AHC/WI: Pan-Caribbea?

[The Admiral Hook]

So what POD could result in a Union of Caribbean island nations in the 20th century?

Any thoughts on what the nation would be like (would it easily federalize, or would a loose parliamentary confederation be likely?); what the effects on policy making by neighbors, former colonizers, and other nations would be; where would the capital be?

This is your challenge. What then are the effects?

Also, any good flag designers out there?

 

[Cook]

The best opportunity would be for the British West Indies to gain independence as a single federation; ah la Malaysia. Basically a larger version of the West Indies Federation survives. The Franco-phone colonies might then join later out of political and economic necessity or opportunity to benefit.

 

[ramones1986]

The Francophone colonies might then join later out of political and economic necessity or opportunity to benefit.

Sounds like a tropical version of Canada.

 

[free115]

Sounds like a tropical version of Canada.

So a country that has a people who want to secede cause their culture ain't respected and is a defacto puppet of either Brazil or the US due to economic need. I guess it's easier to manage than what we have otl

 

[kichinichini]

I'm not sure it could survive if Jamaica was included, because it's geographically separated from the rest of the Anglophone islands and is much larger than the rest of them save for Trinidad and Tobago, which it is merely double the population of.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Caribbean_island_countries_by_population

 

[Yossarian]

I think the easiest way to make this happen is have a single colonial power take over the whole Caribbean, and then have it stay united post-independence. The best options are probably Spain for an earlier POD, or Britain for a later one.

 

[The Admiral Hook]

Good ideas all, and thanks for contributing.

Honestly, though, the idea was for them to unite post 1900. In spite of the difficulty, it's much more interesting to see how such a nation would deal with the language barriers and how those barriers would culturally break down over the years (via slang and hybrid tongues). I know this wouldn't occur fully by present day, but it would be interesting to hear a Jamaican English and Haitian French influenced Spanish develop.

The economy is another thing I was considering. They are all still mostly agrarian or semi-agrarian in the early to mid 20th Century. Would unification lead to greater industrialization?

Culturally and musically I'm also fascinated. There are as many different styles of music and dance (and subgenres therein) in the Caribbean as there are fish in the sea. A Caribbean musical umbrella genre gaining popularity by the sixties is sure to include mento, salsa, ska, proto-reggae, etc. and would certainly effect future genres of world influenced popular music.

And of course there are the political ramifications. Due to constant interventionist policies by both sides of the Cold War, many of the Caribbean nations are prone to either communist dictatorships or western puppetry (or the constant violent revolutionary in-between). Could unification lead to the confederation of island states finding progress in playing both sides in the Cold War (i.e. a soft dictatorship run under the auspices of democratic socialism? Perhaps accepting U.S. and Soviet arms and funding to clandestinely support both sides' goals in the region...) What could be the future effects?