Whatever is Happening to Gils Famous Federation?
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Gils
- Posts: 3469
- Joined: Thu Apr 19, 2012 3:39 pm
" Some see the West Indies cricket team as a legacy of the Federation, although the side was actually organised thirty years prior to the birth of the federation" .
"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 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.
Nor could the federal government take its component states to task. The initial federal budget was quite small, limiting the federal government's ability to use its financial largesse as a carrot.
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 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.
the immediate catalyst for the dissolution of the Federation was Jamaican discontent.
By 1961, there were a number of reasons for Jamaica's dissatisfaction with the state of affairs:
Jamaica was fairly remote from most of the other islands in the Federation, lying several hundred miles to the west.
Jamaica's share of the seats in the federal parliament was smaller than its share of the total population of the Federation.
It was believed that the smaller islands were draining Jamaica's wealth ".
- Smallies such as the dunce are welcome to show us the value of the Jamaican dollar but are warned that in return i'll simply point to the artificial propping up of the currency by foreign powers.
Then ask of its manufacturing industries.
" Many in Jamaica were upset that Kingston had not been chosen as the federal capital.
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" .
- May 31, 1962 Federation dissolved, August 6th 1962 Jamaica becomes independent
" 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 the island could and should seek independence in its own right.
There were also problems with the Federation's proposed capital in Chaguaramas, 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 2). Many of the Caribbean provincial leaders wanted Chaguaramas to be the Federation's capital. Provincial leaders such as Norman Manley of Jamaica and Dr Eric Williams pushed for handing over of Chaguramas to the Federation from the US ".
- it should be noted that the federation was only dissolved AFTER Williams used Jamaica's exit as cause to hasten T&T's departure.
" However the US and the UK disagreed and the Federation's Prime Minister Grantley Adams denied the provincial leaders from obtaining Chaguramas. For many Jamaicans it appeared that the Federation would then just hamper their development and movement towards independence ".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Indies_Federation" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
" Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago became independent members of the Commonwealth of Nations in 1962, as did Barbados in 1966 and the Bahamas in 1973. In 1967 the West Indies Associated States were created, made up of Antigua (now Antigua and Barbuda), St. Kitts and Nevis, Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent (now St. Vincent and the Grenadines).
Over the next two decades, all gained full independence, the last being St. Kitts and Nevis in 1983 ".
Read more: West Indies Federation | Infoplease.com http://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/ ... z37iqYJR8J" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;"
- It took the smaller Islands until 1982 before they would form the OECS.
Federal anthem : God Save the Queen
" The idea had been discussed in the Colonial Office since the later nineteenth century, but it was brought to new life with a regional conference held at Montego Bay, Jamaica, in 1947. The British were interested in administrative efficiency and centralization.
Established in 1958, the West Indies Federation comprised the ten territories of: Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Montserrat, the then St Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla, Saint Lucia, St Vincent and Trinidad and Tobago. The Federation was established by the British Caribbean Federation Act of 1956 with the aim of establishing a political union among its members
Since neither Manley nor Bustamante had contested the Federal elections, Sir Grantley Adams became the Federal Prime Minister, while Ashford Sinanan was the (DLP) Leader of the Opposition ".
- So both parties in the fed were founded by Jamaicans who both refused to enter the elections, just a little commitment was shown by Williams of T &T, thus enabling Adams a free run at Head of state.
" The Federation however faced several problems. These included: the governance and administrative structures imposed by the British; disagreements among the territories over policies, particularly with respect to taxation and central planning; an unwillingness on the part of most Territorial Governments to give up power to the Federal Government; and the location of the Federal Capital.
The results of the referendum, in Jamaica, showed majority support in favour of withdrawing from the Federation. This was to lead to a movement within Jamaica for national independence from Britain.
It also led to the now famous statement of Dr Eric Williams, the then Premier of Trinidad and Tobago that, one from ten leaves nought, referring to the withdrawal of Jamaica and signifying and justifying his decision to withdraw Trinidad and Tobago from the Federal arrangement a short while later ".
- Pointing finger as justification, from one so well educated you would also expect better arithmetic .
As a diversion to allow T&T's escape the union it worked a treat, focusing attention on Jamaica while T & T made the very same arrangements, to leave.
http://www.caribbeanelections.com/educa ... ration.asp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;"
" WEST INDIES (FEDERATION) ORDER IN COUNCIL, 1957
HL Deb 29 July 1957 vol 205 cc225-30
THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR COLONIAL AFFAIRS, THE EARL OF PERTH
The noble (in ref to Lord Ogmore) Lord made an interesting suggestion, and I am sure it will be given consideration at the right time. Lastly, the noble Lord spoke about the position of Colonial Development and Welfare funds and the operations of the Colonial Development Corporation. The answer is that the funds can be used for the purposes of the Federation, and the Corporation can operate there. The reason for that, of course, is that this Order in Council does not make the Federation an independent self-governing body, but rather represents one stage in its constitutional progress "
- So the order of council failed to provide Jamaica self determination. While the purse strings were retained by the bank of England.
A well known fact in England, but not it would appear in T&T or Canada, is that Britain was bankrupt after the 2nd world war and had run up a large debt with America to finance their war effort while the pound was no longer the worlds default currency, and so was in the process of " downsizing ".
It had also publicly declared its inability to sustain the Caribbean colonies - A task mapoui would have people believe Jamaica were better equipped to accomplish.
Any smallies, namely the dunce and clever fool, are welcome to highlight the strength of the EC dollar while overlooking US interference in Jamaican socio politics since the 70's, in much the same way as Haiti has been attacked for the last 200 years, but be warned that will prompt me to ask the growth in GDP and standard of living for all formerly federated countries since 1962.
Question :
What is stopping T&T from forming a Caribbean federation now, seeing as they are now the singular big money player in region.
"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 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.
Nor could the federal government take its component states to task. The initial federal budget was quite small, limiting the federal government's ability to use its financial largesse as a carrot.
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 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.
the immediate catalyst for the dissolution of the Federation was Jamaican discontent.
By 1961, there were a number of reasons for Jamaica's dissatisfaction with the state of affairs:
Jamaica was fairly remote from most of the other islands in the Federation, lying several hundred miles to the west.
Jamaica's share of the seats in the federal parliament was smaller than its share of the total population of the Federation.
It was believed that the smaller islands were draining Jamaica's wealth ".
- Smallies such as the dunce are welcome to show us the value of the Jamaican dollar but are warned that in return i'll simply point to the artificial propping up of the currency by foreign powers.
Then ask of its manufacturing industries." Many in Jamaica were upset that Kingston had not been chosen as the federal capital.
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" .
- May 31, 1962 Federation dissolved, August 6th 1962 Jamaica becomes independent
" 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 the island could and should seek independence in its own right.
There were also problems with the Federation's proposed capital in Chaguaramas, 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 2). Many of the Caribbean provincial leaders wanted Chaguaramas to be the Federation's capital. Provincial leaders such as Norman Manley of Jamaica and Dr Eric Williams pushed for handing over of Chaguramas to the Federation from the US ".
- it should be noted that the federation was only dissolved AFTER Williams used Jamaica's exit as cause to hasten T&T's departure.
" However the US and the UK disagreed and the Federation's Prime Minister Grantley Adams denied the provincial leaders from obtaining Chaguramas. For many Jamaicans it appeared that the Federation would then just hamper their development and movement towards independence ".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Indies_Federation" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
" Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago became independent members of the Commonwealth of Nations in 1962, as did Barbados in 1966 and the Bahamas in 1973. In 1967 the West Indies Associated States were created, made up of Antigua (now Antigua and Barbuda), St. Kitts and Nevis, Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent (now St. Vincent and the Grenadines).
Over the next two decades, all gained full independence, the last being St. Kitts and Nevis in 1983 ".
Read more: West Indies Federation | Infoplease.com http://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/ ... z37iqYJR8J" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;"
- It took the smaller Islands until 1982 before they would form the OECS.
Federal anthem : God Save the Queen
" The idea had been discussed in the Colonial Office since the later nineteenth century, but it was brought to new life with a regional conference held at Montego Bay, Jamaica, in 1947. The British were interested in administrative efficiency and centralization.
Established in 1958, the West Indies Federation comprised the ten territories of: Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Montserrat, the then St Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla, Saint Lucia, St Vincent and Trinidad and Tobago. The Federation was established by the British Caribbean Federation Act of 1956 with the aim of establishing a political union among its members
Since neither Manley nor Bustamante had contested the Federal elections, Sir Grantley Adams became the Federal Prime Minister, while Ashford Sinanan was the (DLP) Leader of the Opposition ".
- So both parties in the fed were founded by Jamaicans who both refused to enter the elections, just a little commitment was shown by Williams of T &T, thus enabling Adams a free run at Head of state.
" The Federation however faced several problems. These included: the governance and administrative structures imposed by the British; disagreements among the territories over policies, particularly with respect to taxation and central planning; an unwillingness on the part of most Territorial Governments to give up power to the Federal Government; and the location of the Federal Capital.
The results of the referendum, in Jamaica, showed majority support in favour of withdrawing from the Federation. This was to lead to a movement within Jamaica for national independence from Britain.
It also led to the now famous statement of Dr Eric Williams, the then Premier of Trinidad and Tobago that, one from ten leaves nought, referring to the withdrawal of Jamaica and signifying and justifying his decision to withdraw Trinidad and Tobago from the Federal arrangement a short while later ".
- Pointing finger as justification, from one so well educated you would also expect better arithmetic
.As a diversion to allow T&T's escape the union it worked a treat, focusing attention on Jamaica while T & T made the very same arrangements, to leave.
http://www.caribbeanelections.com/educa ... ration.asp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;"
" WEST INDIES (FEDERATION) ORDER IN COUNCIL, 1957
HL Deb 29 July 1957 vol 205 cc225-30
THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR COLONIAL AFFAIRS, THE EARL OF PERTH
The noble (in ref to Lord Ogmore) Lord made an interesting suggestion, and I am sure it will be given consideration at the right time. Lastly, the noble Lord spoke about the position of Colonial Development and Welfare funds and the operations of the Colonial Development Corporation. The answer is that the funds can be used for the purposes of the Federation, and the Corporation can operate there. The reason for that, of course, is that this Order in Council does not make the Federation an independent self-governing body, but rather represents one stage in its constitutional progress "
- So the order of council failed to provide Jamaica self determination. While the purse strings were retained by the bank of England.
A well known fact in England, but not it would appear in T&T or Canada, is that Britain was bankrupt after the 2nd world war and had run up a large debt with America to finance their war effort while the pound was no longer the worlds default currency, and so was in the process of " downsizing ".
It had also publicly declared its inability to sustain the Caribbean colonies - A task mapoui would have people believe Jamaica were better equipped to accomplish.
Any smallies, namely the dunce and clever fool, are welcome to highlight the strength of the EC dollar while overlooking US interference in Jamaican socio politics since the 70's, in much the same way as Haiti has been attacked for the last 200 years, but be warned that will prompt me to ask the growth in GDP and standard of living for all formerly federated countries since 1962.
Question :
What is stopping T&T from forming a Caribbean federation now, seeing as they are now the singular big money player in region.