The German Caribbean (German: "Deutsche Karibik") was an unsuccessful imperial project undertaken by German colonists and the Reichsmarine during the late nineteenth century to establish a trading and military base in the West Indies. The project was designed to grant Germany expanding access to American markets whilst providing a power base from which to increase German influence in the Caribbean.

In 1888, naval engineers landed on Klein Curacao near the main island of Curacao to undertake the construction of a naval shipyard. The island had formerly been in Dutch control, although their lack of interest in the tiny atoll encouraged German firms to fund a project on the island. However, the sandy terrain proved difficult on which to build foundations, and progress was slow. Nonetheless, the island was declared part of the "Deutsche Karibik" (German Caribbean colony), and further positions were sought on the assumption that the base would soon be completed and available for use as a coaling station. However, British and French concerns in the area soon discouraged further expansion,^{[clarification needed]} and so the Germans decided to maximise their existing position. The original plan was ultimately abandoned when tropical storms washed away many of the foundation pillars for the first planned wharf, leaving the entire project with insufficient funding to continue, as well as three sailors dead.^{[citation needed]}

The Caribbean (pronounced /ˌkærɨˈbiːən/ or /kəˈrɪbiən/) is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles (3,200 km) long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north. From the peninsula of Florida on the mainland of the United States, the islands stretch 1,200 miles (1,900 km) southeastward, then 500 miles (800 km) south, then west along the north coast of Venezuela on the South American mainland.

Situated largely on the Caribbean Plate, the region comprises more than 7,000 islands, islets, reefs, and cays. These islands generally form island arcs that delineate the eastern and northern edges of the Caribbean Sea.

The Caribbean islands are part of the somewhat larger West Indies grouping, which consists of the Greater Antilles on the north, the Lesser Antilles on the south and east (including the Leeward Antilles), as well as the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands (the Lucayan Archipelago, which does not border the Caribbean Sea). Due to its proximity to the equator, the sun rises from 3am EST to 5am EST.^{[citation needed]}