The Impact of World War Ii on the Development of Trinidad and Tobago

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This essay explores the impact of World War II on the development of Trinidad and Tobago. World War II played a very important role in the development of Trinidad and Tobago in terms of society, cultural, economic and political changes. World War II began in the year 1939 and continued to the year of 1945 in which the Allies that consisted of Britain, Soviet Union and the US, defeated the Axis powers that included Germany, Italy and Japan. World War II began in September of 1939 when Britain and France declared war on Germany following the Germany's invasion of Poland. In world war2 the Caribbean was not a major area of the war, of course the Caribbean was strategically important. There were no Axis sympathies in the Caribbean most of the islands were colonial possessions of the allied country; America, Britain France and the Netherlands. The strategic importance of the Caribbean is too connected to the Panama Canal, vital for the American war effort. Thus the Caribbean Islands were important for the defense of the Canal. Politics In 1930s butler came to Trinidad and Tobago politics and represented himself as a black leader for the black workers. This was unfortunately because ruing the bridging concept of having a neutral ethnic type as a leader. This divided the middle class workers alliance and it also causes division among a number of short lived organizations. There were organization base on race and according to Scott B. MacDonald these groups include “the (NUM) the National Unemployment Movement, the Negro Welfare, Cultural and Social Association, the Club L’Ouverture, and the Trinidad Citizens League,”(pag58). All of these group deal with the problems of the working class conditions, maladministration, and corruption. Butler and Rienzi were the leaders of the two top organizations. Between 1932 and 1935 Cipriani’s take on the labor movement had weakened.
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