West Indian Federation
| West Indies Federation | |||||
| West Indian Federation | |||||
| 1958–1962 | |||||
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| Motto : To dwell together in unity | |||||
| Official language | English | ||||
| Capital | Chaguaramas (The city was never completed, however, the seat of government was Port of Spain ) | ||||
| Form of government | monarchy | ||||
| Head of state | Queen Elizabeth II ( Governor General : Patrick George Thomas Buchan-Hepburn ) | ||||
| Head of government | Prime Minister Grantley Herbert Adams | ||||
| surface | 20,253 km² | ||||
| population | 3,117,300 (1960) | ||||
| Population density | 154 inhabitants per km² | ||||
| currency | West Indian dollar | ||||
| founding | January 3, 1958 | ||||
| National anthem | God Save the Queen | ||||
| Time zone | UTC −4 and −5, summer: −3, −4 | ||||
| Internet TLD | n / A | ||||
| Telephone code | + 1-809 | ||||
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The West Indies Federation ( English : West Indies Federation ) was a short-lived federation in the Caribbean , which existed from January 3, 1958 to May 31, 1962. The federation consisted of twelve provinces, which emerged from the British colonies in the Caribbean.
history
It was created in 1958 by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to create a political entity that would become independent as a single state modeled on the Australian or Canadian Federation. But before this could happen, the Federation collapsed because of internal political conflicts.
The provinces were:
- Antigua (now Antigua and Barbuda )
- Barbados
- Dominica
- Grenada
- Jamaica (this also included the Cayman Islands and the Turks and Caicos Islands as dependent areas)
- Montserrat
- St. Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla (today separated into St. Kitts and Nevis and Anguilla )
- St. Lucia
- St. Vincent (now St. Vincent and the Grenadines )
- Trinidad and Tobago
An area called Chaguaramas was planned as the capital, a few kilometers west of Port of Spain , today's capital of Trinidad and Tobago . The actual capital was Port of Spain itself, as the planned capital was not completed until the state was dissolved.
Although the Federation initially enjoyed broad approval and had optimistic prospects for the future, the unity did not last long. The two largest provinces, Jamaica and Trinidad, soon took control of the affairs of the Federation, much to the annoyance of the smaller provinces. The two large provinces felt more and more undesirable, as the small islands were hostile to them and hostile to them.
In 1961, the governor of the Jamaican province held a referendum. Independence was accepted and Jamaica left the federation. The idea of a federal state failed and the West Indian Federation was quickly dissolved. Most of the provinces became independent members of the Commonwealth of Nations . However, some preferred to become a British colony again.
The only Prime Minister of the West Indian Federation was Sir Grantley Herbert Adams , the only Governor General was Patrick George Thomas Buchan-Hepburn . Queen Elizabeth II was head of state .
currency
As before, each member country issued its own postage stamps . The currency was the West Indies dollar , which was later replaced by the East Caribbean dollar in most of the former provinces .
Relations with Canada
The Federation had particularly close ties with Canada, which had a similar past. Canada also emerged from the amalgamation of several British colonies . In the early years, some suggested that the West Indian Federation be incorporated into Canada as a province . But there was never more than a fleeting interest in it.