Unknown Countries In America!

Hey guys welcome back to another video. Today I'm gonna be taking a look at some of the lesser known

countries in the Americas. Both North and South America are pretty well known to everyone so I

mostly focused on Central America and the Caribbean. These are all somewhat known as well but maybe

you'll find out something new about these territories. So let's get started. First Belize

formerly known as British Honduras, is a country in Central America, bordered by Mexico in the north and Guatemala in the west and south

as well as the Caribbean Sea in the east. Funny enough, it doesn't border the Honduras

It has about 23,000 square kilometers and a population of only around 390,000 people

being the least populated and a country with the lowest population density in Central America

However, this seems to be changing, since the country has a population growth rate of almost 2% a year

one of the highest in the Western Hemisphere. It's a very diverse society

English is the official language, and Belizean Criollo is the native language

However, over half of the population speaks Spanish. It started off being occupied by the Mayans, which spread their civilization to Belize around 1500 BC

During the colonial period, Spain declared it as a Spanish colony but chose not to develop

it due to the hostile tribes in the region and the lack of resources to compensate any effort

Then it was colonized by English and Scottish settlers and pirates in 1638

It was disputed with Spain but became a part of the British Empire officially in 1862, gaining

its independence in 1981, not being recognized at the time by Guatemala who claimed the territory

as their own. Moving to the south we have three countries. First, Guiana. Officially the Cooperative

Republic of Guiana is a country in South America which is however considered part of the Caribbean

due to its cultural ties. Bordered by the Atlantic Ocean, Brazil, Suriname and Venezuela. It's the

third smallest country on mainland South America, with 215,000 square kilometers and around 780,000

people. Originally inhabited by many indigenous groups, Guiana was settled by the Dutch before

coming under British rule in the late 18th century. It was governed as British Guiana

It being part of the British Empire justifies a bit of an odd reality for the region. The largest

ethnic group is actually Indian, as in from actual India, and the second largest religion

is Hinduism. It's also the only South American nation in which English is the official language

Guiana achieved independence from the United Kingdom on the 26th of May of 1966 and became

a republic on the 23rd of February of 1970, having some territory claimed by their neighbor Venezuela

Right next to Guyana we have Suriname. Suriname has a similar story to Guyana except it was colonized and ruled by the Dutch

It was colonized in the 17th century and became a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1954

However, in 1975 they left the kingdom to become its own independent republic

It also considered culturally part of the Caribbean and it the only country outside Europe where Dutch is spoken by a majority of the population At around 165 square kilometers it the smallest country in South America with

a population of around 560,000 people, most of which live in the capital city of Paramaribo

Due to Dutch influence and being next to Guyana, most of the population is either Indian, maroon

which are descendants from African slaves, Creole or Javanese. The last of the Guyanas is French Guiana

Differently from Guiana and Suriname, French Guiana is still French territory up to today

being considered an overseas department and region of France. Being so, it's the second largest French region at 83,000 square kilometers and the

largest outermost region within the EU, which it's technically part of. Over half of the 280,000 people live in the capital of Cayenne

It was first inhabited by natives, but the French are said to have arrived as early as

1503, only establishing a colony in 1643. It was a slave colony until the abolition of slavery during the French Revolution

It was established as a department in 1797 and slowly turned into a penal colony where

France sent its prisoners. During World War II, its leader was one of the first to side with the Free France resistance

aiding the Allies in the war efforts. After the war, it was fully integrated into the French state, using the Euro as its currency

and being the most prosperous territory in South America. Interestingly, it's also an important center and launch location for the European Space

Agency, despite being in South America. Moving north, we travel to the actual Caribbean, Saint Lucia

Saint Lucia is an island country, part of the Lesser Antilles, between the island of

Saint Vincent, Barbados and Martinique. It has an area of 617,000 square kilometers and a population of over 165,000 people with

its capital in Castries. It was named after Saint Lucie of Syracuse, a supposed Christian martyr who lived in the

2nd and 3rd centuries. It started as part of the French Empire, who made a deal with the natives

But several consecutive French-British wars made the island switch owners between the two

dozens of times. As a joke, it was called the Helen of the West Indies, referring to the character of

Helen of Troy. In 1814, British forces took definite control of the island

They got a representative government in around 1840 and finally became independent in 1979

Today, it keeps close relationships with both France and the UK. Going west, still in the Caribbean, we have the Cayman Islands

Cayman Islands isn't an independent territory. It's an autonomous British overseas territory

Being an archipelago, its territory of 264 square kilometers is made up of three islands

Grand Cayman, Little Cayman, and Cayman Brock. It has a population of just over 60,000 people with its capital in Georgetown

It's considered a major offshore financial haven for international businesses and millionaires

Unlike many of its neighbors the Cayman Islands have no evidence of ever having a native population only being populated by European colonizers in the 17th century It was colonized by the British along with Jamaica and due to the use of slavery

at the time, most of the population consisted of African slaves. When slavery was abolished

and the slaves were freed, the Africans remained on the island, becoming the country's majority

They were part of the colony of Jamaica until 1962 when they became a separate colony. Travelling

north in the middle of the Atlantic but somewhat close to the US eastern coast, we have a similar

situation with Bermuda. Bermuda is also a British overseas territory. However, they are self-governing

with its own constitution, government and local laws. The UK is only responsible for its defense

and foreign relations. With a small population of around 65,000 people and its capital of Hamilton

For most of the 20th century, it had one of the highest GDP per capita in the world, due

to their activity as an offshore insurance, but that took a hit with the recent financial crisis

It was discovered in 1505 by the Spanish, but settled only by the British in the 17th century

Interestingly, the first British coins to have circulated in North America were made

in Bermuda. It was also the only territory free of the trade ban between the UK and the US during

the American War of Independence. In 1940 it became under US control because of the destroyers for bases deal between President

Roosevelt and Winston Churchill, then given back to the British until today

It's also very known for being one of the corners of the Bermuda Triangle, along with

Florida and Puerto Rico, a place in the Atlantic Ocean where a lot of ships tend to disappear

Going back south we have Curaçao. Curaçao is an island off the Venezuelan coast, being part of the Southern Caribbean. It's autonomous but not independent, being a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It was formerly part of the Curaçao Independencies Colony from 1815 to 1954, including the main island and the smaller island of Little Curaçao

Having a population of over 160,000 in an area of 444 square kilometers and its capital in Willemstad

It was previously the capital of the Netherlands Antilles which was dissolved in 2010

The natives are known as Otawak but as early as 1499 it was the Europeans who took control

First the Spanish and then the Dutch in 1634. However, the name of the island was given by the Portuguese

In the 16th century, sailors on long trips would get scurvy from the lack of vitamin C

Some sick Portuguese sailors were left at the island, and since the island was so rich in fruit, their scurvy was cured

and so the island was named Island of Curaçao, Island of Healing in Portuguese

Another explanation is that the word Curaçao in Portuguese means heart, which could refer to the island as a heart slash center of trade for the region

The Spanish took the name over and the Dutch kept it. A little to the east, still in the Caribbean, we have Trinidad and Tobago, a sovereign state

the southernmost nation in the West Indies, also off the coast of Venezuela, with an area

of just over 5 square kilometers and a population of 1 million with its capital city of Port of Spain It was one of the first Spanish colonies in the Americas since the arrival of Columbus in

1498. It was under Spanish rule for almost 300 years, until being surrendered to the British fleet

in 1797. It changed hands between several European powers, like Spain, Britain, France

the Dutch and interestingly, Kauerland. Kauerland was a small duchy part of the Polish-Lithuanian

Commonwealth in what is today Latvia. It was the second smallest state to colonize the Americas

controlling Trinidad and Tobago for a few years during the late 1600s. In fact, these islands were

the islands of the Caribbeans which most switched rulers throughout their history. They became

independent in 1962, becoming a republic in 1976. In 2015, they had the highest GDP per capita in

the Americas, only behind the US and Canada. And they're recognized as a high-income economy

being industrialized unlike many of its Caribbean neighbors and focusing on its exploration of oil

and natural gas reserves. Finally, and this was at least for me the least known country off the list

Granada. It's an archipelago consisting of the island of Granada and six smaller islands at the

southern of the Grenadines Island Chain, just north of Trinidad and Tobago which we just saw

With only 348.5 square kilometers and just over 100,000 people, its capital is St. George

The origin of the name Granada is unclear, but most people say it was named from the Spanish

city of Granada. However, the first name given by Columbus was La Concepcion, in honor of the

Virgin Mary. Before the Europeans arrived, it was also inhabited by the Arawaks and the island

Caribs. It was cited by Columbus in 1498 as well, but despite being claimed by Spain, there is no

evidence that they landed and settled at that time. There were various unsuccessful attempts

of colonization due to native resistance. However, the French succeeded in 1650. On February

of 1763, after the Seven Years War, the island was ceded to the British. And then in 1967

they were granted autonomy over internal affairs, becoming independent in 1974. A period of

instability followed. First it became a Marxist-Leninist state in 1949 after a revolution, then a

a military coup took place in 1983, leading to the execution of the former leader, and

then also in 83, the US, along with Barbados, invaded the island to restore stability and

democracy. This invasion was highly criticized by Britain, Canada, and Trinidad and Tobago

but was somewhat successful in storing a two-party parliamentary system under a constitutional

monarchy where the head of state is still the British Queen. In 2004, a hurricane hit the island

and destroyed 90% of the population's homes, from which they are still recovering today

So, those are some of the lesser known countries in America. Thank you guys so much for watching

remember to leave a comment below with any suggestions or corrections, and subscribe if you want to catch future videos. I will see you next time