To Dwell Together In Unity: A West Indies Timeline

Very interesting - my only quibble is that in the first post you mention it as sharing a land border with France, then in the footnotes you say 'French Guiana'. Guyana doesn't share a border with French Guiana. Suriname is in between them.

Otherwise, I shall pop in when I can. :)
 

SinghKing

Banned
As a half-Nevisian, I'm very pleased to see Charlestown as the capital of the WIF. :) Keep up the good work...
 
Very interesting timeline. Only one nitpick- you mentioned that the rate of illiteracy rose. I think you mean literacy.
 
Well, I assume that as per OTL, Guyana is only an observer state at the moment, not an actual member of the federation.

Keep it coming, DC!

Exactly. This is why Georgetown is not considered.

Very interesting timeline. Only one nitpick- you mentioned that the rate of illiteracy rose. I think you mean literacy.

I'm so dumb sometimes. This is why you edit, friends. This right here.

Very interesting - my only quibble is that in the first post you mention it as sharing a land border with France, then in the footnotes you say 'French Guiana'. Guyana doesn't share a border with French Guiana. Suriname is in between them.

Otherwise, I shall pop in when I can. :)

I know Suriname is in between them. Did you know that the Federation is a multilingual, multiracial nation? ;)

As a half-Nevisian, I'm very pleased to see Charlestown as the capital of the WIF. :) Keep up the good work...

Haha, well, I only hope I do your half-homeland proud!

And thank all of you for your positive comments, it means quite a lot!
 
So the federation is actually a federation rather than a bunch of economically separate colonies with a common legislature, and the Jamaican and Trinidadian politicians are smart enough to include the smaller islands' leaders in government. That's two big points in its favor right there. On the other hand, the effects of the customs union and freedom of movement are just beginning to play out, and given the influence the big islands' labor movements are likely to have on the work force in the rest of the West Indies, I expect that the union will be seriously tested during the 60s. The labor struggles of the 30s aren't that far in the past at this point, and the class and racial issues that came into the open before the war haven't been resolved.
 
So the federation is actually a federation rather than a bunch of economically separate colonies with a common legislature, and the Jamaican and Trinidadian politicians are smart enough to include the smaller islands' leaders in government. That's two big points in its favor right there. On the other hand, the effects of the customs union and freedom of movement are just beginning to play out, and given the influence the big islands' labor movements are likely to have on the work force in the rest of the West Indies, I expect that the union will be seriously tested during the 60s. The labor struggles of the 30s aren't that far in the past at this point, and the class and racial issues that came into the open before the war haven't been resolved.

Indeed, the last reverberations of those labor problems reared their ugly heads only a few years before federation. Worry ye not, young Jonathan, there will be many trials and tribulations ahead for our fledgling nation.

Update hopefully by tomorrow; if I don't finish it by 5 (I'm getting on a plane for a short hop/skip/jump to Canada at 7), I'll have it by Monday or Tuesday.
 
Hey: this isn't dead, guys, I promise. I've just been busy lately. I promise I'll have an update for you soon, and you will love it, I swear.
 
One thing that I find really cool about this is that the WIF features in my TL in a limited way, and with the exception of Belize and Guyana, the events could for the most part for into my TL really well. Always cool to see detailed, focused TLs of this period.
 
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