West Indies Associated States was the collective name for a number of islands in the

Eastern Caribbean The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS; French: ''Organisation des États de la Caraïbe orientale'', OECO) is an inter-governmental organisation dedicated to economic harmonisation and integration, protection of human and legal ri ...

whose status changed from being British colonies to states in free association with the United Kingdom in 1967. These states were

Antigua Antigua ( ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the native population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua and Bar ...

Dominica Dominica ( or ; Kalinago: ; french: Dominique; Dominican Creole French: ), officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of the island. It is geographically ...

Grenada Grenada ( ; Grenadian Creole French: ) is an island country in the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea at the southern end of the Grenadines island chain. Grenada consists of the island of Grenada itself, two smaller islands, Carriacou and Pe ...

, Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla,

Saint Lucia Saint Lucia ( acf, Sent Lisi, french: Sainte-Lucie) is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. The island was previously called Iouanalao and later Hewanorra, names given by the native Arawaks and Caribs, two Amerindian ...

, and Saint Vincent. Associated statehood between these six territories and the UK was brought about by the West Indies Act 1967. Under the Act each state had full control over its constitution (and thus internal self-government), while the UK retained responsibility for external affairs and defence. The

British monarch The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional form of government by which a hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies (the Bailiwi ...

remained head of state, but the Governor now had only constitutional powers, and was often a local citizen. Many moved to change their flags from modified versions of the Blue Ensign to unique designs, with three – St. Vincent, St. Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla, and Grenada – adopting blue, green and yellow flags.Flags of the World West Indies Associated States
/ref> During the period of free association, all of the states participated in the

West Indies Associated States Council of Ministers West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some R ...

, the East Caribbean Common Market and

Caribbean Free Trade Association The Caribbean Free Trade Association (CARIFTA) was organised on 1 May 1968, to provide a continued economic linkage between the English-speaking countries of the Caribbean. The agreements establishing it came following the dissolution of the W ...

(CARIFTA) (now superseded by the Caribbean Community). Cooperation between the eastern Caribbean states continued after the West Indies Associated States achieved separate independence, in the form of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (the successor organisation). ''*Anguilla left the Union of St Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla officially on 29 October 1980 and remained a British territory, leaving St Kitts and Nevis to achieve fully responsible status within the British Commonwealth.'' Over time, the associated states moved to full independence, the first being

in 1974. This was followed by Dominica in 1978,

and Saint Vincent both in 1979,

Antigua and Barbuda Antigua and Barbuda (, ) is a sovereign country in the West Indies. It lies at the juncture of the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean in the Leeward Islands part of the Lesser Antilles, at 17°N latitude. The country consists of two maj ...

in 1981 and Saint Kitts and Nevis in 1983. The moves towards independence were not always smooth, with separatist movements/campaigns occurring in Barbuda, Nevis and Anguilla. In Anguilla, this resulted in the secession of Anguilla from Saint Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla in 1969 and its reversion to British rule as a separate colony. During the 1970s, Nevis' local council wished to follow Anguilla's example, rather than become independent with Saint Kitts; however, the UK was opposed to Nevis becoming a separate colony and eventually the federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis became independent in 1983. In Barbuda, there was a campaign for separate independence from Antigua, but this was unsuccessful. All former associated states went on to keep the British monarchy and became Commonwealth realms, with the exception of Dominica. All former associated states also kept the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council as the highest court of appeal, with the exception of Dominica, which abolished it as the final court of appeal in 2015 with a constitutional amendment. Of all of these islands that were once associated states, all are now independent, except for Anguilla within the former St. Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla, which is still a

British Overseas Territory The British Overseas Territories (BOTs), also known as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs), are fourteen dependent territory, territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom. They are the last remna ...

References

External links

{{authority control History of Anguilla 20th century in Antigua and Barbuda History of Dominica History of Grenada History of British Saint Christopher and Nevis History of British Saint Lucia History of British Saint Vincent and the Grenadines British West Indies Antigua and Barbuda–United Kingdom relations Dominica–United Kingdom relations Grenada–United Kingdom relations Saint Kitts and Nevis–United Kingdom relations Saint Lucia–United Kingdom relations Saint Vincent and the Grenadines–United Kingdom relations Associated states Organizations established in 1967 Organizations disestablished in 1983 States and territories established in 1967 States and territories disestablished in 1983 Former British colonies and protectorates in the Americas

See also

References

External links