Editing Lesser Antilles (section)

{{Short description|Archipelago in the Southeast Caribbean}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2021}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name               = {{Collapsible list|title={{center|Lesser Antilles}}|{{center|{{native name|nl|Kleine Antillen}}<br>{{native name|fr|Petites Antilles}}<br>{{native name|pap|Antiyas Minores}}<br>{{native name|es|Antillas Menores}}}}}}
| official_name      = 
| image_map          = LocationLesserAntilles.png
| mapsize            = 250px
| coordinates        = {{coord|14|N|61|W|type:islei|display=inline,title}}
| map_caption        = Location within the Caribbean
| image_map1         = PAT - Lesser Antilles.gif
| mapsize1           = 250px
| map_caption1       = Map of the Lesser Antilles
| subdivision_type   = Region
| subdivision_name   = [[Caribbean]]
| subdivision_type1  = [[Island country|Island States]]
| subdivision_name1  = {{Collapsible list
 |title = 24
 |{{Flag|Trinidad and Tobago}}
 |{{Flag|Antigua and Barbuda}}
 |''{{Flag|Aruba}}'' (''[[Kingdom of the Netherlands|NL]]'')
 |{{Flag|Barbados}}
 |''{{Flag|Bonaire}}'' (''[[Kingdom of the Netherlands|NL]]'')
 |''{{Flag|British Virgin Islands}}'' (''UK'')
 |''{{Flag|Curaçao}}'' (''[[Kingdom of the Netherlands|NL]]'')
 |{{Flag|Dominica}}
 |{{GRD}}
 |''{{Flag|Federal Dependencies of Venezuela}}'' (''[[Venezuela|VE]]'')
 |''{{flag|Guadeloupe|local}}'' (''[[France|FR]]'')
 |''{{flag|Martinique|territorial}}'' (''[[France|FR]]'')
 |''{{Flag|Montserrat}}'' (''UK'')
 |''{{Flag|Nueva Esparta}}'' (''[[Venezuela|VE]]'')
 |''{{Flag|Saba}}'' (''[[Kingdom of the Netherlands|NL]]'')
 |''{{flag|Saint Barthélemy|local}}'' (''[[France|FR]]'')
 |{{Flag|Saint Kitts and Nevis}}
 |{{Flag|Saint Lucia}}
 |''{{Flag|Saint Martin}}'' (''[[France|FR]]'')
 |{{Flag|Saint Vincent and the Grenadines }}
 |''{{Flag|Sint Eustatius}}'' (''[[Kingdom of the Netherlands|NL]]'')
 |''{{flag|Sint Maarten}}'' (''[[Kingdom of the Netherlands|NL]]'')
 |{{flagicon|Culebra, Puerto Rico}}/{{flagicon|Vieques}} ''[[Spanish Virgin Islands]]'' (''[[Puerto Rico|PR]]'')
 |''{{Flag|Anguilla}}'' (''UK'')
 |''{{VIR}}'' (''US'')
 }}
| admin_center_type  = 
| other_name         = 
| settlement_type    = [[Caribbean|Region]]
| area_magnitude     = 
| area_footnotes     = 
| area_total_km2     = 14,364
| population_as_of   = 2009
| population_footnotes = 
| population_note    = 
| population_total   = 3,949,250
| population_density_km2 = 274.9
| population_demonym = Lesser Antillean
| timezone           = [[Atlantic Standard Time Zone|AST]]
| utc_offset         = −4
| timezone_DST       = ADT
| utc_offset_DST     = −3
}}
The '''Lesser Antilles'''<ref>({{langx|es|link=no|Antillas Menores}}; {{langx|fr|link=no|Petites Antilles}}; {{langx|pap|Antias Menor}}; {{langx|nl|Kleine Antillen}})</ref> is a group of islands in the [[Caribbean Sea]], forming part of the [[West Indies]] in [[Caribbean|Caribbean region]] of the [[Americas]]. They are distinguished from the larger islands of the [[Greater Antilles]] to the west. They form an arc which begins east of [[Geography of Puerto Rico|Puerto Rico]] at the [[Virgin Islands|archipelago of the Virgin Islands]], swings southeast through the [[Leeward Islands|Leeward]] and [[Windward Islands]] towards [[South America]], and turns westward through the [[Leeward Antilles]] along the [[Geography of Venezuela|Venezuelan coast]]. 

Most of them are part of a long, partially [[volcanic arc|volcanic]] [[island arc]] between the [[Greater Antilles]] to the north-west and the continent of South America.<ref name=MW>"West Indies." ''Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary'', 3rd ed. 2001. ({{ISBN|0-87779-546-0}}) Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster Inc., p. 1298.</ref> The islands of the Lesser Antilles form the eastern boundary of the Caribbean Sea where it meets the [[Atlantic Ocean]]. Together, the Lesser Antilles and the Greater Antilles make up the [[Antilles]]. The Lesser and Greater Antilles, together with the [[Lucayan Archipelago]], are collectively known as the [[Caribbean|Caribbean islands]] or [[West Indies]].

The islands were dominantly [[Kalinago]] compared to the [[Greater Antilles]] which was settled by the [[Taíno]], the boundary set between them is known as the "[[poison arrow]] curtain" for the Kalinago's favoured weapon for fending off Europeans that came to conquer the islands in the 16th century.<ref>{{cite book|page=135|title=The Columbus Dynasty in the Caribbean, 1492-1526|first=Troy S.|last=Floyd|publisher=University of New Mexico Press|year=1973}}</ref>
[[File:Rigobert-Bonne-Atlas-de-toutes-les-parties-connues-du-globe-terrestre MG 0018.tif|thumb|200px|Map of the Lesser Antilles, 1780]]