Base Colonies in the Western Hemisphere, 1940-1967

This book examines the consequences of the famous Anglo-American destroyers-for-bases deal of September 1940, which saw fifty aged US destroyers exchanged for extensive army and navy base sites in Trinidad, Bermuda and Newfoundland as well as smaller sites in British Guiana (Guyana), Antigua, St. Lucia, Jamaica and the Bahamas. In his message to Congress, President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared that the deal was the "most important action in the reinforcement of our national defense that has been taken since the Louisiana Purchase." While the comparison seems an unlikely one today, as the 99 year leased bases did not play a prominent role in the subsequent fighting, few Americans would have disagreed with Roosevelt's comparison in September 1940. While the diplomatic importance of the destroyers for bases deal has been widely acknowledged, few have examined the social impact of these "friendly invasions" on the base colonies themselves. The bases brought economic prosperity and social dislocation, raising nettlesome questions. Would the US impose Jim Crow as it had in the Panama Canal Zone? Were US servicemen subject to local law outside the leased areas? What were the effects of the US bases and how did they compare? Based on extensive archival research in the United States, Great Britain, Trinidad, Bermuda and Canada, Base Colonies in the Western Hemisphere is the first study to answer these and other questions within a cross-regional comparative framework. The result is a fascinating exploration into race, class and empire.