What if in the aftermath of WW1, the British decided to sell some or most of the British West Indies (minus say British Honduras / Belize, Bermuda and Cayman Islands, etc) to the US in order to repay wartime debt?
What if in the aftermath of WW1,the British decided to sell some or most of the British West Indies
It all depends on integration, if the US gives full and equal rights, then the US will have a larger economy base.
I’d say “full and equal rights” was highly unlikely given the state of equal rights in America herself in that timeframe.
Perhaps, though initially envisioning whatever West Indies territories are ruled by the US being of similar status to Puerto Rico if not becoming part of the latter in the case of nearby territories or as part of other US states.
Other than that, most of these islands will be slightly richer, but would look like the US Virgin Islands and still have a lot of problems. Obviously there will be a bigger Afro-Caribbean community in the US, and for that matter Haitians too.
I don’t get you? Minority rights were terrible/nonexistent in both mainland USA and Puerto Rico at the time, so how is this applicable?
I think that, other than the Bahamas, those territories still have a reasonable chance to become independent. Maybe the US holds onto the Windward and Leeward Islands as well. Overall though, I don't think the US would be all that interested in holding onto most of those territories for very long. They don't really offer much to the US, and well, they're quite a bit "darker" than the US would like at that time.I think that the residents might have something to say about being bought and sold. It's not necessarily good optic to regard black populations as fungible property. In OTL history, most of these countries and regions would become independent.
What exactly are Britain's motivations?
At best it stays the same. More likely, it gets a bit worse. Particularly with restricting citizenship from the new population and likely placing immigration controls on them from immigrating to the mainland.Am aware and cannot say whether the US gaining some or most of the British West Indies would significantly improve minority rights or not compared to OTL.
How might the locals react to being bought like property?
Where do Haitians come into it? This is about former British West Indian possessions becoming American colonies? Are you suggesting there’d be some kind of ‘sympathetic’ Haitian immigration spike, or that Haitian immigration to (now) American Caribbean islands would increase the size of the Haitian community in the US?
I think the experience of the USVI is a good illustration of what will happen in this area in terms of development and such. Except for the Bahamas, which will look more like Southern Florida (geologically it's very similar) mixed with Hawaii.Am aware and cannot say whether the US gaining some or most of the British West Indies would significantly improve minority rights or not compared to OTL.
Was looking in terms of the status of such territories under US rule based on the map shown, with the British likely retaining territories such as Guyana, Belize, Trinidad & Tobago, Cayman Islands and Bermuda, etc.