Claudia Jones returns to Trinidad

ninebucks

Banned
This is inspired by a film I saw tonight at the Venezuelan Embassy, about, amongst others, Claudia Jones.

Claudia Jones was Trinidadian, and highly active in the Communist Party of New York. By highly active, I mean she was holding rallies, in which as many as 14,000 would be hanging on her every word - so she was kind of a big deal.

In 1955, the USA had her deported. The Governor of Trinidad feared for colonial rule if she returned to Trinidad, so it was arranged for her to be sent to London, where her actions could be monitored, and Britain's rule in the Caribbean undisturbed.

But what if Jones ignores this, and instead she and a select group of confidantes sail to her native Trinidad, and decide to overthrow the unpopular colonial government? (Similar to the 26th July revolution that brought Communism to Cuba).

How would the rest of the world react?
 

carlton_bach

*Could* she have overthrown colonial rule? I know nothing about 1950s trinidad, so I'm not going to make assumptions. The British government was used to Communists at home, so unless she poses a real threat, they hopefully won't overreact. Mind, they had the Mau Mau thing, so overreaction is definitely a possibility with, ahem, natives.

I would like to imagine her as afemale version of Billy Conolly in'Water', but it's probably going to turn a lot nastier IRL.
 

Fearless Leader

Donor
I'll bite, even though my knowledge of the history of the area is limited at best.

Let's say Jones gives the deportation guys the slip somehow and ends up in Trinidad in 1955. Or perhaps after being arrested the first time, she voluntarily moves to Trinidad, unbeknownst to the colonial government.

While there she aligns with local labour leaders and other radicals and begins to develop quite a following, much to the dismay of local colonial leaders. This leads to a push for her arrest, which undoubtedly causes tensions. Say then, that these tensions erupt into huge riots leading to the overthrow of the colonial government (say Jones gets some support from the local authorities/West Indies Regiment troops on the island). The People's Republic of Trinidad is established in 1956 (Lets say for the sake of argument/interest this happens right around the time of Nasser's nationalization of the Suez).

The revolution in Trinidad and Tobago presents a clear challenge to British authority in the West Indies. Not to mention the presence of a People's Republic, seriously compromises the security of the United States. What probably ends up happening is a joint UK/US operation to get rid of the communist government. Long term we probably see a stronger US presence in the Caribbean.
 

AmIndHistoryAuthor

Banned
Look at Guyana's early history after independence. US intervention in Trinidad is almost certain.

------------------

http://www.amazon.com/U-S-Intervention-British-Guiana-History/dp/0807856398
In the first published account of the massive U.S. covert intervention in British Guiana between 1953 and 1969, Stephen G. Rabe uncovers a Cold War story of imperialism, gender bias, and racism.
When the South American colony now known as Guyana was due to gain independence from Britain in the 1960s, U.S. officials in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations feared it would become a communist nation under the leadership of Cheddi Jagan, a Marxist who was very popular among the South Asian (mostly Indian) majority. Although to this day the CIA refuses to confirm or deny involvement, Rabe presents evidence that CIA funding, through a program run by the AFL-CIO, helped foment the labor unrest, race riots, and general chaos that led to Jagan's replacement in 1964. The political leader preferred by the United States, Forbes Burnham, went on to lead a twenty-year dictatorship in which he persecuted the majority Indian population.
 
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