The islands ruled by Spain were chiefly the Greater Antilles: Hispaniola (inclusive of modern-day Haiti and the Dominican Republic), Cuba, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico.

[2] Spain also claimed the Lesser Antilles including Martinica, but these smaller islands remained largely independent until they were seized or ceded to other European powers as a result of war, or diplomatic agreements during the 17th and 18th centuries.

Largely due to the familiarity that Spaniards gained from Columbus's voyages, the islands were also the first lands to be permanently colonized by Europeans in the Americas.

For over three centuries, Spain controlled a network of ports in the Caribbean including Havana (Cuba), Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic), San Juan (Puerto Rico), Cartagena de Indias (Colombia), Veracruz (Mexico), and Portobelo (Panama), which were connected by galleon routes.

[4] An even broader definition can include the Caribbean coasts of Mexico, Central America (Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama), and South America (Colombia and Venezuela), however aside from Panama, Venezuela, and parts of Colombia, most of these countries share little with the Spanish-speaking Caribbean islands culturally.

Sub-Saharan African ancestry in the Hispanic Caribbean, just like the rest of Latin America, comes from various parts of West and Central Africa.

Cultural characteristics of the Spanish Caribbean include musical genres like Salsa, Merengue, Bachata, and Reggaeton, as well as love for the sport of Baseball.

Below is a list of islands belonging geographically to the Greater and Lesser Antilles and that were under Spanish rule in various stages of history, until it became independent from Spain.