I think it just needs to be presented right and in a relatable manner...which is what I'm trying to do. Trying to show that it hold value beyond just facts to memorize.
I support West Indian unity through our culture and entertainment industries however a physical West Indian federation is impossible at the current state of the Caribbean .
It was sad that we as a Caribbean people could not put our egos aside and work in the best interest of the region. The West Indies Federation would have been a powerful nation. By the way, I am a Jamaican and if I had been alive and had a vote back in 1961, I would have voted to stay in The Federation. Very sad that we couldn't make it work.
Think you hit the nail on the head as we are so unaware of our history. We need to continue to share the struggles of our fore-people so every generation to come can understand and not be so selfish in their thinking.
When the topic of reparations for slavery comes up my dad points out that Brittain apparently funded the Federation or aspects of it for example either the shipping or an airline that preceeded Liat and other examples. My take is that our leaders were too hungry and excited to get individual power to see a bigger picture. This is still the case today and perhaps even more difficult having tasted power for so long.
Really enjoy this video, I am really a big fan of the United Caribbean. I have also travelled to a lot of the island and agree with your point that we are really one people. Will love to see more videos on this.
And the tragic irony now is that Jamaica’s bauxite economy is now nonexistent and so is the oil in Trinidad while the smaller islands monetary system is better than those who felt they had to “babysit” the smaller islands. Sad
You should definitely do a follow up more detailed video I showed this video to my class as part of a lesson on Regional Integration.. It was good for them to hear from a young person that they could relate to .. Thanks
Norman Manley actually wanted the Federation to work..It was more so his cousin/1st PM of Jamaica, Bustamante who was strongly against the Federation. We can't act as if Jamaica/Trinidad didn't have a point in wondering how they would benefit when bringing so much to the table...Isn't that why the UK left the EU after 47 years? Had JM/T&T stayed in the federation I believe it would've been much sooner than 47 years before they both withdrew...
Thanks for this video. The Federation is a very interesting topic and sadly I don't think well known. I suspect there is more awareness in the smaller islands and given the main reasons for it failing falling on the larger islands it is interesting that those islands are worse off now than the islands they abandoned.
This is the theme I struggle with the most under CSEC history, thank you so very much for making it so simple to understand^^ This really helps a bunch!
Hello, I am from Martinique and I think that the French-speaking West Indies would like to see their destiny linked to the other brothers of the cairaibes. For example, there should be symposia every year. I think it would please a lot because they have a great desire for the Caribbean. I wish you a lot of success. Another thing, it would be good to do a translation into French. otherwise we have to work for a Caribbean media.
You're definitely right. Anything that promotes unity, especially between those of us who may speak a different language is a good idea. As for the captions, I want to do that at some point but right now it's too much work especially as I personally don't speak French.
I am interested in the Organisation of East Caribbean States. I think these islands could be in a federation because they're all together in a line. I would like to see them send an East Caribbean Federation team to the Olympic Games, similar to how Great Britain sends a team instead of separate teams for England, Scotland, Wales, Isle of Man etc. It could be like that for other sports teams too, because each individual island probably can't put out a strong sports team, but each island might have one excellent football player, one excellent rugby player etc.
I hope you do a few more videos on this topic. I'm all for multilateral institutions that make sense, but I'm far from convinced that political unity is necessarily one of them. A regional court of appeals probably makes sense. Free trade and free movement makes sense. UWI has been valuable historically, although I might argue benefits countries that do not host campuses less. And while Dominica almost certainly is better off being in a currency union with its peer countries in the region, I doubt one that includes Jamaica and Trinidad would have been a benefit. I also believe that there's no inherent reason that a smaller state is doomed to having more economic problems than a larger neighbour, and that sometimes being small and nimble can be an advantage, but that's a long conversation.
It's a conversation I'd like to have. The economics of integration is where my knowledge and understanding fall short. I'm very interested in strategic development planning.
“A regional court of appeals probably makes sense.” It exists. It’s called the Caribbean Court of Justice. It is the final appellate court for Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Guyana and St. Lucia. Disgracefully, it is seated in a jurisdiction that does not accept it as its final appellate court (Trinidad). That says a lot about the difficulty with regional integration here. -
Really great video. Definitely interested in a more detailed look at the circumstances and motivations surrounding the formation and dissolution of the Federation.
I wished the federation survived, collectively I think we would've been a more prosperous developed bloc. There were many obstacles against its survival though, namely, the continued political influence of the colonizer, island nationalism and of course the geographic separation and distance among the islands. Perhaps if were geographically closer (particularly, Jamaica to the rest of the islands) we could've worked out the other challenges and remained a federation.
I didnt watch the video yet but i think there was an imbalance of power and the larger islands needed to be broken up and some of the smaller islands needed to be merged this wpould have balanced power and make cooperation a bit more easier . Going to watch the video now
I think that we should try again, except this time (and I know that it'll be harder) we include Cuba, Haiti and the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico. We all suffer from the same colonizers. We all need each other to be truly free.
That flag at the 12 second to the video is west Indies federation flag. Which is d federation of west Indies to be in one accord. But Jamaica had pull first and that start the downfall of the federation of West Indies because for jamaica their independence was not that far away so Jamaica pull out. Tell me if I going correct
Interesting. In my research I found this : "Historically "West Indian" nations The Bahamas, Bermuda, Belize, the British Virgin Islands, and Guyana opted not to join because they believed that their future lay with association with North America (for both the Bahamas and Bermuda) and the United States Virgin Islands. Belize opted not to join due to their border issues with Guatemala; Belize depended on the UK for military assistance and saw the West Indies Federation as being too weak to defend the territory against Guatemala."
@@NorrisFrancoisJr thank you very much for clarifying this, I was in Belize last year and a museum man told me that they where. It is interesting to hear about the military reason, I did not know that the West Indies federation wanted military independence, was there plans for a West Indian army ?
Interesting! This story has striking similarities with French West African states accession to independence: mistrust between leaders and their unwillingness to compromise, added to a strong will of the colonial power to prevent a united independence front. Et voilà!
This was short but informative video. I think you should do another and perhaps bring out the opinions and actions of specific leaders and activists. To be positive you make work on a forum about how the Caribbean region can unite and the strategies for implementation.
