The West Indies (1828–1971 CE)
Emancipation, Empire, and the Quest for Unity
Geography & Environmental Context
The West Indies comprises three fixed subregions:
-
Northern West Indies — Bermuda, the Turks and Caicos, northern Hispaniola, and the Outer Bahamas(Grand Bahama, Abaco, Eleuthera, Cat Island, San Salvador, Long Island, Crooked Island, Mayaguana, Little Inagua, and eastern Great Inagua). Anchors include the Bahama Banks, Bermuda’s naval dockyards, the Caicos salt pans, and the northern valleys of Hispaniola.
-
Eastern West Indies — Trinidad, Saint Lucia, Barbados, most of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. Anchors include the Kingston–San Juan sea lanes, the Hispaniolan cordilleras, the Caroni and Naparima plains of Trinidad, and the Windward–Leeward channels that structured trade, migration, and naval passage.
-
Western West Indies — Cuba, Jamaica, the Cayman Islands, and the Inner Bahamas (Andros, New Providence, Great Exuma, and neighboring islands). Anchors include Havana Harbor, the Blue Mountains of Jamaica, the Andros Barrier Reef, and the Cayman Trench.
Fertile volcanic soils, limestone valleys, and strategic sea lanes made these islands central to Atlantic commerce and imperial rivalry from the age of sugar through decolonization.
Climate & Environmental Shifts
The tropical climate brought seasonal hurricanes and variable rainfall. Deforestation and plantation monoculture caused erosion and flooding, while earthquakes periodically struck Hispaniola and Puerto Rico. By the 20th century, hurricanes became a recurring test of infrastructure and governance. Marine resources, from coral reefs to fisheries, sustained local economies even as tourism and oil refining reshaped coasts.
Subsistence & Settlement
-
Plantation economies dominated the 19th century, producing sugar, coffee, cocoa, and bananas under systems of wage labor that replaced slavery after emancipation (1834–38 in the British colonies, 1848 in the French, 1863 in the Dutch, 1886 in Cuba, and 1898 in Puerto Rico).
-
Peasant freeholds emerged across Jamaica, Barbados, and Trinidad, where former slaves cultivated provisions and cash crops. In Hispaniola, smallholder coffee and cacao farming thrived.
-
Urban growth accelerated: Havana, San Juan, Port of Spain, and Kingston became centers of trade, education, and politics.
-
Migration shaped the region: Indian indentured laborers arrived in Trinidad, Guyana, and Saint Lucia after 1838; inter-island migration filled estates and urban jobs; transatlantic migration linked the islands to New York and London.
Technology & Material Culture
Steamships, railways, and telegraphs integrated the Caribbean into global networks by the late 19th century. Sugar mills, rum distilleries, and port warehouses dominated industrial landscapes. Oil refining began in Trinidad (early 20th century) and later in Curaçao and Aruba. After WWII, airports, cruise terminals, and tourism infrastructure redefined economies. Architecture ranged from Georgian and Spanish colonial to modernist hotels and government buildings, while vernacular crafts—baskets, pottery, steelpan drums, and carnival costumes—remained cultural hallmarks.
Movement & Interaction Corridors
-
Sea lanes: The Windward Passage, Mona Passage, and Florida Straits were arteries for trade, migration, and naval power.
-
Diaspora routes: Caribbean laborers moved to Panama for canal construction, to Cuba and the U.S. for seasonal harvests, and to Britain after WWII (the “Windrush Generation,” 1948 onward).
-
Regional travel: Steamers and later airlines linked colonial capitals—Kingston, Port of Spain, Havana, San Juan, and Bridgetown—into circuits of commerce, religion, and politics.
-
Military and naval routes: U.S. expansion after 1898 established bases in Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Bermuda; naval stations in the Bahamas and British bases in Bermuda remained strategic through WWII and the Cold War.
Cultural & Symbolic Expressions
Caribbean identity fused African, European, and Asian elements.
-
Religion: Protestantism, Catholicism, Hinduism, Islam, and Afro-syncretic faiths such as Obeah, Vodou, and Orisha coexisted and intertwined.
-
Language and literature: Creoles flourished beside English, Spanish, and French; writers such as Aimé Césaire, Claude McKay, and Derek Walcott articulated decolonizing consciousness.
-
Music: Calypso, mento, ska, steelband, salsa, and reggae emerged from island streets and festivals, broadcasting Caribbean rhythms worldwide.
-
National festivals: Carnival, Junkanoo, and independence parades turned the streets into theaters of memory and resistance.
Environmental Adaptation & Resilience
Smallholders diversified crops and maintained intercropping traditions to buffer hurricanes and price shocks. Coastal communities rebuilt with coral stone and timber after storms. Water catchment, terrace farming, and fishing cooperatives sustained rural livelihoods. Postwar conservation and marine parks (e.g., in the Bahamas and Virgin Islands) began to protect reefs and mangroves as tourism expanded.
Political & Military Shocks
-
Emancipation and post-slavery transitions: Freed populations negotiated wages and land rights amid planter resistance.
-
Imperial changeovers: The Spanish–American War (1898) transferred Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Guam to the United States; the U.S. Virgin Islands were purchased from Denmark (1917).
-
Nationalism and federation: The early 20th century saw labor uprisings and the rise of Caribbean socialism—Butler, Bustamante, Manley, Williams, and Castro among key figures. The West Indies Federation (1958–62) sought unity but collapsed amid national rivalries.
-
Independence waves:
-
Cuba (1902, revolution 1959), Dominican Republic (sovereignty restored 1844, renewed independence 1865), Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago (1962), Barbados (1966), Bahamas (1973, beyond our span).
-
U.S. territories—Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, and Guam—retained commonwealth or dependency status.
-
Cold War and revolutions: The Cuban Revolution (1959) redefined regional politics; U.S. interventions in the Dominican Republic (1965) and elsewhere revealed hemispheric tensions.
Transition
Between 1828 and 1971, the West Indies transitioned from plantation colonies to a constellation of independent and semi-autonomous nations. Slavery’s abolition gave rise to peasantries, diasporas, and new cultural syntheses; oil and tourism replaced sugar as economic engines. The region’s music, literature, and politics voiced both emancipation and aspiration. By 1971, the Caribbean stood as a microcosm of decolonization—its seas crossed by cruise ships and memory, its islands bound by shared histories of survival, creativity, and unbroken connection to the wider Atlantic world.
