Alternative outcomes of the Anguilla crisis

So Anguilla is a little island in the Caribbean that is still an overseas colony of the uk.

This is despite the UK's best effort to get rid of it. It was part of the ill-fated West Indies Federation and then when that broke down was shunted into a three island colony alongside nevis and st kitts, which was administrated from the largest of the three islands st kitts.

Anguilla was not remotely happy about this, they felt that the st kitts president had a personal grudge against them and that money meant to be spent in Anguilla was instead spent on st kitts (Canadian investment in a pier in Anguilla, for example).

Throughout the 60s Anguillans sent petitions to the uk asking for a change in status, protested at kittsian beauty contests and even burned down the government house and other houses of kittian residents.

Finally in 1967, the anguillans evicted the kittian police force, declared themselves independent, held a referendum in which they voted for separation from st kitts and went so far as to send an invasion force to st kitts to try and kidnap the kittian president (Bradshaw) and so discourage reprisals.

This sent St Kitts into panic, Bradshaw was so panicked he made St kitts into a fortress rather than use his forces to attack Anguilla. He also demanded armed assistance from both the Uk and neighboring carribean countries.

Britain constitutionally could not interfere with the internal government of Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla so it just sent a series of diplomats. One managed to make Anguilla agree to stay in the federation in return for a better deal but the Anguillan politician who agreed that was overthrown back home by radicals who wouldn't agree with that.

Later the british diplomat so offended the anguillans that he was escorted off the island by gunpoint.

The British then invaded with troops from the met and paratroopers to regain control. They encountered no armed existence and there were no causalities on either side but they were wildly mocked by it in the press. It was called 'the bay of piglets', there were questions asked as why Anguilla was invaded but not Rhodesia. etc.

Anguilla tried to declare independence again but eventually settled for being administrated separately by the british and not as part of st kitts, where they remain.

But could things have gone differently? Could they have gone independent, could they have stayed with st kitts, could they even joined the usa (there was a petition to the us ambassador asking for this)?
 
I feel like in particular the Anguillan attack on st kitts that effectively panicked Robert Llewellyn Bradshaw into not invading Anguilla seems like a treasure trove of alternative possibilities.

What if it succeeded and Bradshaw was kidnapped? What if it went badly wrong and Bradshaw was accidentally shot? What if it never happened and Bradshaw attempted an actual invasion of Anguilla?
 
Anguilla is a beautiful island. I think things turned out just the way the people wanted. I don't think they would ever agree to remain part of St. Kitts-Nevis.
 
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