haiti), and a chain of Lesser Antillean islands to its east, such as the U.S. Virgin Islands. Puerto Rico (Spanish for “Rich Port”), was originally populated by Taíno Indians before […]
Jamaica, an island within the western Caribbean, is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles. Located 145 km south of Cuba and 191 km. west of Hispaniola (Haiti & Dominican Republic), it immediately became a Spanish possession after Columbus’ discovery of it in 1494. With the British’s growing interest in the Caribbean, they drove the […]
The eastern Caribbean island of Guadeloupe was first discovered by Christopher Columbus during his second voyage to America in 1493. He named that island Santa María de Guadalupe de Extremadura (which would later be shortened to Guadelupe). Although he himself never settled on the island, Spanish settlers eventually did make their way to Guadeloupe. With […]
The Cayman Islands are a British Overseas Territory located south of Cuba in the western Caribbean Sea. This territory, consisting of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, was first discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1503 (during his 4th and final voyage to the New World) – naming the islands Las Tortugas (The Turtles), due […]
The British Virgin Islands (BVI), located east of the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, consist of the four main islands (Tortola, Virgin Gorda, Anegada, and Jost Van Dyke), as well as over 50 smaller islands and cays. The most populous of the major islands is Tortola (whose population is 23,908 – out of BVI’s […]
Barbados is an island in the eastern Caribbean (covering an area of 431 square kilometers) which was initially discovered by Spanish colonists toward the early 1500s, but was never officially claimed by any of the European powers until the British took possession of it in 1624. Unlike some of the other Caribbean islands (which was […]