West Indies
West Indies, Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico
[Gentleman's Magazine ?]
[London ?]
Label from 1996 exhibit: The West Indies, although lying "east" of Central America, are so named because they are "west" of Europe. "Hispanola" was the Spanish name for Haiti. As Spanish power declined during the nineteenth century and the Dominican republic became independent, the original Carib Indian name of "Hayti" was restored to the western part of the island. The title cartouche illustrates a waterfront trading stall and two while males dressed in traditional mid-eighteenth century European attire while a bare-footed black laborer clothed only in tattered breeches struggles to carry a box laden with goods. One of the white males, seated behind a desk, quill pen in hand, records the business transaction taking place. This image reinforced European notions of colonial hierarchy and divisions of labor.
The West Indies, although lying "east" of Central America, are so named because they are "west" of Europe. "Hispanola" was the Spanish name for Haiti. As Spanish power declined during the nineteenth century and the Dominican republic became independent, the original Carib Indian name of "Hayti" was restored to the western part of the island.