A concise history of the long and fascinating history of the Caribbean, from pre-communicative cultural societies to the present day. This concise history, aimed at travelers, is invaluable for anyone seeking an overview of the Caribbean and its coastal mainland states, with an emphasis on the last centuries. The history of the Caribbean cannot be understood without considering the cities — Pensacola, New Orleans, Galveston — and the ambitions of the states on its continental shores, primarily the United States. This narrative focuses on the currents and channels of the sea, and its constraints, such as the Costura, followed by the history of the 'pre-communicative' cultures, focusing on the Maya and the empire of the Toteca. With the arrival of the Europeans, from the late fifteenth century to the early seventeenth, the history becomes one of exploration, conquest, and colonization. The history examines the rise of slave economies and the Caribbean's place in the Atlantic world, as well as the arrival of the English — Hawkins and Drake — to challenge the Spaniards. It examines the slave economies in sugar and coffee of the English, French, Spanish, and Dutch, as well as the success of the revolution in Haiti in the eighteenth century, and how the West Indies were further transformed by the Louisiana Purchase, the American occupation of Florida, and the joining of Texas. It discusses the impact of Bolivar's revolution in Spanish America, the abolition of slavery in British Caribbean and the war between Mexico and America, as well as the defeat of the South by the Union, the American takeover of the Panama canal project from France, and the Spanish-American War. The first half of the twentieth century focuses on growing American power: interventions in Mexico, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic, Havana as an American protectorate, and the civil wars in Mexico. The Cold War brought new tensions and conflicts to the region, but at the same time, we saw the rise of the leisure industry. The last part of the book examines the Caribbean today — political instability in Venezuela and Colombia, crime in Mexico, post-Castro Cuba — and the future prospects of the region.