Decolonising the Caribbean Dutch Policies in a Comparative Perspective

Gert Oostindie & Amsterdam University Press Gert Oostindie & Inge Klinkers Inge Klinkers Much has been written on the post-war decolonisation in the Caribbean, but rarely from a truly comparative Decolonising perspective, and seldom with serious attention to the former Dutch colonies of Suriname, the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba. The present study bridges both the gaps. In their analysis of Dutch decolonisation policies since the 1940s, the authors discuss not only political processes, but also development aid, the Dutch Caribbean Caribbean exodus to the metropolis and cultural an- tagonisms. A balance is drawn both of the costs and benefits of independence in the Caribbean and of the Decolonising the Caribbean Dutch Policies in a outlines and results of the policies pursued in the non- sovereign Caribbean by France, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States. Comparative Perspective Gert Oostindie is director of the kitlv/Royal Nether- lands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Stud- ies and holds a chair in Caribbean Studies at Utrecht University. Inge Klinkers successfully defended her PhD thesis on Caribbean decolonisation policies at Utrecht University and is now an editor for various academic presses. In 2001, Oostindie and Klinkers published the three-volume study, Knellende Koninkrijksbanden. Het Nederlandse dekolonisatiebeleid in de Caraïben, 1940-2000 and the abridged version Het Koninkrijk in de Caraïben, 1940-2000, both with Amsterdam University Press. www.aup.nl Amsterdam University Press Decolonising the Caribbean Decolonising the Caribbean Dutch Policies in a Comparative Perspective Gert Oostindie & Inge Klinkers Amsterdam University Press Cover map: the borders between the various countries in the Guyanas are disputed.The present map does not express the judgement of all countries involved, nor of the authors. Cover design and lay-out: Hannie Pijnappels,Amsterdam isbn90 5356 654 6 nur680, 697 W Amsterdam University Press,Amsterdam, 2003 All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this book may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the written permission of both the copyright owner and the author of the book. Table of Contents Acknowledgements – 7 Introduction – 9 1. The Comparative Context: Fragmentation of the British West Indies and the Remnants of Empire – 17 The Colonial Period – 17 The Failure of the West Indian Federation – 20 Re-engagement: The Overseas Territories – 24 2. The Comparative Context: The French départements d’outre-mer, Grandeur and Civilisation at a Price – 29 The Colonial Period – 30 Decolonisation through Integration – 32 Assimilation à la française – 36 3. The Comparative Context: Puerto Rico and the u.s. Virgin Islands, Deadlocks in American Geopolitics – 42 The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico – 43 Puerto Rico’s Status Debate – 48 The u.s. Virgin Islands: Unincorporated Territory – 53 4. Dutch Rule in the Caribbean up until 1940: Careless Colonialism – 57 Failed Exploitation – 57 Colonial Administration – 60 Cultural Divides – 62 5. The Dismantling of the Dutch Empire, 1940-1954 – 64 World War ii,Powerless Dutch Colonialism and the Atlantic Charter – 65 In the Shadow of Indonesia – 69 The Round-Table Conferences – 76 The Charter of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, 1954 – 84 6. The Failed Attempt at Model Decolonisation, 1954-1975 – 89 Exploring the Charter’s Margins – 92 Turning Point: The 1969 Curaçao Revolt – 96 Negotiating the Independence of Suriname – 102 The Antillean Refusal – 116 7. The Perpetuation of the Transatlantic Kingdom since 1975 – 118 The Aruban Status Aparte – 121 A New Dutch Agenda for the 1990s – 131 Deadlocks and the Margins of Autonomy – 140 Into the Twenty-First Century – 145 8. Illusions and Benefits of ‘Reciprocal Assistance’: Development Aid – 153 Towards Structural Aid, 1954-1975 – 157 Aid to the Antilles and Aruba since 1975: Structural or Finite? – 163 A Comparative Perspective – 172 9.A Caribbean Exodus – 177 Prelude, 1954-1973 – 180 The Independence of Suriname and the Exodus, 1973-1980 – 183 The Antillean Exodus of the 1990s – 189 AComparative Perspective – 194 10. Cultural Exchange, Proximity and Distance – 201 Dutch Passport, Dutch Language? – 202 Reciprocal Cultural Exchange? – 207 AComparative Perspective – 212 11. Epilogue – 215 Dutch Caribbean Decolonisation in a Nutshell – 217 – Caribbean Decolonisation: a Tentative Balance Sheet – 220 What Kind of Kingdom? – 224 The Future – 229 Notes – 234 Bibliography – 270 Indexes – 284 Acknowledgements This book concludes the research which began in 1995, and which culmi- nated in the PhD thesis by Inge Klinkers De weg naar het Statuut (1999), our three-volume Knellende Koninkrijksbanden (2001), and its abridged version, Het Koninkrijk in de Caraïben (2001). We would like to acknowledge the support of the institutions which enabled the research and writing of Knellende Koninkrijksbanden: the Dutch Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Affairs, the kitlv/Royal Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies in Lei- den, and our then advisory board consisting of, in alphabetical order, the late Jnan Adhin, Mito Croes, Carel de Haseth, Ernst Hirsch Ballin (chair), 7 and Harry Hoetink.1 We mention with deep gratitude the over sixty protagonists we interviewed from all four countries involved. The writing of Decolonising the Caribbean entailed more research, more in- terviews and a great deal of discussion. We thank Marcel Cramwinckel, Pitou van Dijck, Carel de Haseth, Richard Price and Gijs de Vries for their helpful comments on earlier drafts of various chapters.2 The comments of the protagonists of the most recent history were at times diametrically op- posed. We have attempted to give a proper perspective of their views. It goes without saying that ultimate responsibility for the facts and analyses presented in this book remains with the authors. With heartfelt thanks we acknowledge the editorial support of Maggi West, who helped iron out the English that went Dutch. Knellende Koninkrijksbanden and Het Koninkrijk in de Caraïben were published with great care and enthusiasm by Amsterdam University Press. We are delighted to publish this final piece once again with aup.We owe many thanks to the Press’ tenacious director, Saskia de Vries. Introduction For over two centuries much of the Caribbean has been embroiled in heat- ed, and initially violent, decolonisation. One may well date the beginnings of the process to the first recorded retreats of European colonisers, the con- clusion of the eighteenth century peace treaties between the British and the Maroons of Jamaica, and then between the Dutch and the Maroons of Suri- name – struggles for freedom which were, however, inconsequential in post-colonial history. So, Caribbean decolonisation formally began with the 1791 Haitian Revolution. With this seminal event came the dawning of a new era. Constitutional sovereignty was subsequently secured by the Do- 9 minican Republic (1844) and at the start of the twentieth century by Cuba (1901). Both were late in securing sovereignty by Latin American standards. Whereas the three most populated Caribbean countries had now gained independence, the rest of the region remained firmly locked within colonialism, either dependent on the traditional metropolitan powers, the United Kingdom, France and the Netherlands, or usurped by the ascending power of the United States.At the outbreak of World War iimost Caribbean territories were still bound in colonial tutelage. A new wave of decolonisation swept the region in the 1960s and 1970s. Today most of the Caribbean is sovereign and some 85 per cent of the 37 million Caribbean people live in independent countries. However, it ap- pears that independence was achieved at a high price. In general terms, standards of living in the non-sovereign Caribbean are significantly higher than they are in the independent countries. Furthermore, in a region that has witnessed many dictatorial regimes and territorial disputes, and which now faces the contemporary challenges of international crime, the remain- ing non-sovereign territories still continue to enjoy a higher degree of secu- rity and stability. Small wonder then that the urge for independence in these territories is weak, and indeed it seems that Caribbean decolonisation may well have reached its final dénouement with the present status quo. As a result of this ‘unfinished’ decolonisation, a little over five million Caribbean citizens are living in one of the four non-sovereign parts of the region.The overwhelming majority of these are Puerto Ricans (3.8 million). The population figures for the other territories are much lower. The three French départements d’outre-mer harbour almost one million inhabitants, the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba nearly 270,000, the British Caribbean Overseas Territories 155,000 and the u.s. Virgin Islands 110,000. These five million residents live under divergent post-colonial arrangements. In view of the diversity in approach by the other colonisers, it is necessary in the opening chapters to outline these in order to give context to Dutch post- war decolonisation policy. Metropolitan policies mainly conditioned decolonisation, as will become clear from the following; yet in the British and Dutch cases Caribbean obstruction successfully blocked the effort to ac- complish a full retreat.

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