Canada-Caribbean relations
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The long established relationship between Canada and the many nation states of the Caribbean/West Indies have been on-going throughout the history of both regions. Initially these policies were based on the policies of European countries in the Americas. Now, after many of these nations of the Caribbean/West Indies and the Provinces of Canada have successfully managed their own self-government the relations between the two regions has grown and strengthened over the last three centuries.
[edit] History
New France and the French colonies in the Caribbean enjoyed a flourishing trade in the first part of the eighteenth century, with the fortress of Louisburg acting as an important trading centre linking New France, the Caribbean and France. When Britain gained control over the northern half of the continent, these relations were largely severed as trade between North America and the British Caribbean holdings went almost exclusively through U.S. ports, especially Boston.
With the American Revolution, the Americans were, in theory, to be shut out of the British colonies by the Navigation Acts and other British laws. Canadian merchants, especially those based in Halifax, strove to become the new leading trading partners. The trade with the Caribbean did become an important one for Halifax, but the British laws could do little to prevent American traders from continuing to play a central role. The merchants of the West Indies preferred dealing with the United States, which produced a greater variety of goods at lower prices than the Canadians. The weak Spanish Empire could do even less than the British to keep out foreign traders, and Canadian trade with Cuba and other Spanish holdings also rose in prominence. This trade peaked in the years immediately before Canadian Confederation. Canada shipped flour, corn, timber, and fish to the Caribbean, while sugar and rum moved north. In the Maritimes a prosperous sugar refining and run industry arose based on these imports.
Also of historical importance was the military relationship between British colonies in the Caribbean and Canada. Halifax was the major North American British naval base, and British warships frequently traveled between it and the Caribbean. In both the First and Second World Wars Canadian troops were moved to the Caribbean to replace British forces that were needed in other theatres.
While the relationship with the United States and with Britain continued to be the most important ones to the British colonies of the West Indies, there were also growing concerns about American domination and Canada was seen as an important counterbalance. The United States imposed high import duties, and greatly favoured its domestic sugar industry over that of its southern neighbours. There were also continued political and cultural links between Canada and the West Indies. This led to a number of Caribbean colonies considering applying to join Canadian Confederation. In the political crisis that hit Jamaica in 1882, one of the proposed solutions was joining Canada. Michael Solomon led the pro-Confederation faction, but when he introduced a motion to that effect in the Legislative Council everyone but he voted against it. Prominent Barbadian R.P. Elliott wrote to the Canadian government on behalf of a number of the islands' elite asking to join Canada. These proposals were never seriously considered in Canada, and few in the West Indies actually felt they were valid solutions. In the years after the First World War the British government of Lloyd George considered transferring the responsibility for all British colonies in the Caribbean, as well as Newfoundland and the Falkland Islands, to the Canadian government, but the Canadians were not interested. In the 1980s the idea of union was again briefly raised with some discussion of the Turks and Caicos joining Canada.
In the later part of the nineteenth century the British system of imperial preference was largely dismantled and the Canadian traders lost their advantage in the Caribbean. The United States' economic and political power grew in the region, as they also removed many of the tariff barriers with the region. At the end of the century the United States gained political control over a number of Caribbean areas, such as the Danish Virgin Islands, Cuba, and Puerto Rico and American business relations had a near monopoly on trade in those areas. Trade patterns also shifted, as the market for West Indian sugar disappeared. By the Second World War bauxite had replace sugar as the main export to Canada, and Jamaica and Guyana became the most important trading partners, while imports from the smaller islands declined considerably.
While trade between the regions declined, Canadian investment increased. As British companies pulled out of the region after decolonization, Canadians ones moved in. This was especially true in the banking and insurance sectors. Caribbean governments welcomed Canadian investment as a tool to prevent the total economic domination of the United States. This is perhaps most obvious in Cuba which pursued close economic ties with Canada after the Cuban Revolution.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Brian Douglas Tennyson. ed. Canadian-Caribbean Relations: Aspects of a Relationship.
- "West Indians. The Canadian Encyclopedia.
- Carmichael, Dr. Trevor A. 2001. Passport to the Heart: Reflections on Canada Caribbean Relations. Ian Randle Publishers, Kingston 6, Jamaica. ISBN 976-637-028-1 The book's Forward passage, synopsis
