To What Extent Is Jamaica's Withdrawal Responsible for the Failure of the West Indian Federation

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The need for a federation on a whole was not considered by the British until after the Second World War. After this the colonial office was willing to accept and promote a federation whose goal would be an independent government. Hence a British West Indian federation was proposed by the British government in 1945. As a result of this proposal the West Indies was invited to a conference, which took place in Montego Bay, Jamaica in 1947. They were invited by the secretary to discuss the proposals. The British Caribbean hoped that the federation would lead to their political independence because it would aid in improving the economic growth of small unviable units thus members would be able to assume the responsibility of supporting themselves. In 1945, the first session of the newly organized Caribbean Labour congress demanded that a conference, to be held in the West Indies, should be called for the purpose of the consideration entering a West Indian federation. This action was the beginning of a number of discussions, conferences and working papers, between 1947 and 1958, which prepared the way for the formation of the British West Indies. During this time the British gradually relaxed their grip on the West Indian governments, and provided opportunities for them to share in the administration of their respective territories. Between 1945 and 1958, a number of steps were taken to establish the British West Indies Federation. These included a meeting held in London of April 1953 where the issue of migration was initiated; as a result a conference was held in Trinidad and Tobago to further discuss the issue. It was suggested that each country would have control over their immigration for the first five years following the establishment of the federation. Consequently another conference was called thereafter to finalize the agreement. In 1956 another conference was

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