To dwell together in unity | |||||||
| Anthem | "A Song for Federation" | ||||||
| Capital | Castries | ||||||
| Largest city | Kingston | ||||||
| Other cities | Belize City, Port of Spain, Roseau, Nassau & Bridgetown | ||||||
| Language official |
English | ||||||
| others | several creole languages, Spanish, French, Arawakan, Mayan | ||||||
| Government | Federal parliamentary republic | ||||||
| Legislature | Federal Parliament | ||||||
| President | |||||||
| Prime minister | |||||||
| Area | 57,236 km² | ||||||
| Population | 6,438,400 | ||||||
| Independence | 1987 | ||||||
| Currency | Caribbean Dollar (CB $) | ||||||
| Organizations | Leauge of Nations, CARICOM | ||||||
The Caribbean Federation (formerly known as the East Caribbean Federation) is a democratic Federation of island states in the Caribbean Sea. It was formed on January 1st, 1987, four years after Doomsday. It primarily consists of former British colonies. It is also a key member of the renewed CARICOM, and is believed by many to the one of the bloc's de facto most powerful members).
History[]
Pre-Doomsday[]
Caribbean heads of state before Doomsday.
Prior to 1983, most member states of the East Caribbean Federation were small, independent nations or dependent territories of global powers, most prominently the United States of America and the United Kingdom. The economies of these islands were heavily dependent on tourism and the sugar trade.
1983 - 1987[]
The tourist trade and the sugar trade both collapsed in the wake of Doomsday. This devastated the Caribbean economic community, cutting the economies of most islands in half. South America was also experiencing political and economic crisis in the wake of Doomsday, and could offer little trade and no aid to the island nations.
Almost immediately the various islands reached out to one another, beginning with an agreement of mutual aid between St. Lucia and Barbados. The agreement soon expanded to include Trinidad and Tobago, as well as St. Vincent and the Grenadines. It evolved beyond mutual aid, culminating in a joint military operation to displace the military junta in Grenada. From there it progressed to talks of another union of some sort being established.
1987 - 2013[]
The nation's meeting place in Castries.
On January 1st, 1987, the East Caribbean Federation was officially formed, consisting of those four nations involved in the aid agreement. It took its flag and symbols from the former West Indies Federation, an attempt at Caribbean unification from 1958 to 1962 that had failed due to nationalist tensions between the islands. Since then, it has expanded into a Federation of 15 semi-sovereign states.
When the federation was formed, they faced trouble in finding a suitable, centralized capital that most of the citizen's would approve of. Some considered capitals included Kingston, Jamaica due to it's economic importance and central location, and Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago due to it being a major political and cultural capital in the East Indies. Ultimately, a city in the East Indie was chosen, being Castries. Though it was centralized at the time of it's selection, now the national capital is quite distant from certain member territories, including Belize, Jamaica and The Bahamas.
Caribbean Territorial governors meeting in 2016.
Nationalist movements within the Federation, most prominently on the islands of Jamaica and Trinidad, have threatened the stability of the union from time to time, though regional governments have managed to keep this under control. As a result, the ECF has only become more unified over time. Most citizens, especially on the smaller islands, enjoy the prosperity and stability the Federation provides, and have little desire to divide it once again. Tourism and trade have slowly, yet steadily, increased over the decades since Doomsday.
The relatively young nation has also been active in searching striken areas in close proximity to the Caribbean. One of the more notable expeditions involved exploring the territories of the southern half of the former US state of Florida. They discovered a survivor nation on the southwest side of the former state called the Republic of South Florida.
2014-Present[]
The Federation has continued to grow in stability and population in the past decade. Many in the Federation were supportive of the movement to reaffirm the pre-Doomsday CARICOM regional bloc for the mutual defense and economic integration of the Caribbean nations. By 2020, the Federation's Parliament was firmly in favor of this. By late 2019, governments across the region were also in favor. On January 1, 2020, heads of the state from the Caribbean Federation and its fellow Caribbean Sea nations met in Georgetown, Guyana Cooperative to formally rejoin CARICOM. In February 2021, the Federation Parliament finally voted to affirm what everyone already knew was a fact, and formally drop the "East" from the ECF's name and become the Caribbean Federation.
Territories[]
The Caribbean Federation is a federal union of 15 semi-sovereign states. Of all 15 member territories of the Caribbean Federation, 4 of them (Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines & Trinidad & Tobago) are considered as founding members, 1 territory (Belize) is considered a Free State, 1 is a federation (St. Kitts & Nevis), 2 are commonwealth (Jamaica & The Bahamas) and the United States Atlantic Remnant was considered an autonomous area, the only one in the federation, until it voted to formally rejoin the reemerging United States on the mainland. However, due to the CF's somewhat loose nature, the USAR retains a seat as an informal observer, and continues to assist the CF in naval patrols for pirates, especially in the areas around Bermuda.
Bermuda was struck with a nuclear missile on Doomsday at the US-UK military base on the main island. Consequently, fallout quickly began to contaminate the archipelago, and the Governor John Morrison, Viscount Dunrossill hastily organized an evacuation of Bermuda, with help from the surviving US forces and forces from the (not-yet-unified) Caribbean nations. After an almost 20 year period of the fate of Bermuda hanging in legal limbo (and of the Bermudian refugees being relocated to hastily built "Bermuda Towns" and Bermudian neighborhoods in the CF), the legislature finally acted decisively with the second Bermuda Act, in 2005. This Act formally annexed Bermuda as the CF's first (and thus far only) federal territory. Bermuda currently remains uninhabited except for a sporadic military presence. The CF maintains a military and scientific base near the outskirts of Hamilton, the former capital. The CF Navy also patrols the area due to it becoming a haven for pirates. They are assisted in warding off the pirates by the forces of the United States Atlantic Remnant, Canada, and Portugal. Part of the military's mission is to secure property records of Bermudian refugees, with an eye towards eventually giving them or their descendants first priority in (re)gaining land and property in Bermuda, if and when resettlement becomes feasible. The Bermudian government-in-exile has been absorbed into the CF federal government as a special department called the Administration for the Bermudian Community. It is expected that when radiation dies down enough for remediation of the contaminated areas to begin, the Bermudian community will someday be repatriated and the ABC will become the official local government of Bermuda once again.
| Territory | Capital | Population | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anguilla | The Valley | 15,284 | Joined 1988 |
| Antigua & Barbuda | St. John's | 157,244 | Joined 1988 under St. Kitts' supervision; full members |
| Bahamas | Nassau | 527,000 | Joined 1996 |
| Barbados | Bridgetown | 270,800 | Joined 1987, founding member |
| Belize | Belmopan | 332,000 | Joined 1993 |
| British Virgin Islands | Road Town | 25,491 | Joined 1988 |
| Cayman Islands | Cayman Town | 42,813 | |
| Dominica | Roseau | 103,582 | |
| Jamaica | Kingston | 2,966,250 | Joined 1989 |
| St. Kitts & Nevis | Basseterre | 78,139 | Joined 1988. Annexed Montserrat after eruption of Soufrière Hills Volcano. |
| St. Lucia | Castries | 200,660 | Joined 1987, Founding member |
| St. Vincent & the Grenadines | Kingstown | 139,000 | Joined 1987, Founding member |
| Trinidad & Tobago | Port of Spain | 1,299,953 | Joined 1987, Founding member |
| Turks & Caicos Islands | Cockburn Town | 23,419 | Joined 1996 |
| Bermuda | Hamilton (de jure; currently only a military presence there) | 0 | Annexed as a federal territory in 2005 |
| United States Atlantic Remnant | Charlotte Amalie | 244, 000 | Autonomous Member-State of the CF, Associatiated Union with the United States though still retains ECF Dollar and other obligations |
| Observer territory | Capital | Population | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Republic of Florida | St. Augustine | 1,800,000 | As a key ally of the USAR and major trade partner of the other CF states, Florida maintains an non-voting observer and interests office |
Much larger and more populous nations of the region such as Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico, much more self-sufficient and Spanish-speaking, opted to stay out of the Federation. Haiti's economy was extremely weak to begin with, and eventually became so dependent on East Caribbean aid that it became little more than a puppet state for quite some time.
Potential New Territories[]
There have occasionally been calls within the English-speaking islands of the Netherlands Antilles to join the Federation. Certain segments of the population have also called for Haiti to be included in the Federation as well.
Politics[]
Structure[]
The Caribbean Federation is a federal parliamentary republic, with a Prime Minister and a President.
Political parties[]
There are two main political parties in the CF:
- The Conservative Party, which is a centre-right party,
- The Liberal Party, which is a centre-left party.
Minor parties include:
- The Caribbean Communist Party (CCP)
- The One Nation Party, which advocates annexing all the Caribbean Islands and instituting a constitutional monarchy at the federal level to replace the current republican system in place. Members of the ONP tend to favor enthroning Viscountess Joanna Catherine Morrison-Smith (beloved figurehead of the Bermudian community) and her descendants in this role, though a minority favors Queen Juliana II of the Netherlands Antilles and her line.
International Relations[]
The Caribbean Federation has been wary of both the increasing importance of South America and the widespread socialist influence in Central America and the Caribbean Sea. Due to these worries the CF has maintained strong ties with the main Anglophone power, the Commonwealth of Australia and New Zealand. The CF also maintains strong ties to the Guyana Cooperative due to their shared Anglophone Caribbean culture. The CF has also enjoyed peaceful and friendly relations with the Kingdom of the Netherlands Antilles. The CF is a member of the League of Nations. Ever since the departure of the US Atlantic Remnant as it was readmitted into the reborn United States of America as an overseas territory, the USAR has maintained an informal observer status with the CF, but is now technically a foreign entity. Thus, it can be stated that one of the CF's major trade partners today is the United States, through the USAR's thriving trade with the CF.
Economy[]
Kingston, Jamaica.
The Caribbean Federation's primary trading partners are South America, the ANZC, the Guyana Cooperative, and the Netherlands Antilles. The Caribbean economy is primarily services-based, most notably within the tourism sector, though finances and banking are also becoming increasingly important.
Culture[]
The Caribbean Federation consists of most of the English-speaking territories of the Caribbean Sea, and thus continues the general Anglophone Caribbean culture.
Religion[]
Caribbean Hindus at a temple in Roseau.
The Caribbean Federation, as with the Caribbean region as a whole, tends to be a very devoutly religious part of the world. Christianity remains the predominant faith in the Federation, particularly among the Afro-Caribbean majority, with Hinduism forming a significant minority due to the presence of the large Indo-Caribbean community (descendants of laborers from India brought to the region by the British during the imperial era). The Indo-Caribbean community's heaviest concentration within the Caribbean Federation tends to be on the islands of Trinidad and Tobago. Some Indo-Caribbean people are Christian or Muslim as well.
Interestingly, Rastafarianism has enjoyed a noticeable uptick in support in the decades since Doomsday, due to the movement's criticism of the wider pre-Doomsday society, and its Caribbean roots.
Music[]
The CF is home to a very vibrant music scene. Because the (then-future) members of the CF did not suffer from any atomic strikes on Doomsday, almost all of the region's most popular singers survived. Every year, carnival season brings an outpouring of festivals where exuberant musical performances are the center of attention. Popular genres in the CF include mainstay Caribbean genres such as soca, calypso, reggae, chutney, steel band music, and dancehall. The music industry has been a source of national pride for residents of the CF.
Military[]
The CDF Flag.
The member states of the Caribbean Federation do not possess individual armies. Instead, they are all serviced and protected by a single, unitary military, called the Caribbean Defence Force (CDF.) The CDF itself contains several branches: The East Caribbean Navy (CN); The East Caribbean Marine Corps (CMC); the Caribbean Field Army (CFA); and the Caribbean Air Force (CAF.)
Originally, the mainstay of the military was provided by the Jamaican Defence Force, the British contingent in Belize and remnants of American Armed Forces who did not join the USAR. In contemporary times, the CDF equipment is mostly purchased from the SAC. However is it is important to remember while the Caribbean Federation Navy only operates light ships, the naval forces of the USAR maintains a strategically-diversified fleet and is capable of fielding an entire carrier group if need be in support of CF forces.
[]
The Caribbean Navy is the primary military force of the CF, due to the Federation being an overwhelmingly maritime nation. The CN is primarily geared towards Search and Rescue and anti-piracy operations, though in recent years, as the nation's regional power grows, it has begun to diversify its offensive portfolio. In total, the CN operates two corvettes, 14 patrol ships, six fast attack boats, and four auxiliary ships. The CN operates three primary missions, to which the bulk of its naval forces are devoted.
The CN First Task Force operates in the North Caribbean, based out of Port Antonio, Jamaica. Its mission objective is to keep peace in North Caribbean waters and participate in S & R operations. It is the most offensive of the three task forces. It is intended to act as a strategic deterrent to potential Cuban and Dominican aggression. It is also intended to be dispatched to Belize in the event of an outbreak of hostilities with Guatemala, in order to ensure complete naval control of the region. The First Task force consists of 464 sailors assigned to the following ships :
- CNS Aegis : Lionfish-Class Corvette.
- CNS Tim Hector : Snakehead-Class Patrol Ship.
- CNS Baldwin : Snakehead-Class Patrol Ship.
- CNS Oversight : Snakehead-Class Patrol Ship.
- CNS Hayes : Snakehead-Class Patrol Ship.
- CNS Watchman : Snakehead-Class Patrol Ship.
- CNS Seraphin : Snakehead-Class Patrol Ship.
- CNS William Shorey : Grouper-Class Fast Attack Boat.
- CNS Anguilla : Grouper-Class Fast Attack Boat.
The CN Second Task Force operates in the East Caribbean, based out of Compton Naval Base, St. Lucia. Its mission objective is to keep peace in East Caribbean waters and participate in S & R operations. The 2nd Task Force operates the most auxiliary ships of the three task forces, and is generally held in reserve, to be dispatched to the other two task forces if necessary. The 2nd Task Force consists of 598 sailors assigned to the following ships :
- CNS Bridgetown : Snakehead-Class Patrol Ship.
- CNS San Juan : Snakehead-Class Patrol Ship.
- CNS Cockburn : Snakehead-Class Patrol Ship.
- CNS Great Abaco : Snakehead-Class Patrol Ship.
- CNS Lee Moore : Clownfish-Class Support Ship (Tugboat Outfit.)
- CNS Cambridge : Clownfish-Class Support Ship (Buoy Tender Outfit.)
- CNS Kingston : Clownfish-Class Support Ship (Training Ship Outfit.)
- CNS Lionel Town : Palm-Class Support Ship (Replenishment Oiler Outfit.)
The CN Third Task Forces operates in the West Caribbean, based out of Punta Gorda, Belize. Its mission objective is to keep peace in West Caribbean Waters and participate in S & R operations. The 3rd Task Force is a smaller force, and is intended to act as a deterrent to Guatemalan aggression. The 3rd Task Force consists of 424 sailors assigned to the following ships :
- CNS Guardian : Lionfish-Class Corvette.
- CNS Gros Islet : Snakehead-Class Patrol Ship.
- CNS Cayo : Snakehead-Class Patrol Ship.
- CNS Chris Blackwell : Snakehead-Class Patrol Ship.
- CNS John Compton : Snakehead-Class Patrol Ship.
- CNS Milton Cato : Grouper-Class Fast Attack Boat.
- CNS Mutabaruka : Grouper-Class Fast Attack Boat.
- CNS Orange Walk : Grouper-Class Fast Attack Boat.
- CNS Cayman : Grouper-Class Fast Attack Boat.
See also[]
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