ABSTRACT
As implied in chapter 5, throughout centuries of change and development in the small island states of the Caribbean, human interaction with the physical environment has remained highly visible. Indeed, one of the principal themes of this volume is that the Caribbean is one of the most highly transformed and urbanised regions in the world (Potter, 1989a, 1993c). Thus, rapid urbanisation and recent economic change have substantially altered both the natural and social environments. As Demas (1965) and Worrell (1987) have both observed, the contemporary Caribbean is characterised by small territorial size, undiversified economies and inherited economic dependency. Although most of the islands are politically independent, they are still subject, in varying degrees, to external economic and military domination and control.
