This book surveys the historical orgins of US foreign policy in the
Caribbean region . It takes a close look at the invasion of Grenada
by US forces in the 1980s and places that invasion in the context
of that historical picture. It argues that ultimately, Caribbean
political decision-making is constrained by the reality of the
powerful and much bigger neighbour to the North. In considering the
historical factors that govern US relations with the Caribbean
islands and mainland territories, it is noted that the Monroe
Doctrine, first promulgated in the 1820s, became the primary
document detailing US policy. Later, the first President Roosevelt
issued what was termed as the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe
Doctrine. What this further emphasized was that the US political
directorate was determined to export its brand of Anglo-Saxon
civilization and governance, particularly where it was felt that
countries in the sub-region lacked the political will and
development to handle their own socio- economic and political
affairs.
Pedro Welch is the Dean, Faculty of Humanities, at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill. He is the author of Slave Society in the City, published in 2003, and has published extensively in scholarly journals. He has been elected Secretary- Treasurer by his peers in the Association of Caribbean Historians,for two consecutive periods.
