<P> Indigenous peoples were the first inhabitants of the West Indies . In 1492 , Christopher Columbus became the first European to arrive at the islands , where he is believed by historians to have first stepped foot in the Bahamas . After the first of the voyages of Christopher Columbus to the Americas , Europeans began to use the term West Indies to distinguish the region from the East Indies of South Asia and Southeast Asia . </P>
<P> Indigenous peoples were the first inhabitants of the West Indies . In 1492 , Christopher Columbus became the first European to arrive at the islands , where he is believed by historians to have first stepped foot in the Bahamas . After the first of the voyages of Christopher Columbus to the Americas , Europeans began to use the term West Indies to distinguish the region from the East Indies of South Asia and Southeast Asia . </P>
how did the west indies get its name
how did the west indies get its name
Europeans began to use the term West Indies to distinguish the region from the East Indies
Europeans began to use the term West Indies to distinguish the region from the East Indies