US in the Caribbean

• The Caribbean had been under European domination for three centuries: 15th to 18th
• The Caribbean was a centre of colonization, trade and a base for expansion into North, Central and South America
• The Caribbean was the arena for almost continuous rivalry and conflict among European nations as they competed with each other for naval and territorial supremacy
• By the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815, Britain had emerged over France, Spain and the Netherlands (Dutch) as the most viable, imperial and naval power in the West Indies
• Britain's supremacy was short lived


  When it was effectively challenged by the USA, a new nation which had emerged on the world scene when the thirteen British North American colonies finally won their independence from Britain
• After American independence, the U.S. was prohibited from trading with the British West Indies by the Navigation Acts
• After independence


  The viable North American and British West Indian trade of the 17th and 18th century was severely reduced
• American trading activities in the Caribbean were largely shifted from the British to the French colonies, primarily, St. Domingue
• American commercial interests in the Caribbean countries continued and increased throughout the 18th and 19th centuries
• The strength of the United States as a world power was first demonstrated in the western hemisphere in 1898 during the Spanish-American war
• In the early years of the 20th century, American policy was described as a ''Big Stick'' policy because of the aggressive nature of its attitude towards the developing Caribbean republics
• The construction of the Panama Canal during this period and the determination of the American Government to make the Caribbean an ''American Lake'' were largely responsible for this attitude
• From about 1912 to the early 1930s, the U.S. policy in the Caribbean has been described as Dollar Diplomacy
• During this period, American dollars were pumped into republics which were plagued with political and economic unrest in an effort to bring about peace and stability and exclude any other foreign power from the Canal Zone
• By 1933, the American image in the western hemisphere had been badly tarnished
• In an effort to remedy this, the Good Neighbour Policy was adopted
• During this period, the American government attempted to act in accordance with the principles of ''Good Neighbour'' policy
• Acts of aggression were severely reduced
• Imperialism


  • Having completing its internal expansion in the 1860s, and after the end of the American Civil War, the US was ready for external expansion
  • Several factors influenced this shift: depression which began in 1893, a fear that natural resources would be exhausted, awareness of the new imperialism among the European powers, concern that the us would be left ou1 of the benefits of empire and new markets if It dio not become Involved
  • To become a great nation, the us needed to build up its sea power and acquire colonies and defensive bases
• Three examples of increasing US influence in the hemisphere


  • The Venezuela/Guyana border dispute: the US supported Venezuela and forced Britain to agree to arbitration
  • the Spanish/Cuban/American War of 1898, which gave the US control over Cuba
  • the purchase of the Danish islands in 1917
• Trade routes


  • American ships had been plying trade between the West Indies and the mainland since the 18th century
  • By the 1800s the waters of the Caribbean were major shipping routes
  • With American Investment in Cuba, Puerto Rico, Haiti and the Dominican Republic political stability was essential in the region to protect the trade route
  • The annexation of Hawaii and the growth of Its Pacific trade stimulated Interest in the construction of the Panama Canal and the urgent need to maintain peace in the region
• National security


  • For Americans. national security extended beyond their geographical boundaries
  • It meant protecting their independence, maintaining peace and stability in the region, excluding foreign intervention in the hemisphere, securing their trade and investment and keeping the world safe for democracy
  • A threat in any of these areas was seen as a threat to us national interest which necessitated military intervention from the US as the sell-appointed regional police force
• Political instability


  • Americans believed that for the United States to be fully secure and stable there must be peace and political stability in their sphere of influence
  • This meant rulers who were favoured by the US. Who supported US policies, who were considered democratic and who administered their countries along the lines determined by the US
  • Rulers who failed to comply with the wishes of the US were classified as undemocratic
  • The occurrence of political tension in their countries would make Americans regard them as unstable and provide legitimate reasons to intervene
  • Administrative, social and political reforms which often empowered unpopular rulers would then be Implemented
• Foreign interferences


  • The US saw the wider Caribbean region as the American hemisphere which had to be protected from foreign interference
  • The Monroe Doctrine and The Roosevelt Corollary made it clear that America would not tolerate foreign Involvement in the affairs of the countries of the region and that any such Involvement would be viewed as an attack on the US
  • US Intervention prevented the European powers from exercising any control over countries in the hemisphere
• Ideological conflict


  • Part of the Manifest Destiny of the US was the obligation to spread democracy across the globe
  • They gave financial, military and advisory support to any administration in the hemisphere that was pursuing those ideals
  • The US was firmly opposed to leftist or socialist governments and those which expressed anti-American sentiments and it intervened in countries where stability and US interests were threatened by opponents to democracy
• Cuba was of strategic importance to the U.S. because it lay across the mouth of the Gulf of Mexico and blocked the United States' access to the Caribbean
• Cuba commanded the important shipping lanes of the Yucatan Channel and the Florida Strait
• Havana, the capital and main port of Cuba was the key port in the Spanish trade system
• From 1825 to 1859, the United States made several attempts to purchase Cuba but were refused
• After that, the U.S. resorted to economic, diplomatic, ideological, and military reasons from 1868 to 1898 to intervene in Cuba
• In 1895, a new revolution for independence had started in Cuba
• The U.S. urged Spain to terminate the fighting because American commerce and interests had suffered heavily
• The revolutionaries continued because of their desire for independence
• The government sent the battleship, USS Maine to Cuba in January 1898 and it was blown up in Havana Harbour
• The U.S. blamed Spain and declared war on Spain in April 1898
• After three months of fighting, the Spanish Army surrendered at Santiago
• In December 1898, by the Treaty of Paris, Spain recognized the independence of Cuba
• From 1898 to 1903, the U.S. occupied Cuba militarily in order to ''Americanize'' Cuba before complete independence
• Puerto Ricans agitated for home rule throughout most of the 19th century and ended in 1898 when Spain introduced the Charter of Autonomy which granted self-government to the Puerto Ricans
• Under the Charter, general elections were held in March 1898 and Puerto Ricans were free from Spanish government restrictions since the Spanish settled on the island