The Caribbean and Regional Integration
Defining the region
Geographically the Caribbean is the Caribbean Sea, its islands and the mainland around it. The Bahamas lies in the Atlantic, outside the Caribbean Sea, but is treated as part of the wider Caribbean culturally and politically through history, migration and regional organisations. Rimland states such as Belize and Guyana are also included in the wider definition.
Regional integration
CARIFTA (1968) created a free trade area; CARICOM replaced it in 1973 under the Treaty of Chaguaramas. The Bahamas joined CARICOM in 1983, so it is a member but not a founder - a very common trap. The Bahamas has not joined the CARICOM Single Market and Economy, the OECS, or the Caribbean Court of Justice; it still uses the Privy Council. CARICOM institutions include the Secretariat in Georgetown, the Caribbean Development Bank, the Caribbean Examinations Council, which administers CSEC and CAPE, and the University of the West Indies.
Why integrate
Small states gain bargaining power, wider markets, shared services and cheaper examinations; free movement of skilled labour and joint disaster response are practical benefits. Limits include unequal size of members, transport costs, nationalism, overlapping memberships and the Bahamas' special position as a northern, tourism-based economy with different tariffs and migration concerns.
Worked example
If a question asks whether The Bahamas belongs to a body, check three facts: CARICOM yes (1983); CSME no; CCJ no. Membership of one does not imply membership of another.
Traps
Confusing CARIFTA with CARICOM, the OECS with CARICOM, and assuming all CARICOM members use the CCJ.