From Alternative History

The Federation of the West Indies, also known as the West Indian Federation, was a short-lived Caribbean federation that existed from January 3, 1958 to May 31, 1962. It consisted of several Caribbean colonies of the United Kingdom. The expressed intention of the Federation was to create a political unit that would become independent from Britain as a single state--possibly similar to the Australian Federation, or Canadian Confederation; however, before that could happen, the Federation collapsed due to internal political conflicts in the OTL. In the ATL, Jaimaican Rebellions never occured. Keeping the Nation as a whole, and later caused a huge change in government similar to the United States

Contents 1 Population and Geography 2 Provinces 3 Government and Legal Status 4 Point of Divergence 5 Relationship with Canada

[edit] Population and Geography

The total population of the West Indies Federation was between 3 and 4 million people, with the majority being of African descent. Minorities included Indians (called “East Indians”) Europeans, Chinese, and Caribs. There was also a large population of mixed descent (mainly mulattos, but also Afro-Indian, Euro-Indian and mixed-Chinese). In terms of religion, most of the population was Protestant, with significant numbers of Catholics and some Hindus and Muslims (both almost exclusively from the East Indian population).

The West Indies Federation (or just “West Indies”) consisted of around 24 main inhabited islands and approximately 220-230 minor offshore islands, islets and cays (some inhabited, some uninhabited). The largest island was Jamaica, located in the far northwest of the Federation. To the southeast lay the second largest island, Trinidad, followed by Barbados, located at the eastern extremity of the Federation.

The Federation spanned across all the island groupings in the Caribbean:

The Greater Antilles: Jamaica and the Cayman Islands The Bahama Islands (sometimes included in the Greater Antilles): the Turks and Caicos Islands The Lesser Antilles, both in the: Leeward Islands: Antigua and Barbuda, St. Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla, Montserrat and Dominica Windward Islands: St. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Grenada, Barbados Trinidad and Tobago At its widest (west to east), from the Cayman Islands to Barbados it spanned some 2,425 kilometres (and across approximately 22 degrees of longitude) and from the Turks and Caicos Islands in the north, to the Icacos Point, Trinidad in the south it extended 1,700 kilometres (and across 12 degrees of latitude). However, most of the area along either of these distances was taken up by open water (with the exception of some of the other islands lying in between). By comparison Great Britain stretches across nearly 10 degrees of latitude and Spain extends across almost 20 degrees of longitude. Even though the West Indies was spread across such a vast area, most of its provinces were mostly contiguous and clustered fairly close together in the Eastern Caribbean, with the obvious exceptions of Jamaica (and the Cayman Islands and Turks and Caicos Islands).

Most of the islands had mountainous interiors surrounded by narrow coastal plains. The exceptions were Anguilla, Antigua, Barbuda, the Cayman Islands, the Turks and Caicos Islands (which were all fairly flat), and Trinidad ( which had a large mountain range in the north and a small central mountain range in the interior of the otherwise flat island). The narrow coastal plains as well as historical trade is the main reason why almost all of the major settlements (cities and towns) of the Federation were located on the coast. Chief towns included Kingston, Port of Spain, Bridgetown, Spanish Town, Montego Bay, Mandeville, Castries, Roseau, St. George’s, Kingstown, St. John’s and Basseterre.

The climate in all the islands was tropical, with hot and humid weather, although inland regions in the larger islands had more temperate climates. Regions falling within the rain shadows (southern coasts of Jamaica and Trinidad and eastern coasts of the Lesser Antilles) are relatively drier. There are two seasons annually: the dry season for the first six months of the year, and the rainy season (also known as the hurricane season) in the second half of the year. All of the islands fell within the traditional Hurricane Belt, with the exception of Trinidad (although it occasionally experiences low latitude hurricanes) and thus are at risk from potential wind and flood damage.

The Federation was considered to be part of the North American continent as all of its islands are in the Caribbean, even though Trinidad is located just off-shore from South America and lies on the same continental shelf as South America

[edit] Provinces

The provinces or unit territories of the West Indies Federation were:

Antigua and Barbuda

Barbados

Dominica

Grenada

Jamaica (to which were attached the Cayman Islands and Turks and Caicos Islands as dependencies)

Montserrat

Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla (present day Saint Kitts and Nevis and Anguilla)

Saint Lucia

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Trinidad and Tobago

British Virgin Islands

South Bahamas

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[edit] Government and Legal Status

The Federation was an internally self-governing, federal state made up of ten provinces, all British colonial possessions. The federation was created by the United Kingdom in 1958 from most of the British West Indies. Britain intended that the Federation would shortly become a fully independent state, thus simultaneously satisfying the demands for independence from all the colonies in the region. This was soon established when the Nation became a Republic Similar to the United States in 1970.

The legal basis for the federation was the British Caribbean Federation Act 1956, and the date of formation -- January 3, 1958 -- was set by an Order-in-Council proclaimed in 1957.

As with all British colonies of the period, Queen Elizabeth II was the head of state, and the Crown was vested with the legislative authority for matters concerning executive affairs, defence and the financing of the Federation. Her representative, Patrick Buchan-Hepburn, 1st Baron Hailes, was given the title of Governor-General rather than that of Governor more typical for a British colony. The title may have reflected the federal nature of the state, or indicated the expectations that the Federation would soon become independent. The Governor-General also had the full power by the Queen to veto any laws passed by the Federation.

The Federal Parliament was bicameral, consisting of a nominated Senate and a popularly elected House of Representatives. The Senate consisted of 19 members appointed by the Governor General after consulting the respective state governments- one from Montserrat and 2 each from other units. The House of Representatives had 45 elected members - Jamaica had 17 seats, Trinidad and Tobago 10 seats, Barbados 5 seats, Montserrat 1 seat and the other Islands 2 seats each .

However the government (executive) would be a Council of State, not a Cabinet. It would be presided over by the Governor-General and consist of the Prime Minister and 10 other officials.

There would also be a Federal Supreme Court consisting of a Chief Justice and three (later five) other Justices.

The proposed site for the capital city was Chaguaramas, a few miles west of Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, but the site was part of a United States naval base. In practice, Port of Spain served as the federal capital for the duration of the Federation's existence.

[edit] Point of Divergence

Jaimaica, one of the Most troublesome Provinces, doesn't withdraw long enough for the Nation to become fully independent.

[edit] Relationship with Canada

The Federation maintained a particularly close relationship with the nation of Canada, which had a similar past in that it was a confederation of several former British colonies. In the early years, several Caribbean leaders suggested that the West Indies Federation should investigate the possibility of becoming a Canadian province, though this was never more than a fleeting interest.

Despite the break down in talks, in May, 1961 Canada presented the West Indies Federation with two of the region's most important gifts: two merchant ships, named "The Federal Palm" and "The Federal Maple." These two vessels visited every island in the federation twice monthly and were a crucial sea-link between the islands.