Welcome to You Ask Andy

Joseph Zulinski, aged 13, of Cleveland, Ohio for his question:

Where is the Pearl of Antilles?

This is a story of hard red wood, burning coals, old maps, seas of turquoise, tropical skies and the most famous of all voyages. Also parts of the story are stars, bananas, trade winds, soft sandy beaches, rosewood and gentle harbors. There is no real pearl, as made by an oyster, in the story. But the Pearl of Antilles is a place of great beauty and riches none the less.

The tale has been a long time a‑telling. It grew from curiosity. Much of the early part is guesswork. And, as so often happens, the real thing turned out to be far, far better than anyone could have possibly guessed or dreamed.

The early Europeans were mighty curious about the unexplored Atlantic Ocean. So, naturally, they tries to guess what secrets it held. And they made their guesses good ones. A chain of islands, some of them said, stretched across the mid Atlantic ‑ stepping stones to rest the weary sailor. One of these isles is full of precious brazil wood. This hard red wood was named with their word for glowing embers. So much for the burning coals.

There are also seven rich cities in this archipelago, said the early guessers. The imaginary maps of the day called this archipelago Antillia, or Antilles. A map of 125 shows that one of these islands was pre‑named Brazil. Strange to say, in 1492, a certain never‑give‑up‑sailor proved many of these guesses to be correct.

There is an archipelago in the Mid‑Atlantic. We call it the West Indies. True, there was no brazilwood. So no island was named Brazil. This name seems to have been forgotten in the excitement. It was remembered and later given to one of the countries on the mainland of South America.

True, there were islands. But there were not seven cities of gold. It took time to discover that Antilles had riches more precious than gold, The tropical winds cool the islands in summer and warm them in winter. The gentle climate and rich soil conspire together to grew sugar, bananas, grow sugar, bananas, cocoa, coffee, and tobacco, Natural forests abound in mahogany, ebony, royal palms and exquisite rosewood.

The largest of the islands is Cuba. Over a thousand small isles dot the blue waters off its sandy shores. With these isles, its area is almost as big as Pennsylvania. Cuba has been called the Isle of a Hundred Harbors. Certainly a large number of harbors wait to shelter the ships that cross the Mid‑Atlantic.

The white man who saw it first was, of course, that never‑give‑up sailor we call Columbus. He was amazed at the breath‑taking beauty of Cuba. Surely, he said, this is the most beautiful land that human eyes have ever beheld. Sometimes we call the fair isle the queen of the Antilles, sometimes the Pearl of Antilles. In any case it is Cuba, isle of sunshine, sugar, tropical trees and soft throbbing music.

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