British West Indies
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The British West Indies (BWI) were colonised British
The
In 1912, the British government divided their territories into different colonies: The Bahamas, Barbados, British Guiana, British Honduras, Jamaica (with its dependencies the Turks and Caicos Islands and the Cayman Islands), Trinidad and Tobago, the Windward Islands, and the Leeward Islands.[4] Between 1958 and 1962, all of the island territories except the British Virgin Islands, the Bahamas and Bermuda were organised into the West Indies Federation. It was hoped that the Federation would become independent as a single nation, but it had limited powers and faced many practical problems. Consequently, the West Indies Federation was dissolved in 1962.
The territories are now fully independent sovereign states, except for five – Anguilla, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Montserrat, and the Turks and Caicos Islands – which remain British Overseas Territories, as does Bermuda. All remain within the Commonwealth of Nations. They also established the Caribbean Community, and many of the nations have joined various international bodies, such as the Organization of American States, the Association of Caribbean States, the World Trade Organization, the United Nations, and the Caribbean Development Bank among others.
Territories
The territories that were part of the British West Indies are (date of independence, where applicable, in parentheses):
- The Bahamas (1973)
- Barbados (1966)
- Belize (formerly British Honduras) (1981)
- Bermuda (British overseas territory)
- British Leeward Islands
- Anguilla (British overseas territory)
- Antigua and Barbuda (1981)
- British Virgin Islands (British overseas territory)
- Dominica (1978)
- Montserrat (British overseas territory)
- Saint Kitts and Nevis (1983)
- British Windward Islands
- Grenada (1974)
- Saint Lucia (1979)
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (1979)
- Cayman Islands (British overseas territory)
- Guyana (formerly British Guiana) (1966)
- Jamaica (formerly Colony of Jamaica) (1962)
- Trinidad and Tobago (1962)
- Turks and Caicos Islands (British overseas territory)
History
The origins of the British West Indies lie in outposts established to support English pirates and
Leeward Islands
Sir William Stapleton established the first federation in the British West Indies in 1674. He set up a General Assembly of the Leeward Islands in St. Kitts. Stapleton's federation was active between 1674 and 1685, during his term as governor, and the General Assembly met regularly until 1711.
By the 18th century, each island had kept its own Assembly and made its own laws. The islands continued to share one Governor and one Attorney-General. Although unpopular, Stapleton's federation was never really dissolved but simply replaced by other arrangements.
Between 1816 and 1833, the Leewards were divided into two groups: St. Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla and Antigua-Barbuda-Montserrat, each with its own Governor. In 1833, all the Leeward Islands were brought together, and Dominica was added, remaining as part of the group until 1940.
In 1869, Governor Benjamin Pine was assigned to organise a federation of Antigua-Barbuda, Dominica, Montserrat, Nevis, St. Kitts, Anguilla and the British Virgin Islands. St. Kitts and Nevis opposed sharing their government funds with Antigua and Montserrat, which were bankrupt. Governor Pine told the Colonial Office that the scheme had failed due to "local prejudice and self-interest". His only achievement was to give the Leewards a single Governor. All laws and ordinances, however, had to be approved by each island council.
In 1871, the British government passed the Leeward Islands Act, by which all the islands were under one Governor and one set of laws. The Federal Colony was composed of all islands organised under Governor Pine's previous attempt. Each island was called a "Presidency" under its own Administrator or Commissioner. Like earlier groupings, this federation was unpopular but it continued until 1956, when it was redefined as the Territory of the Leeward Islands. In 1958, the Federation of the West Indies was organised, of which the Leeward Islands became a part.
Windward Islands
In 1833, the Windward Islands became a formal union called the Windward Islands Colony. In 1838,
From 1885 to 1958, the Windward Islands Colony included Grenada and the Grenadines, St. Vincent and St. Lucia during the entire period. Tobago left in 1889, forming a union with Trinidad. Dominica joined the Windward Islands Colony in 1940, after having been transferred from the Leewards, and remained in the Colony until 1958. After 1885 the Windward Islands Colony was under one Governor-General in Grenada, and each island had its own Lieutenant-Governor and its own assembly (as before). Attempts to create a Federal Colony, as in the Leewards, were always resisted. The Windward Islands Colony broke up in 1958 when each island chose to join the new Federation of the West Indies as a separate unit.
Jamaica and dependencies
The Cayman Islands and Turks and Caicos Islands were grouped under Jamaica out of convenience and sometimes for historical and/or geographical reasons. British Honduras (later Belize) was surrounded by hostile Spanish colonies and needed the protection afforded by the Jamaican Army and Navy. In addition, British Honduras had been founded by loggers. It increased in population partly by the settlement of Englishmen migrating from Jamaica in the late 17th and early 18th centuries (settlers also immigrated directly from England; others were born in the colony.) From 1742, British Honduras was a dependency directly under the Governor of Jamaica. In 1749 the Governors of Jamaica appointed Administrators for British Honduras.
In 1862, British Honduras became a Crown Colony; it was placed under the Governor of Jamaica with its own Lieutenant-Governor. In 1884 it finally broke all administrative ties with Jamaica and wanted self governance, as did Cayman Islands and the Turks and Caicos Islands.
West Indies Federation
The West Indies Federation was a short-lived federation that existed from 3 January 1958 to 31 May 1962. It consisted of several Caribbean
West Indies Associated States
In 1967, following the termination of the West Indies Federation, a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association form of government along with the United Kingdom called the West Indies Associated States. The arrangement was created through the British House of Commons passing the West Indies Act (1967) (also known as the Associated States Act). As part of the arrangement more sovereignty was granted to the bloc of West Indies countries with the United Kingdom maintaining responsibility for defence and external affairs only.[10]
Territories today
Although most of the British West Indies seceded from British rule and were granted independence, several opted to remain British territories. Those territories include:
- Anguilla
- Bermuda (sometimes included as part of the BWI)
- British Virgin Islands
- Cayman Islands
- Montserrat
- Turks and Caicos Islands
Sport
Cricket
Cricket has traditionally been the main sport in the British West Indies (though others sports such as
See also
- Commonwealth Caribbean
- British colonization of the Americas
- British North America
- BWIA West Indies Airways
- Crown Dependencies
- Foreign and Commonwealth Office
- Indo-Caribbean
- Right of abode
- University of the West Indies
- British West Indies Regiment
- West Indies ()
References
- ^ Location and Facilities. Stmatthews.edu (30 May 2013). Archived 31 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on 17 July 2013.
- ^ Lambert, David (16 November 2017). "An introduction to the Caribbean, empire and slavery". British Library. Archived from the original on 11 March 2023. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
- ^ definition Archived 15 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ a b The British West Indies: Their History, Resources and Progress – Sir Algernon Edward Aspinall – Google Boeken Archived 4 June 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Books.google.com (12 August 2008). Retrieved on 17 July 2013.
- ^ Government of the West Indies – Hume Wrong – Google Boeken. Books.google.com. Retrieved on 17 July 2013.
- ^ OCLC 1112666690.
- ISBN 978-0-19-820562-3.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-19-820562-3.
- OCLC 26934948.
- ^ Antigua Termination of Association Order Archived 30 November 2017 at the Wayback Machine, UK Parliamentary Hansard debate of the bill
Further reading
- Mawby, Spencer (2012). Ordering Independence. ISBN 978-1-349-32607-5.
- Proctor, Jesse Harris (1962). "British West Indian Society and Government in Transition 1920-1960". Social and Economic Studies. 11 (4): 273–304. JSTOR 27853695.
- Ramphal, Shridath S. (1953). "Federal Constitution-Making in the British West Indies". The International and Comparative Law Quarterly. 2 (2): 192–206. JSTOR 755783.