Indians were the first inhabitants, and then, In 1492, the explorer Christopher Columbus became the first European to arrive at the islands. It's believed by historians that he first stepped foot in the Bahamas. Columbus called these islands the Indies because he thought he had finally reached Asia (and the East Indies). Spain, when Columbus' mistake was discovered, (pardon the pun) renamed them the West Indies, to distinguish them from the Spice Islands in the Pacific Ocean, (the East Indies) which we now call Indonesia. Today the West Indies, better known as the Caribbean, is comprised of many island countries, dependencies and territories, and (as a group) remain one of the premier tourist destinations on the planet. Following are the Countries and Islands included in West Indies / Caribbean: Anguilla Antigua & Barbuda Aruba Bahamas Barbados Belize Cayman Islands Cuba Dominica Dominican Republic Grenada Guadeloupe Haiti Honduras Jamaica Ma...