Forged from the love of liberty
In the fires of hope and prayer
With boundless faith in our destiny
We solemnly declare:
Side by side we stand
Islands of the blue Caribbean sea,
This our native land
We pledge our lives to thee.
Here every creed and race find an equal place,
And may God bless our nation
Here every creed and race find an equal place,
And may God bless our nation.
--Forged from the Love of Liberty by Patrick Castagne, national anthem of the Federation of the West Indies
Flag of the West Indies Federation
Map of the West Indies Federation at independence, thus not including later members Belize, Suriname, Guyana, and the Bahamas
Excerpt from West Indies (country), Netpedia, various authors
The West Indies, officially the Federation of the West Indies and also known as the Windies, is an independent Caribbean nation consisting of more than nine hundred islands, cays, and islets in the Atlantic Ocean, as well as land in Central and South America (Belize and Guyana, respectively). It is the only nation in the Americas to be officially designated as both a North and South American nation.
The nation shares land borders with Mexico, Guatemala, Brazil, Venezuela, and France(1), as well as solely maritime borders with the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Cuba, the United States, and the Netherlands. The Federation is a constitutional monarchy, with Elizabeth II as its current head of state, and is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The West Indies Federation, with a population just over ten million, is the third wealthiest nation per capita in the Americas behind the United States and Canada and is recognized as a high income economy by the World Bank. The nation's economy is diverse, with strong industrial components, especially in the form of the petroleum, petrochemical, and aluminum industries (the Caribbean Aluminum Corporation (CARALCOR) is the third largest producer of aluminum in the world(2)), as well as strong tourism, agriculture, and fishing industries.
The Federation is a founding member of the Caribbean Economic Development Alliance (CARECDEAL)(3), and a full member of both the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), and the Central American Integration System (SICA), the only nation in the Americas to be a full member of all three regional groups. Though ethnically and linguistically diverse, the West Indies Federation maintains strong cultural and diplomatic ties with the nations of the Anglosphere and is an active participant in international organizations, especially the United Nations and the Commonwealth Space Agency (COMSPAG)(4), of which it is also a founding member.
Culturally, the Federation is the birthplace of dozens of different musical genres and dance styles, while its independence in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s preceded a literary and architectural renaissance that has firmly established the West Indies as one of the great hotbeds of American culture…
Notes
1 French Guiana, of course.
2 Replacing Alcoa, which is kind of a big deal.
3 Basically TTL’s equivalent of the Caribbean Community, just a tad later and much more similar to the proto-EU.
4 Yes. You read that right.
* * *
My new TL! Note; this doesn't mean I've left the Irish one behind, it just means updates to both will be somewhat slow in coming. Please do comment!
In the fires of hope and prayer
With boundless faith in our destiny
We solemnly declare:
Side by side we stand
Islands of the blue Caribbean sea,
This our native land
We pledge our lives to thee.
Here every creed and race find an equal place,
And may God bless our nation
Here every creed and race find an equal place,
And may God bless our nation.
--Forged from the Love of Liberty by Patrick Castagne, national anthem of the Federation of the West Indies
Flag of the West Indies Federation
Map of the West Indies Federation at independence, thus not including later members Belize, Suriname, Guyana, and the Bahamas
Excerpt from West Indies (country), Netpedia, various authors
The West Indies, officially the Federation of the West Indies and also known as the Windies, is an independent Caribbean nation consisting of more than nine hundred islands, cays, and islets in the Atlantic Ocean, as well as land in Central and South America (Belize and Guyana, respectively). It is the only nation in the Americas to be officially designated as both a North and South American nation.
The nation shares land borders with Mexico, Guatemala, Brazil, Venezuela, and France(1), as well as solely maritime borders with the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Cuba, the United States, and the Netherlands. The Federation is a constitutional monarchy, with Elizabeth II as its current head of state, and is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The West Indies Federation, with a population just over ten million, is the third wealthiest nation per capita in the Americas behind the United States and Canada and is recognized as a high income economy by the World Bank. The nation's economy is diverse, with strong industrial components, especially in the form of the petroleum, petrochemical, and aluminum industries (the Caribbean Aluminum Corporation (CARALCOR) is the third largest producer of aluminum in the world(2)), as well as strong tourism, agriculture, and fishing industries.
The Federation is a founding member of the Caribbean Economic Development Alliance (CARECDEAL)(3), and a full member of both the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), and the Central American Integration System (SICA), the only nation in the Americas to be a full member of all three regional groups. Though ethnically and linguistically diverse, the West Indies Federation maintains strong cultural and diplomatic ties with the nations of the Anglosphere and is an active participant in international organizations, especially the United Nations and the Commonwealth Space Agency (COMSPAG)(4), of which it is also a founding member.
Culturally, the Federation is the birthplace of dozens of different musical genres and dance styles, while its independence in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s preceded a literary and architectural renaissance that has firmly established the West Indies as one of the great hotbeds of American culture…
Notes
1 French Guiana, of course.
2 Replacing Alcoa, which is kind of a big deal.
3 Basically TTL’s equivalent of the Caribbean Community, just a tad later and much more similar to the proto-EU.
4 Yes. You read that right.
* * *
My new TL! Note; this doesn't mean I've left the Irish one behind, it just means updates to both will be somewhat slow in coming. Please do comment!