Caribbean Sea

Caribbean Sea, warm oceanic basin off Central America, partly enclosed by islands. The waters of the Caribbean flow into the Gulf of Mexico and thence into the Atlantic Ocean through the narrow strait of Florida. They create the warm current known as the Gulf Stream, which reaches Europe. The lands bordering the Caribbean have a warm and humid climate, with almost continuously high temperatures. The Caribbean was the route taken by the Spanish treasure ships, and became known as the “Spanish Main.” It was an area overrun with buccaneers and fiercely disputed by France, England, Spain, and later the United States. At the end of the 19th century U.S. control over the Caribbean area was officially recognized. The building of the Panama Canal increased the importance of this “Mediterranean of the West.”