Join us as we promote and educate on the diversity and inclusivity of West Indian culture and heritage, while also building a connection between the islands and the University of Surrey!

The West Indian Society was established in 2024 as a place where students of the West Indian diaspora can get together and celebrate our culture and heritage with others here at Surrey.

To meet the committee, click here.

About the West Indies

The West Indies, situated amidst the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, is a subregion of North America. This area encompasses 13 sovereign island nations and 19 territories across three main archipelagos: the Greater Antilles, the Lesser Antilles, and the Lucayan Archipelago. The geographical area comprises the entirety of the Antilles islands, along with The Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands, situated within the North Atlantic Ocean.

Presently, the designation “West Indies” is frequently used interchangeably with “Caribbean,” though the latter may encompass additional nations from Central and South America with coastlines bordering or in close proximity to the Caribbean Sea. Such nations include Belize, French Guiana, Guyana, and Suriname, along with the Atlantic island nation of Bermuda. While these territories are geographically separate from the primary island groups, they share cultural connections with them.

Counties and Territories that make up the Caribbean

Greater Antilles

• Cayman Islands (United Kingdom)
• Cuba
• Jamaica
• Navassa Island (United States)
• Puerto Rico (United States)
• Hispaniola
  •  Dominican Republic
  •  Haiti

Leeward Antilles

• ABC islands
  • Aruba (Netherlands)
  • Bonaire (Netherlands)
  • Curaçao (Netherlands)
•  Federal Dependencies of Venezuela (Venezuela)
•  Nueva Esparta (Venezuela)

Leeward Islands

• Anguilla (United Kingdom)
• Antigua and Barbuda
• Guadeloupe (France)
  • La Désirade
  • Les Saintes
  • Marie-Galante
• Montserrat (United Kingdom)
• Saint Barthélemy (France)
• Saint Kitts and Nevis
• Saint Martin (France)
• SSS islands
  • Saba (Netherlands)
  • Sint Eustatius (Netherlands)
  • Sint Maarten (Netherlands)
• Virgin Islands
  • British Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
  • Spanish Virgin Islands (United States)
  • U.S. Virgin Islands (United States)

Windward Islands

• Dominica
• Grenada
  • Carriacou and Petite Martinique
• Martinique (France)
• Saint Lucia
• Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Isolated islands in the Lesser Antilles

•  Barbados
•  Trinidad and Tobago

Lucayan Archipelago

•  Bahamas
•  Turks and Caicos Islands (United Kingdom)

Isolated island in the Caribbean

• Aves Island (Venezuela)

Central America

• Belize
• Costa Rica
• Guatemala
• Honduras
• Nicaragua
• Panama
• Quintana Roo (Mexico)
• San Andrés and Providencia (Colombia)
• Yucatán (Mexico)

Northern America

• Bermuda (United Kingdom)

South America

•  Colombia
•  French Guiana (France)
•  Guyana
•  Suriname
•  Venezuela

Are you from the Caribbean or have ties to the Caribbean? If so, join the University of Surrey West Indian Society!

If you answered no, you can still join. The society of welcoming to everyone!