Islands at the Crossroads: Political Dilemmas of the Modern Colonies of the

Aaron Gamaliel Ramos

24th Annual Conference, Caribbean Studies Association Panama, May 24-28, 1999

Communications: Aaron Gamaliel Ramos, Department of Social Sciences, Faculty of General Studies, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, PR 0093 1. Email: [email protected] ramosaaron~hotmail.com Islands at the Crossroads:

Political Dilemmas of the Modern Colonies of the Caribbean

Aaron Gamaliel Ramos

The colonies that remain in the Caribbean stand at their second historical crossroads since becoming residues of the process underwent after the end of World War 2. The end of the Cold War, the reordering of the world of nations, and increasing unconformity with existing colonial arrangements have created new dilemmas for both metropolitan and colonial actors in the remaining colonial territories of the

Caribbean.

Currently there are 12 colonies in the region which are the remains of the decolonization process that took place after World War 11.: three French

Departements d'Outre Mer: Guadeloupe, Martinique, and Guyane; the

British dependencies of Anguilla, Virgin Islands, ,

Montserrat, Turks & Caicos; the Dutch colonial system composed of Aruba and a the Dutch Antilles (which are formed by the island of Cura~ao,

Bonaire, Sint Maarten, Sint Eustatius, and Saba); and two territories of the

United States: Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.

The political re-arrangements in the colonial structures that were made after World War 2 were largely influenced by a twofold process. For one, the decolonization process in general revealed the precarious conditions of Old World colonial powers after the war and the strength of Caribbean nationalism. On the other hand, it manifested the growing hegemony of the

United States in the Caribbean. Through the decolonization process advanced by Great Britain, a significant portion of the British possessions evolved into full fledged independent states. However, the growing distrust by the United States and its post war allies of the ideologies embraced by anti-colonialist actors in the territories was a factor of containment in the decolonization trend. As a result of the interplay between strategic interests and colonial histories two alternative trends to independence emerged: integration and a variety of expessions of self-government.

Immediately after the war, in 1946, France transformed its colonies of

Guadeloupe, Martinique, and Guyane in Departments d Outre Mer (DOMs), an arrangement that incorporated for the first time the non contiguous territories in the Caribbean and the Pacific into the French political system as overseas departments. In turn, the British followed a gradualist policy of decolonization that commenced with the independence of and

Trinidad in 1962, and Barbados and Guyana in 1966; and continued successively through stages: The Bahamas in 1973, Grenada in 1974,

Dominica in 1978, Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent &, The Grenadines in

1979, Antigua-Barbuda in 1981, Saint Christopher- Nevis in 1983. The

United States and Holland followed a more cautious approach. Between

1945 and 1964, as the United States consolidated its hegemony in the region, there was a process of containment of decolonization that reflected

US concerns that the creation of new political structures led by would alter

regional stability. With the establishment of the Commonwealth of Puerto

Rico in 1952, the United States ended a period of a half century of direct

colonial rule, allowing Puerto Rico to form an autonomous government,

while retaining congressional control of the Island. Subsequently, in 1968,

it expanded self government in the Virgin Islands. Similarly, through the

Statuut approved by the Netherlands in 1954 Dutch colonialism began its

shift from the practice of direct colonial rule to the broadening of the role of

domestic groups in its territories.

The future of these territories was a sidestepped theme in the Cold War

Caribbean scenario which was dominated by the Cuban Revolution and the

political crises in Central America. But the formation of a new regional

order, characterized by the end of the global conflict between the US and

the USSR and the consolidation of neo-liberal views on economic

development, have confronted the colonies with new problems and

challenges. However, while most of the pillars that sustained colonial

arrangements throughout the ast forty years have been weakened or

disappeared, there are no traditional alternatives in sight for the

decolonization of the territories that remained attached to Great Britain,

France, Holland, and the United States.

I. Modern Caribbean Colonies While geopolitical considerations were decisive in reorienting the process ofpolitical re-arrangement in the Caribbean region, colonialism was legitimized internally by the broadening of the role of domestic groups in the admnistration of ternatonesand the extension of the social policies of the welfare state. Political rearrangement through French departamentalization and British, Dutch and United States selfgovernment, took place through the application of social and economic policies which, withfew exceptions, stimulated economic activities in the tem'tories, improved infrastructure, and elevated the standard of living of its inhabitants, as Table1 . 1 shows.

The social and economic changes that have transformed territories during the last forty years present a more complex set of obstacles for traditional decolonization. On the one hand, most colonies have reached a developmental level that distances them from the neighboring independent societies. They posess urban economies that are closely tied to the metropolitan ggovernment through subsidies or commerce; and they have benefitted from the extension of developmental upsurge experienced by their metropoles during the last forty years. In addition, they have social and economic indicators that reveal high life expectancy, high income and educational levels, and low levels of disease. For example, the combined per capita income of the independent countries of the anglophone Caribbean is

$2975, while that of the British dependencies is $ $8656. And while

Surinamese have a per capita income of $2290, in Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles it is $$9628. The contrast is even more dramatic between the French Antilles and Haiti, and between Puerto Rico and the hsipanic societies of the Greater Atilles. These are factors with a strong impact on the political arena of these moden Caribbean colonies.

Table 1.1 Caribbean Colonies: Selected Social and Economic Data

Colonies Date Area Total Life Urban Gross Per Capita

Acquired (Km2) Population Expecun Popula tio Domestic Income

(000) CY n Product ("/.I

r 70

Territorie Dutch 1634 800 190 77 69.2 1754 9039

Antilles(b

1

British

Colonies

Anguilla 16150 96 7 70 11 77 3853 1

Virgin 1672 151 18 70 56 268 14122

Islands

Cayman 1670 264 25 75 100. 582 18770

Islands

Montserr 1632 102 12 6 8 16.3 70 6400 at

Turks & 1766 430 13 70 43.6 110 7700

Caicos

(a) Includes the islands of SaintThomas, Saint Croix y Saint John

(b) Includes the islands of Cura~ao,Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, Sint Maarten, and Saba.

Source: United Nations Statistical Yearbook, Num. 42, New York, 1997

Because of differences in size, internal sociological configurations, and colonial experiences, each one of the territories has particular attributes. British colonies have evolved from traditional societies with agricultural economies to urban societies with modern economies that are fully integrated into the world capitalist economy through tourism and financial activities. With the exception of Anguilla and Montserrat, tourism is the main economic base of most of the colonies of Britain, although offshore finances is a key economic activity in the Cayman Islands. 7 Moreover, contrary to the pattern in the colonies of France, Holland and the United States, British dependencies have reduced significantly their dependency with their metropole. Aside from Montserrat, British colonies receieve no budgetary aid from the , and conversely, their integration into the world tourist circuits has involved a greater liaison ith the external world. The French departments have also experienced considerable change throughout the post war period, moving from agricultural to tourism econmies with a strong public sector.

11. Avenues and Obstacles in the Route to Decolonization

There are contradictions tha are inherent to colonialism that development and high standards of living have not effaced. Domination of the colonial sort is historicaly associated with ethnic, linguistic and racial, and cultural antagonisms that have considerable weight in the political terrain. Thus after departamentalization, the demands for cultural autonomy have grown in the French Antilles. Similarly, social and political movements with a standpoint on identity and cultural awareness have excacerbated in the

British, Dutch and United States territories. Political life in the colonies is thus determined by a deep seated tension between seemingly contradictory inclinations: the preservation of social and economic gains, and the consolidation of the cultural community.

What are then the options for decolonization in the current historical setting? There is a diversity of colonial policies and colonial experiences does not allow for a general theory on Caribbean colonialism, much less about the outcomes. While the pillars supporting post World War 2 nec- colonialism have all but disappeared, the future of the territories is full of uncertainties. Both the metropolitan powers and their territories have begun to experience the limitations of the colonial structures; but they have not yet found adequate alternatives that will meet the expectations of this new historical setting.

One major impediment regards the entrenchment of old colonial policies. There is an unevenness between the new realities in which territories have been placed and metropolitan attitudes towards them. For exaample, despite their acquired development, British dependencies remain organized as classical colonies: there is an externally appointed governor, and the metropolitan power exercises a direct control over the internal affairs of thecolony, including external affairs, internal security, and the civil service. However,, colonial subjects do not enjoy same citizenship rights as the inhabitants of the metropole, a fact that remains a sore point in the debates surrunding petitions for political change. Similarly, while the United States and Holland have maintained a pattern of cyclical discussion on the future of their territories thrughout the post war period, it has been reactive in nature, lacking a wholesale vision of colonial political development. Yet both the British and the Dutch colonial policies have shifted from a post war gradualism that sought a piecemeal conversion of small islands into viable federated states, to a policy of deferral of decolonization.

Secondy, while the strategic ingredients that shaped colonial policies during the early post war period have been dramatically modified, there are new geopolitical considerations tat Today the Caribbean seems to be shifting from an area of geopolitical interest informed by the Cold War to an area of strategic concerns informed by drug trafficking and illegal migration. The expansion of the Caribbean as a gateway for drug trafficking from has tended to redefine an interest in the retention of territories. There has been a shift in orientation from traditional military concerns, informed by the ideological divide of the Cold War, to policing the region to control drug trafficking an illegal migration. This has been a consistent concern of the United Nations Committee on Decolonization. One resulting element in this new scenario is a greater coordination of European and north American powers in the region, and a greater reliance in the

United States military forces, particularly the US Navy and the US Coast

Guard, for regional security. For example while there has been a tendency towards a lack of interest in preserving the Netherlands Antilles as Dutch colonies, there are indications of a process of reconsolidation of Dutch control, in alliance with United States power in the region. Similarly, the transfer of the facilities of the Southern Command from Panama to San Juan, reveals a military policy affecting Puerto Rico that affects the political status question.

Thirdly, as the metropolitan powers face economic difficulties and engage in fiscal revisionism, economic questions become salient ones in the debate on decolonization. For one, neoliberal economic policies have halted the protectionist policies and buried the egalitarian outlook that permeated colonial policies throughout the post war. There is a trend in metropolitan circles to consider the future of territories in the light of their own fiscal situations; and there is a deep seated ideology neoliberal assumption that contradicts the massive amount of social funds that were funneled to the territories during he first four decades of the post war. As is manifested today in the case of the French Antilles, there is a tension between the requirements of the European Community to efface subsidies and preferential commercial relations, and the permanence of agricultural economic activities in Guadeloupe and Martinique. Furthermore, there is a tendency in metropolitan circles to consider the future of territories in the light of their own fiscal situations; and there is a deep seated ideology neoliberal assumption that contradicts the massive amount of social funds that were funneled to the territories during he first four decades of the post war. In addition, there are important cultural dilemmas facing the colonies which are a key ingredient of the diemmas associated with the end of imperialism in the Caribbean. Neoconservative politics have brought to the 11 fore two issues that are historicaly associated with colonialism: cuture and citizenship. are two aspects that have come to the fore: the privileges granted to colonies, and the question of citizenship.

An element contriburing to stagnation is the lack of internal consensus on decolonization. In some of the colonies there has been. In none of the colonies has there been a clear electoral expression in favor of full independence; and in some of the British dependies there have been manifestations not to follow that route. On the other hand, full integration in the Fench model1 has not discontinued many of the elementss of unconformity that appear in the rest of the colonies; and in Puerto Rico, the ideology of annexation has not been a true course for integration into the

US politiy and society, despite its strong electoral turnout.

A major avenue is a new context marked by regionalization and the joint action of Caribbean nations to deal with urgent economic issues and problems. While the regional organizations of the early post war period were the product of post war efforts to coordinate the management of territories by the United States and European powers, there is a new trend towards the building of regional structures involving Caribbean actors, such as

CARICOM and the Association of Caribbean States (ACS).And while colonies have been historicaly excluded from direct participation in many regional and international bodies, many of them have opened up for cooperation with overseas territories and French overseas departments. 12 Some authors have argued that this is an indispensable part of the process of decolonization since metropolitan membership in international bodies that make decisions affecting territories does not guarantee representation of their concerns.

Conclusions

Caribbean colonies have reached a difficult stage in their historical development. They appeared to have reached a dead end as far as dependent development is concerned, but yet the paths towards decolonization are not clearly cut. Problems of domestic consensus regarding status, metropitan ambivalences, and a new and yet uncertain world scenario contribute to the shaping of the current crisis for these territories. Given ths new scenarin, politics has taken a new turn at the crossroads, a mixture of political realities with the opening of avenues for political transformation. The greatest challenge for the twelve Caribbean territories is the active search of internal consensus based on the guaranteeing of development and increased autonomy.