Caribbean immigration to New York City
aspect of history
Caribbean immigration to New York City has been prevalent since the late 19th and the early 20th centuries. This immigration wave has seen large numbers of people from Jamaica, Haiti, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Antigua and Barbuda, Guyana, and Trinidad and Tobago, among others, come to New York City in the 20th and 21st centuries. (There has also been significant migration from Puerto Rico, but this is not considered immigration as Puerto Ricans hold United States citizenship.) Caribbean people are concentrated in the Bronx, particularly in the area from 211th Street to 241st Street and along Gun Hill Road. There are also large Caribbean communities in Brooklyn, especially in the neighborhoods of Flatbush and Prospect Heights.
History
In 1613, Juan (Jan) Rodriguez from Santo Domingo became the first non-indigenous person to settle in what was then known as New Amsterdam.
In the early 1900s, the largest number of Black immigrants were English-speaking Caribbean people (West Indians) who settled in the Northeast, mainly in New York City. These initial immigrants were only 1.3 percent of the NYC population and faced intense racism and xenophobia, but the population continued to grow over the following decades. By 1920, Caribbean immigrants made up roughly one-fourth of the Black population in New York city. Many of these immigrants were young, unmarried men. According to Winston James, a few women arrived and held occupations as teachers, doctors, lawyers, and craftsmen.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Caribbean immigration to New York City” as aspect of history. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as aspect of history. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Dec 4, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q5039446. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1613 and 1920.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Caribbean immigration to New York City”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Caribbean immigration to New York City primary sources, Caribbean immigration to New York City archive and Caribbean research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Caribbean immigration to New York City”?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Caribbean immigration to New York City” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.