Forging the West Indian Nation: Federation and Caribbean Activism in Post-war Britain, 1945–60

Abstract This article explores how Caribbean activists living in Britain after 1945 engaged with the movement for the West Indies Federation. By considering overlooked organizations such as the Caribbean Labour Congress, London Branch (CLC) and the West Indian Workers and Students Association (WIWSA), it shows that, first, Britain became a hub for Caribbean nationalism and support for Federation in the post-war years. Secondly, it argues that the West Indies Federation of 1958–62 significantly influenced the formation of important British Caribbean institutions, such as the West Indian Gazette and the Caribbean Carnival. In contrast to traditional narratives regarding post-war Caribbean political activity in Britain, which often treat the 1950s conjuncture through the lens of race and of the prehistory of a ‘multi-cultural’ Britain, this article seeks to recover a moment when British Caribbean activism was moved by a broader, transnational, self-consciously ‘West Indian’ nationalist movement. In doing so, it reveals the significance of the West Indies Federation, and Caribbean decolonization more broadly, to the Caribbean diaspora in Britain, and their political activities. Moreover, it illustrates how diasporic and exilic communities and figures continued to play an important role in anti-colonial and nation-building projects.