European, African, U.S., Latin American, and indigenous cultures contribute to the diversity of Caribbean mothers. Cuba and the Dominican Republic and Caribbean community (CARICOM) nations of Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago gained independence from British, French, or Spanish rule. The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, Aruba, Bonaire, [Page 171]Curaçao, St. Martin, Martinique, and Guadeloupe are among the departments or territories of the United States, Britain, France, and the Netherlands. A majority of Caribbean women are the descendants of enslaved West Africans. The complexity of families is reflected in diverse forms—married, common-law, visiting unmarried couple, single-parent, and ...