Short answers, pulled from the story.
Juan Rodriguez from Santo Domingo became the first non-indigenous person to settle in New Amsterdam in 1613. This settlement predates common colonial narratives by nearly a century and marks the beginning of a centuries-long migration pattern from the West Indies to North America.
West Indian migration to the United States began in the colonial period when many West Indians were imported as slaves to the British colonies of North America. First people from the West Indies arrived in South Carolina in the 17th century as slaves brought from Africa.
There were almost 100,000 people from the West Indies living in the United States in 1930. This number grew from only 4,000 people in 1850 to more than 20,000 in 1900 before reaching the 1930 figure.
New York became the main destination for West Indian immigrants after 1905. Before this period, most West Indian people emigrated to South Florida, New York, and Massachusetts, but New York eventually overtook these locations as the primary hub.
W2 workers were thousands of Caribbean people hired by American companies after World War II ended. These workers were distributed across 1,500 municipalities and 36 US states, with most working in rural areas of Florida cultivating sugar cane.
The number of Caribbean immigrants in the United States rose to 2 million in 2009. This figure represents a substantial increase from 193,922 in 1960 and marks the fourth wave of Caribbean migration to the country.