INDIE OCCIDENTALI BRITANNICHE. - The name West Indies designates the archipelagos of Central America called the Greater and Lesser Antilles. This name dates back to the time of Cristoforo Colombo, and today it includes independent States and French colonies known as the French Antilles, as well as British and Dutch colonies. The latter two are still called I. o. b. and Dutch West Indies, rather than Antilles.
For their history and ecclesiastical organization, it is necessary to refer to the individual entries, such as, for example: Antille, Cuba, Haiti, Portorico, Dominicana, Guyana.
The I. o. b. consist of six groups, five of which are in Central America: Bahama, Barbados, Giamaica and dependencies, the Leeward Islands, and the Windward Islands, including Antigua. Ecclesiastically they belong to various circumscriptions; those dependent on Propaganda BAHIA (v.) Giamaica (v.), Roseau (v.), and the archdiocese of Porto di Spagna.