History of the British West Indies facts for kids
The term British West Indies refers to the islands in the Caribbean that were once colonies of England and later Britain. Today, some of these islands are still overseas territories of the United Kingdom.
For over 300 years, from 1627 to 1958, there were many attempts to unite these islands politically. The British government often pushed for these unions. Some of these unions were true federations, like a group of states working together. Others were about attaching smaller islands to a larger nearby colony. This was often done to save money or because the smaller islands were too tiny to have their own governor.
At first, these attempts to unite only focused on certain regions. The main historical groups were the British Leeward Islands, the British Windward Islands, and Jamaica with its nearby colonies like the Cayman Islands, British Honduras, and the Turks and Caicos Islands.
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Why Did Unions Fail?
Many efforts by the British government to unite the region faced strong opposition. Powerful groups within the colonies, especially the richer ones like Jamaica and Trinidad, did not want to join.
Also, it was hard to communicate and travel between the different islands. This made each island feel very separate and develop its own identity. This feeling continued even after slavery ended and more people could take part in politics.
The British believed that a united federation would help all the islands succeed after they gained independence. They worked on this plan for over ten years. The West Indies Federation was finally created in 1958.
However, Jamaica found a lot of bauxite, a valuable mineral, in its mountains. This discovery would make Jamaica very wealthy. Jamaica did not want to share this wealth with the rest of the Federation. So, in 1962, Jamaica left the Federation. This made Trinidad, the next wealthiest state, worried that it would have to support all the other islands. So, Trinidad also left. This caused the Federation to break apart.
The End of Slavery
In 1823, people who wanted to end slavery formed a group called the Society for the Migration and Gradual Abolition of Slavery. They wanted to free all enslaved people in British colonies. Important members included Wilberforce and Thomas Fowell Buxton.
This group worked to get anti-slavery politicians elected in 1832. The next year, the Slavery Abolition Act was passed by the British Parliament.
This law created a fund of £20 million to pay the slave owners for their "losses." It also set up an "apprenticeship system." This meant that formerly enslaved people still had to work for their old masters for several years.
On August 1, 1834, about 750,000 enslaved people in the British West Indies officially became free. However, the apprenticeship system was not popular with either the former slaves or their masters. Trinidad did not use it at all. Antigua and Bermuda freed their slaves right away.
Under pressure from Britain, the local governments in the colonies ended the apprenticeship system. Full freedom was given to all former slaves on August 1, 1838.
The Bahamas Story
The first British settlers in the Bahamas came from Bermuda in the 1640s. They settled on Eleuthera Island and were known as the Eleutheran Adventurers. By 1670, the Bahama Islands were given to the Lord Proprietors of Carolina.
In the early 1700s, the Bahamas became a famous hideout for pirates, especially on New Providence island. Piracy became a big problem for the British. So, in 1717, the British took the Bahama Islands back from the Lord Proprietors. The Bahamas became a British Crown Colony.
In 1718, Woodes Rogers became the first royal governor of the Bahamas. He set up the House of Assembly in 1729. Privateering (legal piracy) brought wealth to New Providence for a while. During the American Revolutionary War, many British Loyalists left the mainland colonies and settled in the Bahamas. They brought many enslaved people with them. This made the black population the majority in the Bahamas for the first time.
On July 10, 1973, the Bahamas became an independent country, separate from Britain.
Leeward Islands Group
Early Colonial Period (1627–1816)
In 1627, Barbados and the Leeward Islands were first grouped together. But this was hard to manage. So, Thomas Warner only governed the Leeward Islands. Later, in 1660, Lord Willoughby, the Governor of Barbados, also governed all the English islands in the Eastern Caribbean. The Leeward Islands agreed to this because they needed Barbados's military help during the Second Anglo-Dutch War.
However, the planters on the Leeward Islands competed with those in Barbados. They both wanted the biggest share of the sugar trade with England. After the war, England agreed to the Leeward Islands' demand for their own separate government. In 1671, the British Crown appointed a governor-in-chief to manage St. Kitts, Nevis, Anguilla, Montserrat, Antigua, and Barbuda.
Sir William Stapleton created the first federation in the British West Indies in 1674. He set up a General Assembly for the Leewards in St. Kitts. Antigua, Montserrat, Nevis, and St. Kitts each sent two representatives. One governor was in charge of all the Leewards, and each island had a lieutenant governor.
Stapleton's Federation lasted from 1674 to 1685. The General Assembly met regularly until 1711, but only once more after that, in 1798. This federation was not popular. In 1683, the islands rejected a plan for one government and one set of laws. By the 18th century, each island had its own assembly and made its own laws. But they still shared one governor and one attorney-general. Even though it was unpopular, Stapleton's Federation was never officially ended. It was just replaced by other arrangements.
Later Colonial Period (1816–1869)
Between 1816 and 1833, the Leeward Islands were split into two groups, each with its own governor. One group was St. Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla. The other was Antigua-Barbuda-Montserrat (including Redonda). In 1833, all the Leewards were brought back together as they were before 1816. Dominica was also added to this group until 1940.
In 1869, Governor Benjamin Pine was asked to create a federation of Antigua-Barbuda, Dominica, Montserrat, Nevis, St. Kitts, Anguilla, and the British Virgin Islands. However, St. Kitts and Nevis did not want to share their government money with Antigua and Montserrat, which were in debt. Governor Pine told the Colonial Office that the plan failed because of "local prejudice and self-interest." So, the only thing achieved was giving the Leewards a single governor. But all laws still had to be approved by each island's council.
Federal Colony (1871–1956)
In 1871, the British government passed the Leeward Islands Act. This law put all the islands under one governor and one set of laws. Each island was called a "Presidency" and had its own administrator or commissioner. Like earlier groupings, this federation was not popular. But it was not dissolved until 1956, to make way for the larger Federation of the West Indies. This Federal Colony included all the islands that Governor Pine had tried to group earlier.
Windward Islands Group
Early Colonial Period (1763–1833)
In 1763, Barbados was the most developed British colony in the Caribbean. So, it was put in charge of new colonies gained in the Seven Years' War. The Governor of Barbados became the Governor of Grenada and the Grenadines, St. Vincent, and Tobago. Each of these islands had its own lieutenant-governor. This arrangement was difficult because it was hard to communicate from west to east among the islands in the days of sailing ships.
Later Colonial Period (1833–1958)
In 1833, the Windward Islands officially became a union called the Windward Islands Colony. In 1838, Trinidad (gained in 1802) and St. Lucia (gained in 1814) were added to the Windward Islands Colony. However, they were not given their own assemblies, as they had been British Crown Colonies before. In 1840, Trinidad left the Colony.
The Windward Islands Colony was not popular. Barbados wanted to keep its separate identity and old ways of governing. The other colonies did not enjoy being associated with Barbados. But they needed this connection for defense against French attacks until 1815. So, the individual islands resisted British attempts to unite them more closely. Barbados, in particular, fought hard to keep its own Assembly.
This opposition to closer union mainly came from the upper class. In 1875, Governor John Pope Hennessy was sent to Barbados to create a closer, formal federation. There was strong opposition from newspapers, the assembly of wealthy planters, and some influential mixed-race men. Hennessy was supported by the cane workers. They believed that federation would allow them to leave Barbados and work for higher wages or buy their own land elsewhere in the Windwards.
The planters and merchants set up the Barbados Defence League to fight against federation. They claimed it would end their system of representation. In March 1876, farm workers in southern Barbados rioted to support the governor. This happened when he tried to force the assembly to improve prisons and hospitals. The Colonial Office quickly moved Hennessy to Hong Kong in 1876, and the federation plans were dropped.
The Governor of Barbados remained the Governor-General of the Windwards until 1885. That year, Barbados left the Windward Islands Colony.
From 1885 to 1958, the Windward Islands Colony included Grenada and the Grenadines, St. Vincent, and St. Lucia. Tobago left in 1889 to form a union with Trinidad. Dominica joined the Windward Islands Colony in 1940 after being moved from the Leewards. It stayed until 1958. After 1885, the Windward Islands Colony had one governor-general in Grenada. Each island had its own lieutenant-governor and its own assembly. Attempts to create a federal colony, like in the Leewards, were always resisted.
The Windward Islands Colony broke up in 1958. Each island chose to join the new Federation of the West Indies as a separate province.
Jamaica and Its Dependencies
Other British colonies in the Caribbean, except for British Guiana and the Bahamas, were sometimes grouped under Jamaica. This was done for convenience or for historical and geographical reasons. British Honduras was surrounded by Spanish colonies that were not friendly. It needed the protection of the British Army and Navy based in Jamaica. Also, British Honduras was founded by loggers. Its population grew partly from Englishmen arriving from Jamaica in the late 1600s and early 1700s.
From 1742, British Honduras was directly under the Governor of Jamaica. In 1749, the Governors of Jamaica appointed superintendents 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 cut all administrative ties with Jamaica. However, legal appeals from British Honduras still went to the Supreme Court in Jamaica even after 1884.
The Miskito Coast protectorate was overseen by the Superintendents of British Honduras. So, it was loosely connected to Jamaica from 1749 to 1787. In 1787, Britain left the Miskito Coast. This ended administrative links with British Honduras and Jamaica. This was part of the peace agreement that ended the American Revolutionary War. However, Britain continued to get involved in the Coast until 1861. This was to protect its interests and the Miskito people from Spanish expansion.
The Bay Islands off the coast of Honduras started to have permanent English settlements from 1827. After Britain formally claimed them in 1841, they were put under Jamaica in 1852. The Governor of the Bay Islands was the Governor of Jamaica. The Superintendent of British Honduras acted as Lieutenant-Governor of the Bay Islands. This relationship lasted until 1860, when the Bay Islands were given to Honduras.
The Cayman Islands were too small to have a separate government. They were mainly settled by English people from Jamaica. So, they were always seen as being under the control of the Governor of Jamaica. Also, the Caymans were given to England as part of Jamaica by Spain in the 1670 Treaty of Madrid. They were officially attached to Jamaica in 1863. They were like a parish of Jamaica, with appointed justices of the peace and elected church officials in their legislature. This legislature was called the Justices and Vestry. The Justices and Vestry helped a Commissioner appointed by the Governor of Jamaica to run the islands.
All laws passed in the Caymans had to be approved by the Governor of Jamaica. This relationship lasted until 1959. From 1959 to 1962, the Governor of Jamaica remained Governor of the Cayman Islands. He had special powers over the islands. Also, any laws passed by the Jamaica legislature specifically for the Cayman Islands had to be followed. Otherwise, the Cayman Islands had their own Administrator and Legislative Assembly. The final administrative link to Jamaica ended when Jamaica became independent in 1962. However, the Cayman Islands continued to use Jamaican money for another 10 years.
The Turks and Caicos Islands had ended their connection with the Bahamas in 1848. This was because communication between the islands and the government in Nassau was poor. There were no major shipping routes in that direction. The islands were too small to have their own separate government. So, they asked to be placed under Jamaica. This was because there was regular communication from Kingston to the islands along the shipping route from Kingston to London.
The British government agreed. From 1848 to 1873, the Turks and Caicos Islands were governed by superintendents or council presidents appointed from Jamaica. In 1873, the islands became a dependency of Jamaica, with a commissioner and a legislative board. In 1959, the islands were given more self-rule, similar to the Cayman Islands. The Governor of Jamaica had special powers over the Turks and Caicos Islands. This relationship ended when Jamaica gained independence in 1962.
The West Indies Federation
The West Indies Federation was a short-lived union that existed from January 3, 1958, to May 31, 1962. It was made up of several Caribbean colonies of the United Kingdom. The main goal of the Federation was to create a single political unit that would become independent from Britain. It was hoped to be similar to the Australian Federation or Canadian Confederation. However, the Federation fell apart due to internal political disagreements before it could become fully independent.
The Federation was a self-governing, federal state. It had ten provinces, all of which were British colonies. Britain created the federation in 1958 from most of the British West Indies. Britain wanted the Federation to become a fully independent state soon. This would meet the demands for independence from all the colonies in the region at the same time. However, the project failed because of political arguments among the provinces. The Federation never became a fully independent country, either as a Commonwealth realm or as a republic within the Commonwealth.
See also
- British colonization of the Americas
- English overseas possessions in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms
- Commonwealth Caribbean
- Caricom
- Latin America–United Kingdom relations
