Islands at the Crossroads: Political Dilemmas of the Modern Colonies of the Caribbean 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 decolonization 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, Cayman 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 Jamaica 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 United Kingdom, 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-