#136 Puritans and Afro-Saxons: The United States and the Commonwealth Caribbean in the 1980s

By Jorge Heine

From the Introduction

Two decades after the emergence of the first independent state in the English-speaking Caribbean, the members of CARICOM find themselves under increasingly difficult economic circumstances, as worldwide inflation and the international recession make themselves felt in a region of mostly small, open, and highly vulnerable economies. On October 21-23, 1982, a cross-section of opinion leaders from the Commonwealth Caribbean and the United States convened at Sam Lord's Castle Barbados to discuss United States-Caribbean relations in the 1980s. After initial presentation on the present political and economic situations in the United States and in the CARICOM nations, the discussion focused on four broad themes: Caribbean economic development; the region and the international system; security issues in United States-Caribbean relations; and Caribbean emigration and population movements.

This report does not provide a comprehensive summary of everything that was said at the conference. This is an effort, rather, to provide a personal and analytical summary of the main topics addressed to the meeting, and to contribute to the continuing discussion of the central themes by drawing together salient points.