18-597: The British Windward Islands was an administrative grouping of British colonies in the Windward Islands of the West Indies , existing from 1833 until 3 January 1958 and consisting of the islands of Grenada , Saint Lucia , Saint Vincent , the Grenadines , Barbados (the seat of the governor until 1885, when it returned to its former status of a completely separate colony), Tobago (until 1889, when it
36-771: A part of the easternmost boundary of the Caribbean Sea . However, even in modern usage in languages other than English, notably Dutch, French, and Spanish, all of the Lesser Antilles from the Virgin Islands to Trinidad and Tobago are known as the 'Windward Islands' ( Bovenwindse Eilanden in Dutch, Îles du Vent in French, and Islas de Barlovento in Spanish). The ABC Islands and the other islands along
54-459: The Age of Sail , a vessel always sought to use the wind to its advantage, maneuvering if possible to attack from windward. This was particularly important for less maneuverable square-rigged warships, which had limited ability to sail upwind, and sought to "hold the weather gage " entering battle. This was particularly important once artillery was introduced to naval warfare. Ships heel away from
72-424: The Age of Sail , the term weather was used as a synonym for windward in some contexts, as in the weather gage . Since it captures rainfall , the windward side of a mountain tends to be wetter than the leeward side it blocks. The drier leeward area is said to be in a rain shadow . The term "windward" has roots in both Low German and Old English. The word "lee", which means a place without wind, comes from
90-694: The Federal Colony of the Leeward Islands , Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago , and British Guiana . In 1939 the Windward and Leeward Islands Supreme Court and the Windward and Leeward Islands Court of Appeal were established, which was replaced in 1967 by the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court which provides both functions. Windward Islands The Windward Islands are the southern, generally larger islands of
108-549: The Lesser Antilles of the Caribbean islands or West Indies . Located approximately between latitudes 10° and 16° N and longitudes 60° and 62° W , they extend from Dominica in the north to Trinidad and Tobago in the south, and lie south of the Leeward Islands and east of Leeward Antilles . The name was also used to refer to a British colony which existed between 1833 and 1960 and originally consisted of
126-574: The Netherlands . Physiographically , these continental islands are not part of the volcanic Windward Islands arc, although sometimes grouped with them culturally and politically. Disputed territories administered by Guyana . Disputed territories administered by Colombia . Windward and leeward In geography and seamanship , windward ( / ˈ w ɪ n d w ər d , ˈ w ɪ n ər d / ) and leeward ( / ˈ l iː w ər d , ˈ lj uː ər d / ) are directions relative to
144-642: The New World to the rough dividing line between two groups of islands. Those that fell to windward became the Windward Islands, to leeward the Leeward Islands . Sailing vessels departing from Africa would first encounter the southeasternmost "Windward" islands of the Lesser Antilles in their west-northwesterly heading to the final destinations in the Caribbean , Central America , and Northern America . The chain of Windward Islands forms
162-406: The wind . Windward is upwind from the point of reference, i.e., towards the direction from which the wind is coming; leeward is downwind from the point of reference, i.e., along the direction towards which the wind is going. The side of a ship that is towards the leeward is its "lee side". If the vessel is heeling under the pressure of crosswind , the lee side will be the "lower side". During
180-553: The Old Norse "hle" for "cover" and has been used in marine navigation in Germany since medieval times. The word "wind," meaning "air in motion," comes from Proto-Germanic *winda- and has evolved over time, with pronunciation changes influenced by similar words like "windy." The word "wind" has been associated with emptiness and vanity since the late 13th century. Additionally, "wind" has been used figuratively in phrases like "which way
198-866: The Venezuelan coast, known in English as the Leeward Antilles , are known in languages other than English as the 'Leeward Islands'. There are four countries and one territory in the Windward Islands: These three form the SSS islands that with the ABC islands comprise the Dutch Caribbean , of which the BES islands are not direct Kingdom constituents but subsumed with the country of
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#1732780640496216-509: The fourth sovereign state in the group. Barbados (until 1885) and Tobago (until 1889) were also part of the British Windward Islands colony but are not today regarded as being part of the Windward Islands grouping. The prevailing trade winds in the West Indies blow east to west. The combination of trans-Atlantic currents and winds that provided the fastest route across the ocean brought sailing ships heading to
234-615: The islands of Grenada , Saint Lucia , and Saint Vincent . Today, these islands constitute three sovereign states, the latter of which is now known as Saint Vincent and the Grenadines . The island of Dominica was traditionally considered a part of the Leeward Islands until 1940, when it was transferred from the British Leeward Islands colony to the British Windward Islands. It now composes
252-517: The same meaning are widely used, particularly upwind and downwind . Among sailing craft, the windward vessel is normally the more maneuverable. For this reason, rule 12 of the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea , applying to sailing vessels, stipulates that where two are sailing in similar directions in relation to the wind, the windward vessel gives way to the leeward vessel. In naval warfare during
270-657: The wind blows" to indicate the current state of affairs. The suffix "-ward," meaning "toward," is an adverbial suffix in Old English derived from Proto-Germanic *werda-, which itself comes from the PIE root *wer- meaning "to turn, bend." The original notion of "-ward" is "turned toward." Windward and leeward directions (and the points of sail they create) are important factors to consider in such wind-powered or wind-impacted activities as sailing , wind-surfing , gliding , hang-gliding , and parachuting . Other terms with broadly
288-419: The wind, so the leeward vessel would expose more of her topsides to shot, in extreme cases even part of her bottom. The terms windward and leeward are used in reference both to sides (and climates ) of individual islands and relative island locations in an archipelago . The windward side of an island is subject to the prevailing wind , and is thus the wetter (see orographic precipitation ). The leeward side
306-554: Was a common audit system, while the islands united in maintaining certain institutions of general utility. In 1859 a common court of appeal for the group was established, composed of the chief justices of the respective island colonies. Under the West Indian Court of Appeal Act 1919 this court was replaced by the West Indian Court of Appeal , responsible for appeals from not only the Windward Islands but also
324-485: Was joined to Trinidad ), and (from 1940) Dominica , previously included in the British Leeward Islands . The seat of government was Bridgetown on Barbados, from 1871 to 1885, and thereafter St. George's on Grenada. The islands were not a single colony, but a confederation of separate colonies with a common governor-in-chief , while each island retained its own institutions. The Windward Islands had neither legislature, laws, revenue nor tariff in common. However, there
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