Session 4 Lessons to be learned from other colonial powers
In the context of the earlier discussions with their emphasis on British concern to limit responsibilities for defence, internal security, and aid, Dr. Robinson outlined French, U.S. and Dutch arrangements which had attempted to provide an alternative to independence.
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The French. Five territories had been fully integrated with France as Overseas Departments. Three of them - Martinique, Guadeloupe, and Reunion, were well outside the population range we had been
were
considering, but French Guiana and St rierre et Miquelon were within it. These arrangements was the outcome of a long historic process, which had reached a fairly advanced stage even before the last war, in which such integration had long been held out as the objective of French policy. It involved total responsibility for defence and security, full representation in the French Parliament, full citizenship and high expenditure determined by metropolitan standards. It thus appeared to have no attractions for us.
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The U.S. Apart from 'scheduled independence in the rhilippines, not typical, U.S arrangements had by and large been adaptations of those made in the westward expansion of the U.S. but stopping short of statehood except and then only after a long interval, Alaska and Hawaii. This model involved full citizenship and federal responsibility, a non voting Delegate in Congress, elected Governors and legislatures in the territories deriving their powers from the federal government not, like states, from the Constitution, and high federal expenditure. Such arrangements had been applied in fuerto Rico (with an attempt to give them a more formal status) Guam, the US.V.I and most recently the Northern Marianas. They fell short of statehood towards which there had be to my yese conflicting pressures both in the territories and at Washingtonotably in
Again there seemed to be no attraction for us in such arrangements.respect
Puerto Riep The Dutch. The arrangemnts made in 1954 were the most innovatory of the Bure the three. These involved full internal selfgovernment for the Netherlands been Antilles -six territories, four very small, and geographically divided between the Venezuelan coast and the Northern Antilles and for Surinam. Surinam and the Netherlands Antilles constituted with the Netherlands a Kingdom inwhich defence, foreign affairs, citizenship and nationality were reserved for a government in which the two
overseas components were represented by Commisioners added to the Dutch Cabinet when matters concerning the Kingdom were involved. There were other arrangemnts designed to ensure that the oversea components could make themselves heard at the executive level of government but no representation in the ftropolitan parliament."The independence of Surinam imitated that these arrangemnets had broken down and as
agreement on plans for the independence of the Netherlands Antilles
ᄉᄋ as a whole, which had been offered, seemed most improbable, the Dutch were likely to be left with the smaller islands in 1981 gor have to offer them each independence. This experience then tons It was Ironic that after taking such a different route, the Durch seemed likely to end up
a similar dilemma to ours. Discussi
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