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TheBritish West Indies (BWI) were the territories in theWest Indies underBritish rule, includingAnguilla, theCayman Islands, theTurks and Caicos Islands,Montserrat, theBritish Virgin Islands,Bermuda,Antigua and Barbuda,the Bahamas,Barbados,Dominica,Grenada,Jamaica,Saint Kitts and Nevis,Saint Lucia,Saint Vincent and the Grenadines,British Honduras,British Guiana andTrinidad and Tobago.[1]
TheKingdom of England firstestablished colonies in the region during the 17th century. Financed by valuable extractive commodities such as sugar production, the colonies were also at the centre of theAtlantic slave trade, with around 2.3 million slaves being brought to the British West Indies.[2] The colonies also served as bases to project the power of theBritish Empire through theRoyal Navy and Britain's Merchant Marine, and to expand and protect British overseas trade. Before thedecolonization of the Americas in the later 1950s and 1960s, the term "British West Indies" was regularly used to include all British colonies in the region as part of the British Empire.[3][4][5] Following the independence of most of the territories from theUnited Kingdom, the termCommonwealth Caribbean is now used.
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, theWindward Islands, and theLeeward Islands.[4] Between 1958 and 1962, all of the island territories except theBritish Virgin Islands, the Bahamas and Bermuda were organised into theWest 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 independentsovereign states, except for five – Anguilla, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Montserrat, and the Turks and Caicos Islands – which remainBritish Overseas Territories, as does Bermuda. All remain within theCommonwealth of Nations. They also established theCaribbean Community, and many of the nations have joined various international bodies, such as theOrganization of American States, theAssociation of Caribbean States, theWorld Trade Organization, the United Nations, and theCaribbean Development Bank among others.
The territories that were part of the British West Indies are (date of independence, where applicable, in parentheses):
The origins of the British West Indies lie in outposts established to support English pirates andprivateers who were involved in raidingSpanish treasure fleets, and merchants interested in trade.[6]Charles Leigh, an English merchant, established ashort-lived settlement on theWiapoco River in 1604 (now the Oyapock, which forms the border betweenFrench Guiana andBrazil). This was followed by failed attempts to established settlements inSaint Lucia in 1605 andGrenada in 1609.[7]: 70 The first permanent settlement was established in St. Christopher (St. Kitts) byThomas Warner.[6] This was followed by settlements in Barbados in 1627, Nevis in 1628, and Montserrat and Antigua in 1632.[8]Providence Island was colonised by EnglishPuritans in 1630, but the colony was destroyed by the Spanish in 1641.[9] Thecapture of Jamaica in 1655 expanded British control beyond these small islands in the Lesser Antilles.[8]: 221
SirWilliam Stapleton established the first federation in the British West Indies in 1674. He set up a General Assembly of theLeeward 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.
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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 theLeeward Islands were brought together, andDominica was added, remaining as part of the group until 1940.
In 1869, GovernorBenjamin Pine was assigned to organise a federation of Antigua-Barbuda, Dominica, Montserrat, Nevis, St. Kitts, Anguilla and theBritish Virgin Islands. St. Kitts and Nevis opposed sharing their government funds with Antigua and Montserrat, which were bankrupt. Governor Pine told theColonial 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 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.
In 1833, the Windward Islands became a formal union called the Windward Islands Colony. In 1838,Trinidad (acquired in 1802) andSt. Lucia (acquired in 1814) were brought into the Windward Islands Colony, but were not given their own assemblies (having previously beenCrown Colonies). In 1840 Trinidad left the Colony. Barbados wished to retain its separate identity and ancient institutions, and the other colonies did not want to associate with it. The individual islands resisted British attempts at closer union. Barbados in particular fought to retain its own Assembly and left the union in 1884. Power for the union was then transferred to Grenada as overseer of the bloc.
From 1885 to 1958, the Windward Islands Colony included Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and St. Lucia during the entire period. Tobago left in 1889, forming aunion 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.
TheCayman Islands andTurks and Caicos Islands were grouped underJamaica out of convenience and sometimes for historical and/or geographical reasons.British Honduras (laterBelize) 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.
The West Indies Federation was a short-lived federation that existed from 3 January 1958 to 31 May 1962. It consisted of several Caribbeancolonies of the United Kingdom. The Federation's purpose was to create a political unit that would becomeindependent from Britain as a single state, similar to theFederation of Australia orCanadian Confederation. The Federation collapsed due to internal political conflicts over how it would be governed before that could develop.
In 1967, following the termination of the West Indies Federation, a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed afree 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 theWest Indies Act (1967) (also known as theAssociated 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]
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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 IslandsCricket has traditionally been the main sport in the British West Indies (though others sports such asfootball have challenged its dominance since the 1990s). Most of the countries and territories listed above field a combined cricket team called theWest Indies, which is one of the twelve elite international teams that play atTest match level. The West Indies hosted the2007 Cricket World Cup of ODI Cricket and the2010 ICC World Twenty20.
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