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91-940: As a constituent province of the West Indies Federation , Jamaica became independent of the United Kingdom on 6 August 1962 under the Jamaica Independence Act 1962 . Under the West Indies Act 1962 , the monarchy of the United Kingdom was allowed to form governments for the former colonies of the West Indies Federation. Elizabeth II , by and with the advice of Her Privy Council, issued the Jamaica Order in Council 1962 which formally gave force and effect to

182-554: A referendum in September 1961 on political secession from the Federation. The result was 54% in favour of leaving the Federation, despite the opposition of Manley, the province's Chief Minister at the time. Manley himself lost the subsequent island elections in April 1962, and Bustamante became the first Prime Minister of an independent Jamaica on 6 August 1962. After Jamaica left, there

273-503: A book entitled The Discovery of Guiana , but this mainly relates to the Guayana region of Venezuela. The Dutch were the first Europeans to settle there, starting in the early 17th century. They founded the colonies of Essequibo and Berbice , adding Demerara in the mid-18th century. In 1796, Great Britain took over these three colonies during hostilities with the French, who had occupied

364-402: A brewery, a soap factory, a biscuit factory and an oxygen-acetylene plant, among others). The London-based Booker Group of companies (Booker Brothers, McConnell & Co., Ltd) dominated the economy of British Guiana. The Bookers had owned sugar plantations in the colony since the early 19th century; by the end of the century they owned a majority of them. By 1950 they owned all but three. With

455-578: A controversial decision, he contacted the opposition DLP groups in Jamaica and Trinidad, and appointed one DLP senator from each of those islands. Thus the Senate consisted of a total of 15 WIFLP members and 4 DLP members. WIFLP leader Sir Grantley Adams of Barbados became Prime Minister . The selection of Adams as the Prime Minister was indicative of the problems the Federation would face. The expected leader of

546-664: A diplomatic protest, claiming that the New River , and not the Kutari, was to be regarded as the source of the Courantyne and the boundary. The British government in 1900 replied that the issue was already settled by the longstanding acceptance of the Kutari as the boundary. In 1962, the Kingdom of the Netherlands , on behalf of its then- constituent country of Suriname , finally made formal claim to

637-552: A new proportional representation system. Britain expected that this system would reduce the number of seats won by the PPP and prevent it from obtaining a majority. The December 1964 elections for the new legislature gave the PPP 45.8% (24 seats), the People's National Congress (PNC) 40.5% (22 seats) and the United Force (UF) 12.4% (7 seats). The UF agreed to form a coalition government with

728-454: A new border according to the award, and the parties accepted the boundary in 1905. There the matter rested until 1962, when Venezuela renewed its 19th-century claim, alleging that the arbitral award was invalid. After his death, Severo Mallet-Prevost, legal counsel for Venezuela and a named partner in the New York law firm Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle published a letter alleging that

819-447: A nominated Senate (13 seats). In the ensuing election of 21 August 1961, the PPP won 20 seats in the House of Assembly, entitling it as the majority party to appoint eight senators. Upon the 1961 election, British Guiana also became self-governing , except as to defence and external matters. The leader of the majority party became prime minister, who then named a Council of Ministers, replacing

910-576: A number of reasons for Jamaica's dissatisfaction with the state of affairs: The most important reason for Jamaican dissatisfaction was the Federation's continuing colonial status. Jamaica had joined the Federation because its leaders had believed that the West Indies would quickly be granted independence. Nearly three years after the formation of the Federation, this had not occurred; meanwhile, smaller British colonies, like Cyprus and Sierra Leone , had gained independence. Thus, many Jamaicans believed that

1001-457: A particularly close relationship with Canada , which had a similar past as a federation of several former separate British colonies. In the early years, several Caribbean leaders suggested that the West Indies Federation should investigate the possibility of becoming a Canadian province . Despite the breakdown in talks, in May 1961, Canada government presented the West Indies Federation with two of

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1092-428: A separate economy, complete with tariffs, largely because the smaller provinces were afraid of being overwhelmed by the large islands' economies. Also, complete freedom of movement within the Federation was not implemented, as the larger provinces were worried about mass migration from the smaller islands. Jamaica, the largest member of the West Indies Federation, opposed plans to establish a customs union and to increase

1183-621: A significant part of the economy (in 1959 sugar still accounted for nearly 50% of exports). Under the Dutch, settlement and economic activity was concentrated around sugarcane plantations lying inland from the coast. Under the British, cane planting expanded to richer coastal lands, with greater coastline protection. Until the abolition of slavery in the British Empire , sugar planters depended almost exclusively on slave labour to produce sugar. Georgetown

1274-550: A strong federal state (capable of undertaking major economic development projects and redistribution) and those who wanted a federal structure that gave each member substantial autonomy. Eric Williams was a strong advocate for a strong federal state. Critics in Jamaica were opposed to any redistributive schemes that would primarily lead to Jamaica providing grants to the smaller islands. There were also some concerns about unequal development and its impact on areas with less competitive industries which wanted protectionist measures within

1365-559: Is geographically considered to be part of the North American continent as all of its islands are in and around the Caribbean, even though Trinidad is located just offshore from South America and lies on the same continental shelf. See Transcontinental countries . The total population of the West Indies Federation was between 3 and 4 million people, with the majority being of black West African descent. Minorities included Indians from

1456-544: The Berbice Association . The Dutch West India Company founded a third colony, Demerara , in the mid-18th century. During the French Revolutionary Wars of the late 18th century, when the Netherlands were occupied by the French, and Great Britain and France were at war, Britain took over the colony in 1796. A British expeditionary force was dispatched from its colony of Barbados to seize the colonies from

1547-623: The British Government abolished the Dutch-influenced constitution and replaced it with a Crown colony constitution. A Legislative Council with an appointed majority was established, and the administrative powers of the Governor were strengthened. These constitutional changes were not popular among the Guyanese, who viewed them as a step backward. The franchise was extended to women . In 1938

1638-573: The Caribbean that were part of the British Empire , including Trinidad and Tobago , Barbados , Jamaica , and those on the Leeward and Windward Islands , came together to form the Federation, with its capital in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago . The expressed intention of the Federation was to create a political unit that would become independent from Britain as a single state — possibly similar to Canada ,

1729-754: The Democratic Labour Party by Alexander Bustamante . In broad terms, the WIFLP consisted of the urban-based parties throughout the Federation, while the DLP consisted of the rural-based parties. A small third party, the Federal Democratic Party was founded in November 1957 by a group of Trinidadians, although it did not win any seats. The platforms for the two major national parties were similar in many respects. Both advocated maintaining and strengthening ties with

1820-479: The Federation of Australia , or the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland . Before that could happen, the Federation collapsed due to internal political conflicts over how it would be governed or function viably. The formation of a West Indian Federation was encouraged by the United Kingdom, but also requested by pan-Caribbean nationalists. The territories that would have become part of the Federation eventually became

1911-726: The Indian subcontinent (called East Indians), Europeans , Chinese , Arabs , and Caribs . There was also a large population of mixed descent (mainly mulattos , but also Afro-Indian, Euro-Indian and mixed-Chinese). In terms of religion, most of the population was Protestant, with significant numbers of Catholics and some Hindus and Muslims (both almost exclusively from the East Indian population). The West Indies Federation (or just West Indies) consisted of around 24 main inhabited islands and approximately 220–230 minor offshore islands, islets and cays (some inhabited, some uninhabited). The largest island

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2002-589: The Netherlands . Britain returned control of the territory to the Batavian Republic in 1802, but captured the colonies a year later during the Napoleonic Wars . The Netherlands officially ceded the colonies to the United Kingdom in 1815. The British consolidated the territories into a single colony in 1831. The colony's capital was at Georgetown (known as Stabroek prior to 1812). Since the late 19th century,

2093-696: The United States Navy established NAF British Guiana and NAF Paramaribo in British Guiana. The economy was based on cultivation and processing of sugarcane as a commodity crop, dependent on extensive labor by enslaved workers of mostly sub-Saharan African descent. Although the UK and the United States abolished the Atlantic slave trade in 1807, the domestic slave trade flourished until Britain emancipated all

2184-631: The West India Royal Commission ("The Moyne Commission") was appointed to investigate the economic and social condition of all the British colonies in the Caribbean region after a number of civil and labour disturbances . Among other changes, the Commission recommended some constitutional reforms. As a result, in 1943 a majority of the Legislative Council seats became elective, the property qualifications for voters and for candidates for

2275-411: The capital city of the federation: Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago. Earlier in the federal negotiations the general opinion had been that the capital should be one of the smaller islands so that the capital would be in a neutral position to the larger territories and it would be able to inject some buoyancy into one of the (then) poorer economies. To this end, Grenada was tentatively selected as

2366-609: The " New River Triangle ", the triangular-shaped region between the New and Kutari rivers that was in dispute. The then Surinamese colonial government and, after 1975, the independent Surinamese government, maintained the Dutch position, while the British Guiana Government, and later the independent Guyanese government, maintained the British position. British Guiana is famous among philatelists for its early postage stamps, which were first issued in 1850. These stamps include some of

2457-745: The Cayman Islands, the Turks and Caicos Islands (which are all fairly flat), and Trinidad (which has a large mountain range in the north and a small central mountain range in the interior of the otherwise flat island). The narrow coastal plains as well as historical trade is the main reason why almost all of the major settlements (cities and towns) of the Federation were located on the coast. Chief towns included Kingston , Port of Spain , Chaguaramas , Bridgetown , Spanish Town , Montego Bay , San Fernando , Mandeville , Castries , Roseau , St. George's , Kingstown , St. John's , and Basseterre . The climate in all

2548-495: The Council were lowered, and the bar on women and clergy serving on the Council was abolished. The Governor retained control of the Executive Council, which had the power to veto or pass laws against the wishes of the Legislative Council. The next round of constitutional reforms came in 1953. A bicameral legislature , consisting of a lower House of Assembly and an upper State Council, was established. The voting membership of

2639-587: The DLP carried 19 seats. The bulk of the WIFLP seats came from the smaller islands while the DLP carried the majority in Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago. The DLP won 11 of the Jamaican seats and 6 of the Trinidadian seats. In appointing the Senate, Governor General Lord Hailes realized that only the St Vincent island government was DLP controlled and as a result the Senate was going to be disproportionately pro WIFLP. In

2730-498: The DLP had promised a climate favourable to both private industry and labour, development of human and economic resources. The WIFLP promised to encourage the Bahamas (in addition to British Guiana and British Honduras) to join the Federation, whereas the DLP did not. The WIFLP also campaigned to establish a central bank for the extension of credit resources and advocated a democratic socialist society and full internal self-government for all

2821-559: The DLP, also declined to contest the Federal election, leaving the party leadership to the Trinidadian Ashford Sinanan . The absence of the leading Jamaican politicians from any role at the federal level was to undermine the Federation's unity. Other members of the Council of State included: There was also a Federal Supreme Court consisting of a Chief Justice and three (later five) other Justices. The Federal Supreme Court itself

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2912-432: The Federal government, the overwhelming concentration of population and resources in the two largest units, geographic and cultural distance between the units, the lack of a history of common administration, and the impact of the period of self-government that followed the promotion from Crown Colony system. However, the immediate catalyst for the dissolution of the Federation was Jamaican discontent. By 1961, there were

3003-595: The Federation from the US. However the US and the UK disagreed and the Federation's Prime Minister Grantley Adams stopped the provincial leaders from obtaining Chaguaramas. For many Jamaicans it appeared that the Federation would then just hamper their development and movement towards independence. As a result, the Bustamante -led Jamaica Labour Party (the local component of the West Indian DLP) successfully forced Manley to hold

3094-457: The Federation was doomed to financial insolvency. Barbados now refused to shoulder the financial burden, and Antigua and Grenada began toying with the idea of merging with Jamaica and Trinidad, respectively. The Federation spanned all the island groupings in the Caribbean : At its widest (west to east), from the Cayman Islands to Barbados it spanned some 2,425 kilometres (1,310 nmi) (and across approximately 22 degrees of longitude) and from

3185-458: The Federation's existence, each member continued to issue its own postage stamps as before; but on 22 April 1958, each of the members (except for the Cayman Islands) issued a set of three commemorative stamps . All of these stamps used a common design depicting a map of the Caribbean and a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II , with an inscription reading " THE WEST INDIES / FEDERATION 1958 " at

3276-596: The French-dominated Batavian Republic . The colonies surrendered without a struggle. Initially very little changed, as the British agreed to allow the long-established laws of the colonies to remain in force. In 1802 Britain returned the colonies to the Batavian Republic under the terms of the Treaty of Amiens . But, after resuming hostilities with France in the Napoleonic Wars in 1803, Britain seized

3367-471: The House of Assembly was entirely elective. The membership of the State Council was appointed by the Governor and the House of Assembly and possessed limited revisionary powers. A Court of Policy became the executive body, consisting of the Governor and other colonial officials. Universal adult suffrage was instituted, and the property qualifications for office abolished. The election of 27 April 1953 under

3458-641: The PNC, and accordingly, the PNC leader became the new prime minister. In November 1965 an independence conference in London quickly reached agreement on an independent constitution; it set the date for independence as 26 May 1966. On that date, at 12 midnight, British Guiana became the new nation of Guyana . In 1840, the British Government assigned the German-born explorer Robert Hermann Schomburgk to survey and mark out

3549-523: The Turks and Caicos Islands in the north, to the Icacos Point , Trinidad in the south it extended 1,700 kilometres (920 nmi) (and across 12 degrees of latitude). However, most of the area along either of these distances was taken up by open water (with the exception of some of the other islands lying in between). By comparison Great Britain stretches across nearly 10 degrees of latitude and Spain extends across almost 20 degrees of longitude. Even though

3640-405: The United Kingdom, United States, and Canada (countries with which the islands had strong cultural and economic links); encouraging and expanding tourism; working to bring British Guiana and British Honduras into the Federation and to obtain loans, financial aid, and technical assistance. Despite these similarities, there were differences. The WIFLP had advocated the encouragement of agriculture while

3731-481: The United States' Monroe Doctrine to win support for its position. US President Grover Cleveland used diplomatic pressure to get the British to agree to arbitration of the issue, ultimately agreeing terms for the arbitration that suited Britain. An arbitration tribunal convened in Paris in 1898, and issued its award in 1899. The tribunal awarded about 94% of the disputed territory to British Guiana. A commission surveyed

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3822-421: The WIFLP was Norman Manley, Premier of Jamaica, and the next logical choice was Dr Eric Williams , Premier of Trinidad and Tobago. However, neither had contested the Federal elections, preferring to remain in control of their respective island power bases. This suggested that the leaders of the two most important provinces did not see the Federation as viable. Similarly, Alexander Bustamante, the Jamaican founder of

3913-553: The WIFLP) passed a resolution rejecting any further involvement with the Federation. Williams himself stated that "one from ten leaves nought"—in other words, without Jamaica, no Federation was possible. Trinidad and Tobago became independent on August 31, 1962. Without Trinidad and Jamaica, the remaining "Little Eight" attempted to salvage some form of a West Indian Federation, this time centred on Barbados. However, these negotiations ultimately proved fruitless. Without its two largest states,

4004-433: The West Indies Federation as being too weak to defend British Honduras against its neighbour, instead looking to the UK for potential military assistance against Guatemala. British Guiana opted not to join when the Federation was formed due to its own ongoing political and internal struggles for independence from the UK, which had started in the 1950s. At issue was its newly formed political party with socialist leanings , at

4095-573: The West Indies Federation. Several historically "West Indian" British colonies opted not to join the Federation for various reasons. The Bahamas and Bermuda believed that their future lay with association with North America , and the British Virgin Islands similarly looked to a possible future association with the United States Virgin Islands . British Honduras was involved in a territorial dispute with Guatemala and saw

4186-460: The West Indies was spread across such a vast area, most of its provinces were mostly contiguous and clustered fairly close together in the Eastern Caribbean, with the obvious exceptions of Jamaica, the Cayman Islands, and Turks and Caicos Islands. Most of the islands have mountainous interiors surrounded by narrow coastal plains. The exceptions were Anguilla , Antigua , Barbados , Barbuda ,

4277-522: The ability of the federal government to levy taxes. Adom Getachew writes that relations between minority groups, such as the descendants of East Indians (which were a large share of the populations of Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana), and the majority population of Afro-West Indians were a source of tension in the West Indies Federation. For example, Guyana rejected the West Indies Federation in part because it lacked sufficient protections for ethnic minorities. There were tensions between those who wanted

4368-508: The colonies again less than a year later. The Netherlands officially ceded the three colonies to the United Kingdom in the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814 . The UK continued separate administration of the individual colonies until 1822, when the administration of Essequibo and Demerara was combined. In 1831, the administration Essequibo-Demerara and Berbice was combined, and the united colony became known as British Guiana. During World War II

4459-497: The colonies involved three phases: desertion from the plantations; movement settlements and later to urban areas; and intra-regional migration from one Caribbean island to another. The traditional rigid Indian caste system largely collapsed in the colonies. Guianese served in all British forces during the Second World War, and enjoyed veterans' benefits afterwards. The colony made a small but important financial contribution to

4550-657: The constitution, declared a state of emergency , and militarily occupied British Guiana on 9 October 1953. Under the direction of the British Colonial Office , the Governor assumed direct rule of the colony under an Interim Government, which continued until 1957. On 12 August 1957, elections were held and the PPP won nine of fourteen elective seats in a new legislature. A constitutional convention convened in London in March 1960 reached agreement on another new legislature, to consist of an elected House of Assembly (35 seats) and

4641-614: The constitution. This article about a constitutional law topic is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This Jamaica -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . West Indies Federation The West Indies Federation , also known as the West Indies , the Federation of the West Indies or the West Indian Federation , was a short-lived political union that existed from 3 January 1958 to 31 May 1962. Various islands in

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4732-500: The demise of the federation. These include the lack of local popular support, competing insular nationalism , the weakness of the federal government, prohibitions on federal taxation and freedom of movement, inadequacies in the Federal constitution , fundamental changes made to the constitution very early in its existence, political feuds between the influential leaders, the decision of the three most influential politicians not to contest Federal elections, friction between these leaders and

4823-660: The dispute remains unresolved. Robert Schomburgk's 1840 commission also included a survey of the colony's eastern boundary with the Dutch colony of Surinam , now the independent nation of Suriname . The 1899 arbitration award settling the British Guiana–Venezuela border made reference to the border with Suriname as continuing to the source of the Courantyne River , which it named as the Kutari River . The Netherlands raised

4914-403: The duration of the federation's existence. The Federation also had a number of units deemed to be common services for the entire federation, these were: In preparation for the first federal elections, two Federation-wide parties were organised as confederations of local political parties. Both were organised by Jamaican politicians: the West Indies Federal Labour Party by Norman Manley , and

5005-451: The economy has become more diversified but has still relied on resource exploitation . Guyana became independent of the United Kingdom on 26 May 1966. The English made at least two unsuccessful attempts in the 17th century to colonise the lands that would later be known as British Guiana. By that time, the Dutch had established two colonies in the area: Essequibo , administered by the Dutch West India Company , and Berbice , administered by

5096-412: The elective membership of the Courts. Membership of the Court of Policy became half elected and half appointed, and all of the Financial Representatives became elective positions. The executive functions of the Court of Policy were transferred to a new Executive Council under the control of the Governor. Property qualifications were significantly relaxed for voters and for candidates to the Courts. In 1928

5187-411: The embryonic Federation were wrecked by struggles between the federal government and the provincial governments, and even power sharing between the two largest provinces (Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago) and the smaller provinces. The West Indies Federation had an unusually weak federal structure. For instance, its provinces were not contained in a single customs union . Thus, each province functioned as

5278-457: The enactment which allowed for appeals from the British Honduras Supreme Court to the Privy Council or the Supreme Court of Jamaica, namely the British Honduras (Court of Appeal) Act 1881 . (The arrangement for appeals to the Supreme Court of Jamaica had generally ceased in 1911 anyway.) Sir Stanley Eugene Gomes , Chief Justice of Trinidad and Tobago , was appointed Chief Justice of the Federation in August 1961. The Federation maintained

5369-414: The enslaved in its colonies in the 1830s. The wealth they generated had largely flowed to a group of absentee slave owners living in Britain, especially in Glasgow and Liverpool . The economy of British Guiana was completely based on sugarcane production until the 1880s, when falling cane sugar prices stimulated a shift toward rice farming, mining and forestry. But the production of sugarcane remained

5460-421: The failure of the 1958 Federation. The initial federal attempts never went so far as to try to encompass all of the British West Indies (BWI), but were more regional in scope. The historical regional groupings included the British Leeward Islands , British Windward Islands and Jamaica with its nearby former dependencies. See: History of the British West Indies . Many reasons have been put forward to explain

5551-419: The federal government. These requests were not well received, as Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago together already contributed 85 percent of the federal revenue, in roughly equal portions. Furthermore, the office of the Prime Minister was a weak one. Unlike other Westminster systems with Prime Ministers, the West Indian Federation's PM could not dissolve Parliament. Three member states were proposed as hosts for

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5642-489: The federation. In addition, the federal government could not take its component states to task. The initial federal budget was quite small, limiting the federal government's ability to use its financial largess as a carrot . It was dependent upon grants from the United Kingdom and from its member states. The provincial budgets of Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago were both larger than the federal budget. This led to repeated requests for those states to provide greater financing to

5733-446: The financing of the Federation. Her representative, The 1st Baron Hailes , was given the title of Governor-General , synonymous with a self governing colony, rather than that of Governor more typical for a British Crown colony system of government. The title may have reflected the federal nature of the state, or indicated the expectations that the Federation would soon become self governing or independent. The Governor-General also had

5824-489: The former Executive Council. From 1962 to 1964, riots, strikes and other disturbances stemming from racial, social and economic conflicts delayed full independence for British Guiana. The leaders of the political parties reported to the British Colonial Secretary that they were unable to reach agreement on the remaining details of forming an independent government. The British Colonial Office intervened by imposing its own independence plan, in part requiring another election under

5915-444: The former colonies persisted, and the Federation never achieved full sovereignty . The legal basis for the federation was the British Caribbean Federation Act 1956 , and the date of formation—3 January 1958—was set by an Order in Council proclaimed in 1957. The Federation of the West Indies was not the first attempt at a British Caribbean federation. The history of the previous attempts at federations and unions, in part, explains

6006-636: The full authority of the British Government to veto any laws passed by the Federation. The Federal Parliament of the West Indies Federation was bicameral , consisting of a nominated Senate and a popularly elected House of Representatives . The Senate consisted of nineteen members. These members were appointed by the Governor General, after consulting the respective territorial governments. Two members represented each unit (with only one from Montserrat). The House of Representatives had 45 total elected members – Jamaica had seventeen seats, Trinidad and Tobago ten seats, Barbados five seats, Montserrat one seat, and

6097-474: The height of the Cold War . It had hoped to join the Federation once these issues were resolved. British Honduras and British Guiana did participate in the Federation to a certain extent as observers. The Bahamas participated in the 1960 West Indies Federation Games , with a future prime minister of the Bahamas, Perry Christie , as an athlete. Guyana would ultimately express interest in a very loose re-attempted Caribbean Federation around 1971. The Federation

6188-556: The increasing success and wealth of the Booker Group, they expanded internationally and diversified by investing in rum, pharmaceuticals, publishing, advertising, retail stores, timber, and petroleum, among other industries. The Booker Group became the largest employer in the colony, leading some to refer to it as "Booker's Guiana". Indentured workers were recruited from India from 1850 to 1920, and were largely locked in place. A minority achieved mobility. Some secretly fled; others waited until their contracts expired. Indian migration within

6279-421: The inland mines still operate narrow-gauge lines. The British long continued the forms of Dutch colonial government in British Guiana. A Court of Policy exercised both legislative and executive functions under the direction of the colonial Governor (which existed from 1831 to 1966). A group known as the Financial Representatives sat with the Court of Policy in a Combined Court to set tax policies. A majority of

6370-499: The island could and should seek independence in its own right. There were also problems with the Federation's proposed capital in Chaguaramas on Trinidad, at that time still in the hands of the United States (having leased it as a naval base from the United Kingdom during World War II). Many of the Caribbean provincial leaders wanted Chaguaramas to be the Federation's capital. Provincial leaders, such as Norman Manley of Jamaica and Eric Williams, pushed for handing over of Chaguaramas to

6461-422: The islands is tropical, with hot and humid weather, although inland regions in the larger islands have more temperate climates. Regions falling within the rain shadows (southern coasts of Jamaica and Trinidad and eastern coasts of the Lesser Antilles) are relatively drier. There are two seasons annually: the dry season for the first six months of the year, and the rainy season (also known as the hurricane season) in

6552-409: The judges on the tribunal acted improperly as a result of a back-room deal between Russia and Great Britain. The British Government rejected this claim, asserting the validity of the 1899 award. The British Guiana Government, then under the leadership of the PPP, also strongly rejected this claim. Efforts by all parties to resolve the matter on the eve of Guyana's independence in 1966 failed; as of today,

6643-541: The member state to host the capital but this was abandoned after protests from some of the parties involved, and at the London Conference the smaller islands were ruled out for consideration. Within Trinidad and Tobago the first proposed site was Chaguaramas , a few miles west of Port of Spain , but the site was part of a United States naval base . In practice, Port of Spain served as the de facto federal capital for

6734-531: The members of the Courts was appointed by the Governor; the rest were selected by a College of Kiezers (Electors). The Kiezers were elected, with the restrictive franchise based on property holdings and limited to the larger landowners of the colony. The Courts were dominated in the early centuries by the sugar planters and their representatives. In 1891 the College of Kiezers was abolished in favour of direct election of

6825-408: The new system provoked a serious constitutional crisis. The People's Progressive Party (PPP) won 18 of the 24 seats in the House of Assembly. This result alarmed the British Government, which was surprised by the strong showing of the PPP. It considered the PPP as too friendly with communist organisations. As a result of its fears of communist influence in the colony, the British Government suspended

6916-570: The nine contemporary sovereign states of Antigua and Barbuda , Barbados , Dominica , Grenada , Jamaica , Saint Kitts and Nevis , Saint Lucia , Saint Vincent and the Grenadines , and Trinidad and Tobago ; with Anguilla , Montserrat , the Cayman Islands , and the Turks and Caicos Islands becoming British overseas territories . British Guiana and British Honduras held observer status within

7007-399: The region's most important gifts: two merchant ships , named The Federal Palm and The Federal Maple . These two vessels visited every island in the federation twice monthly, providing a crucial sea-link between the islands. During that period, many calypsos made reference to the Federation of the West Indies , first expressing hope, then frustration as the process collapsed. During

7098-519: The remaining islands two seats each. However the government (executive) would be a Council of State, not a Cabinet. It would be presided over by the Governor-General and consist of the Prime Minister and ten other officials. The West Indies Federation did not have independent sources of revenue (relying instead on a mandatory levy on the islands), and did not establish any agreements on a customs union, free trade, or free movement. The politics of

7189-535: The second half of the year. Many of the islands fall within the Main Development Region for tropical cyclone activity, with the exception of Trinidad (although it occasionally experiences low latitude hurricanes) and thus are at risk from potential wind and flood damage. Britain classified the Federation as being part of its "Caribbean and North Atlantic Territories" region which was shared alongside other possessions such as Bermuda . The Federation today

7280-519: The sugar industry and others were built to serve the later bauxite and other mines. In 1948, when the railway in Bermuda was closed down, the locomotives, rolling stock, track, sleepers and virtually all the associated paraphernalia of a railway were shipped to British Guiana to renovate the aged system. The lines ceased to operate in 1972. The large Central Station is still standing in Georgetown. Some of

7371-485: The top and the name of the member state at the bottom. These stamps are quite common in both mint and used condition. British Guiana British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies . It was located on the northern coast of South America . Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana . The first known Europeans to encounter Guiana were Sir Walter Raleigh , an English explorer, and his crew. Raleigh published

7462-431: The unit territories, whilst avoiding the issues of freedom of movement and a customs union. The DLP said nothing about full internal self-government, attacked socialism, wished to avoid high taxation (via loans and technical aid) and emphasized West Indian unity, freedom of worship and speech, and encouragement of trade unions. Federal elections were held on 25 March 1958. The WIFLP won the election, winning 26 seats while

7553-707: The war effort. It also served as a refuge for Jews displaced from continental Europe, where the Nazis and Fascists worked to destroy them in the Holocaust. British colonists built the first railway system in British Guiana: 98 km (61 mi) of 1,435 mm ( 4 ft  8 + 1 ⁄ 2  in ) standard gauge , from Georgetown to Rosignol, and 31 km (19 mi) of 1,067 mm ( 3 ft 6 in ) line between Vreeden Hoop and Parika; it opened in 1848. Several narrow-gauge lines were built to serve

7644-595: The western boundary of British Guiana with newly independent Venezuela . Venezuela did not accept the Schomburgk Line , which placed the entire Cuyuni River basin within the colony. Venezuela claimed all lands west of the Essequibo River as its territory (see map in this section). The dispute continued on and off for half a century, culminating in the Venezuela Crisis of 1895 , in which Venezuela sought to use

7735-427: Was Jamaica , located in the far northwest of the Federation. To the southeast lay the second largest island, Trinidad , followed by Barbados (in terms of population), located at the eastern extremity of the Federation. As with all British colonies of the period, Queen Elizabeth II was the head of state , and The Crown was vested with the legislative authority for matters concerning executive affairs, defence and

7826-425: Was an attempt to salvage a new federation from the wreckage of the old. Much depended on Premier Williams of Trinidad and Tobago, who had stated previously that he wanted a "strong federation". Premier Vere Bird of Antigua responded that his province would only be in a federation with Trinidad as an equal partner, not as "a little Tobago". He did indicate that a strong federation was acceptable provided that no attempt

7917-504: Was an internally self-governing , federal state made up of ten provinces, all British colonial possessions. The federation was created by the United Kingdom in 1958 from most of the British West Indies . Britain intended that the Federation would shortly become a fully independent state, thus simultaneously satisfying the demands for independence from all the colonies in the region. However, significant political divisions among

8008-437: Was made to create a unitary state. Negotiations on this new federation began in September 1961; however, they indicated that Trinidad would have to provide 75 to 80 percent of the new Federation's revenue. Also, even though Trinidad would now represent 60 percent of the new Federation's population, the proposals under consideration would give it less than half of the seats in parliament. By November, Williams indicated that he

8099-505: Was now in favour of the idea of a unitary state. Failing that, he resolved to take Trinidad and Tobago into independence. In this, he was buoyed by his re-election as Trinidadian leader on 4 December 1961. Later that December, Premier Errol Barrow of Barbados met with Williams, but failed to persuade him to keep Trinidad in the Federation. On January 14, 1962, the People's National Movement (the Williams-led Trinidad component of

8190-506: Was the site of a significant slave rebellion in 1823 . In the 1880s gold and diamond deposits were discovered in British Guiana, including what was thought to be the world's largest diamond in 1922. They did not generate significant revenue. Bauxite deposits proved more promising and would remain an important part of the economy. The colony did not develop any significant manufacturing industry, other than sugar factories, rice mills, sawmills , and certain small-scale industries (including

8281-819: Was the successor to the West Indian Court of Appeal (established in 1919) and had jurisdiction over the same territories (Barbados, British Guiana, the Leeward Islands (including the British Virgin Islands), Trinidad & Tobago and the Windward Islands) in addition to Jamaica and its dependencies, except for British Honduras, as the British Caribbean Federation Act 1956, which empowered the Privy Council to establish it, also repealed

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