Internal Self Government Was The Most Important Movement Towards Independence In The Caribbean. Discuss The Extent To Which You Agree With This Statement

Caribbean countries

Martin Gutierrez

[Institutional Affiliation(s)]

Introduction

Spinning the wheel of history, it could be seen that most of the Caribbean countries remain under colonial rule even after the abolition of slavery. British controlled Caribbean countries integrated, for making a new unified independent state new West Indies Federation between 1958 and 1962. Jamaica declared itself as an independent state and it was the time when the rest of the Caribbean countries moved towards independence. Most of the Caribbean indeed gained independence but currently, some islands are considered to be the crown countries with limited internet self-government and are stilled categories as the dependent countries. Different countries fall in the list of Caribbean countries and each has a different way and of gaining independence.

Discussion

Cuba is one of the Caribbean countries gained independence in a revolutionary way. Cuba was occupied by the Baracoa (the first Spanish settlement) and during this era, Cuba developed different industries and grew economical. For ten years, Cuba fought with Spain its first war of independence in around 1868 under the leadership of Jose Marti. The U.S involved in this war around 1898 when the war was heated. It was the time when the battleship of USS Marine sunk and with time gained control over Cuba by signing the Treaty of Paris and in 1902 Cuba gained independence. A former president of Cuba, Fulgencio Batista, in 1952 made himself the dictator and controlled the country ((Mohammed, n.d.)). People were not happy with Batista and a rebellious leader Fidel Castro organized and started a revolution to overpower Batista. Fidel succeeded and gain control over Cuba and soon declared Cuba as a socialist country by making it a part of the Soviet Union.

Dominica was last on the list of Caribbean countries that were colonized by European due to the fierce resistance of the Cribs. Spanish showed the least interest in Dominica because of the resistance of the Cribs and the absence of the gold. In the 18th century, France and the British wrestle to gain control over the Dominican territory. France damaged much of the Roseau land resulting in Dominican stay in the firm possession of the British. In 1967 Dominica associated itself with West Indies and gain autonomy in some of the internal affairs and Dominica became the independent republic within the Commonwealth in November 1978. Patrick John was the first prime minister who was forced to resign because of his corrupt schemes and as a result 15% of the island's clandestine transfer to American. Dame Eugenia Charles became the first prime minister of Dominica and soon it becomes obvious that she could not serve as a competent prime minister. After her, Roosevelt Skerrit was elected to become the prime minister and in 2004 the Chinese government and Dominica formalized their relation.

Conclusion

Taking a look at the history of the Caribbean countries, it could be said that it won't be wrong to say that internal self-government served as an important movement towards independence. Analysis of the Caribbean countries showed that they all gained autonomy to some extent when they were allowed to participate in some of the government level matters. Internal self-government could be looked upon as the very first step that made the Caribbean countries realize that they can work as an independent state or other they have to stay under other powers or must align with some other powerful countries. So as a whole, it could be said that internal self-government was the most important move towards the independence of the Caribbean countries. Internal self-government pushed them towards claiming their independence from the ruling powers.

References

Mohammed, J. Caribbean studies for CAPE® examinations.