The start of the Anguilla Revolution in 1967 was a period of much uncertainty and anxiety, as Anguilla – a British colony – seemed to have been abandoned by its governing power – the United Kingdom (UK) – and was being made to join a Statehood alliance with two other British colonies.
The Anguilla Revolution itself was borne out of frustration on the part of many Anguillians who felt that the basic needs of the people were not met, and much needed infrastructure to address those needs was non-existing. They saw Anguilla as an island that was going nowhere, and believed that better could be done.
There was no running water, no electricity, no telecommunications system, and with the exception of a few patches in some areas – the roads were unpaved. By outside observers, Anguilla was thought of as a ‘desolate, rural, flat, rocky, arid undeveloped place’.
Anguillians became very restless in the months leading up to the imposed Statehood on February 27 & 28, 1967 – the official formation of the Associated State St Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla. There were plans across the tri-state for the formal establishment of a unified entity reporting to the UK via a central government in Basseterre, St Kitts, under the political leadership of the Premier, Mr Robert Bradshaw.
Anguillians felt that being part of the tri-state arrangement would be more harmful than helpful to Anguillians and Anguilla. They believed that St Kitts would benefit from most of the aid and assistance that the UK would send to the tri-state, while Anguilla would be totally left out because it had always been deemed abandoned and treated as an offshore cay.
As the official formation of the tri-state federation seemed certain, some Anguillians complied with plans for its establishment and acknowledgement, but the growing frustration of most Anguillians also intensified and they began to push back against the central political leadership of Premier Bradshaw.
Many Anguillian parents forbade their school-age children to learn the new “Associated State’ anthem – a mandate of the central government to all students, civil servants and government employees. The push back was so great, that on May 30, 1967, the self-appointed leadership in Anguilla – along with many supporters – made the decision to expel the St Kitts authority forces from Anguilla and set up an alternative – “a peace-keeping committee” – to help settle the population of around 6,000, maintain a peaceful and orderly society, and make plans to chart a course forward for Anguilla.
While the newly formed “peace-keeping committee” in Anguilla did not have the expertise to take the country where they would have liked to, what was clear in the minds of most Anguillians is that having Anguilla report to the UK through St Kitts was not in Anguilla’s best interest. The forebears’ resolve – which was also supported by the masses in Anguilla – was that they would rather suffer and die than be subjected to the leadership of St Kitts.
Having come this far in the struggle for freedom from the Associated State or Federation, the immediate fear was that Premier Bradshaw would do everything within his power to reinstate his authority over Anguilla. Anguillians then positioned themselves to protect against an invasion of Anguilla by forces from St Kitts or by forces sympathetic to St Kitts in its quest to restore ‘central government law and order’.
Not everyone in Anguilla supported the Anguilla Revolution – mostly out of fear. They were public servants working on behalf of, and being paid by, the central government operating out of St Kitts. So, to be disloyal to the hand that was feeding you came with some risk, and not knowing if the Anguilla Revolution would be successful, some people were very cautious about being openly supportive of the Revolution.
The people who led the Revolution were truly a “grass roots movement”, most of whom did not have much academic education and no leadership training, but were all unitedly committed to moving Anguilla forward in the quest for direct governance by the UK – while maintaining a sense of self-determination.
To that end, several knowledgeable persons who were sympathetic to the Anguillians’ resolve, came to Anguilla’s aid. One such person, William Herbert – a practicing lawyer in St Kitts, critical of the Premier’s leadership, along with another attorney from the United States, helped the new leadership in Anguilla to craft a constitution by which the island could be governed.
Most Anguillians were very cooperative with the Anguilla self-appointed leadership, and did what they could to continue ‘life as normal’ on the island. Many Anguillians who were living and working abroad, sent money and supplies of food and goods to help their families and other residents on Anguilla, while the leadership put together a police force of sorts to maintain peace, law and order on the island.
The peace-keeping committee – under the leadership of Mr James Ronald Webster – began open dialogues with the UK government indicating the desire to have a direct relationship with the UK rather than as an Associated State of St Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla. As the dialogue progressed, it became clear that the UK’s desire was to keep the Associated State intact, but Anguillians’ were determined to be separated from the tri-state. This soon led to the British invasion of Anguilla in an attempt to “maintain law and order,” as they believed “gangster-types – some with a lot of money – had taken over control of the island,” international news media reported.
When the British Paratroopers arrived, they were met with no resistance but “took armed control of the island and reassured the islanders [Anguillians] that they would not have to return to the three-island federation…a British Commissioner had been appointed, instead.
“The new British Commissioner, Mr Tony Lee, noted that it might take a couple of years to straighten the problem out, but promised that ‘the ultimate decision would reflect the islanders’ wishes’. The trouble is, the islanders saw the last two years of independence as an expression of their wishes,” Peter Jennings reported.
The British invasion addressed some areas of neglect in Anguilla. Engineers were deployed to develop some basic infrastructure on the island – a better healthcare system, running water, additional roads, a paved airstrip, schools, etc.
Today, Anguilla is still struggling to build up its infrastructure – an international airport and an international deep-water harbour – both of which are critical to the island’s tourism and economic development.
Some persons contend that Anguilla struggles today because of a high degree of polarisation resulting from a political party system that has been recommended by the British Government and adopted by the Anguilla Revolution leader – Mr James Ronald Webster, Father of the Nation, in 1972. They argue that in a small island like Anguilla with limited able human capital, to have divisiveness because of political parties presents challenges in having the ‘people speak with one voice’ addressing the cause of Anguilla.
Fifty-five years after the Anguilla Revolution, where is the rallying cry for freedom and self-governance? Will Anguillians ever fight together and work together –again – for self-determination, to rebuild and recreate this country – the “best” Anguilla realised?
A luta continua: the struggle continues…
