British West Indies
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The term British West Indies refers to territories in and around the Caribbean which were colonised by Great Britain.[1] Collectively these territories are also now known as the Anglophone Caribbean. Between 1958 and 1962 all of the island territories except the British Virgin Islands, Bermuda and the Bahamas were organised into the West Indies Federation. It was hoped that the Federation would become independent as a single nation, but it had limited powers, many practical problems and a lack of popular support, and was consequently dissolved. Most of the territories, including all the larger ones, are now independent as separate countries, while some of the smaller ones remain British dependencies.
The former British territories that form the British West Indies are;
- Antigua and Barbuda
- The Bahamas
- Barbados
- Dominica
- Grenada
- Jamaica
- Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Saint Lucia
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- Trinidad and Tobago
Islands that remain British overseas territories are;
The anglophone countries of Central America and South America are also historically considered to be part of the British West Indies. These are;
- Belize (formerly British Honduras)
- Guyana (formerly British Guiana)
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[edit] Cricket
Cricket is traditionally the main sport in the the British West Indies (though others sports such as football and basketball have challenged its dominance from around the 1990s onwards). Most of the countries and territories listed above field a combined cricket team called the West Indian cricket team or "Windies", which is one of the ten elite international teams that play Test match cricket. The British West Indies will host the 2007 Cricket World Cup.
[edit] Fraudulent documents and other activities
There have been a number of fraudulent documents and other deceptions (including motor vehicle license plates) sold by various parties claiming to be issued by the British West Indies, playing on the confusion with the British Virgin Islands. [1] [2] [3] The British West Indies is not a country, nor is there any official "British West Indies" governmental authority using that name, and any documents supposedly issued by that "government" are invalid.
[edit] Trivia
- Citizens of current British West Indian territories often call themselves "Belongers".
