New Nations
The new nations witnessed the appearance of new modern Governments. Many natives received the appropriate education to become public officials, thus, substituting progressively the “expatriates” that formed the administrative staff of the islands. Likewise, states started to involve, gradually, in economy. Some industries were nationalizing, and the Government became the major shareholder in many others. These changes are only a small sample of the cultural, economic and social transformation, experimented in this Caribbean region, at that time.

The progressive process of industrialization and modernization of these islands’ economy, that affected specially the electric companies in Barbados, and the oil refineries in St. Croix, coincided with the tourism boom. Many of the new states created their own airlines; new education centers were founded, like the Regional University of the West Indies, which is shared by Jamaica, Trinidad & Barbados. In those years many condominiums for the middle class were built, as well as state financed houses. But all this modernization had its price, rural regions were deserted.

The invasion of the American culture has been one of the major and decisive influences in the Caribbean modernization, specially in those English speaking islands, and has affected, not only the economy, but in a more subtle way, the social and cultural values. In many corners of the islands, especially next to the cruisers arriving ports, supermarkets and commercial galleries, American style has appeared. This “Americanization” has finally affected people’s way of life, from the way they dress, gastronomy, speaking accent, fun, social relations, and also moral values. Television and radio have had their share in this new American way of life.

New Challenges
As in the Great Antilles, their sister islands of the north, the Little Antilles face now, and new problems arousing from modern life. In some islands, the search for money, and ambition, has degenerated in corruption among some of the political leaders. Money involved in these scandals, comes mainly, from international organizations dedicated to drugs and arm trafficking, as well as organized criminal mafias. Therefore, the political class of these small islands is trapped in a fast moving world of intrigues, for which they are scarcely prepared.

Private Lives, Public Secrets
There have also been political leaders of great stature, like Grantley Adams and Errol Barrow in Barbados, and Dr. Eric Williams and A.N.R. Robinson in Trinidad & Tobago. However, in the smaller islands there are politicians that manipulate the system, and with a personal charisma bigger than their ideology; besides, many times they win votes in exchange of favors, and use their influence to obtain jobs for their relatives and friends. The government controls most of the working places; so many people take advantage of this situation, and get a job as public officials in the administration.

Politics have become something like a public market, where politicians show their eloquence. In this arena, there’s no room for privacy, so their lives turn public. The successive rumors about them are known in Trinidad as picong or mauvaise langue. If you go to a political meeting in any of these islands, you will understand the eloquence of some of the West Indies inhabitants, as well as their challenging attitudes towards powerful men, which they express using an irreverent language. An example is calypso, a typical Trinidad’s form of music, which is used as a popular expression vehicle. 

Big Business Consequences
The economic development has contributed to the rising of a new middle class, with more economic resources; the standard of life, housing, education and health has increased considerably. However, there is now excessive expending, above their real possibilities, thanks mainly to American films, television and tourism.

In the 1960’s, Montserrat’s Prime Minister, W.H. Bramble, thoroughly explained this situation, when saying that small Antillean countries were bike’s economies with Cadillac dreams. Errol Barrow, the Barbados Prime Minister, after achieving independence, addressed a similar message, when he said that the problem was not the cost of life, but a high standard way of life. Any way, the average life standard is much better, though distance between rich and poor is still getting larger.

Tourism has not contributed to shorten that distance. From the Virgin Islands to the ABC Islands, landscapes are full of luxurious resorts. These resorts are property of international corporations, whose owners offer tourists vacations with all services included, so in the end, very little money remains on the islands. On the other side, tourism is killing agriculture.

Worst consequences have had the progressive entrance of foreign capitals to the islands, because the economic dependence of the region from the foreign transnational companies has been greatly increased. Many companies only look for cheap workers, some others, like pharmaceuticals, establish on the islands, to escape severe environment legislation in their countries. There are others, especially great financial companies involved in huge commercial operations around the world. If only one company monopolizes the economy of a small island, it’s a risky situation. In 1984, for example, big oil companies, like Exxon, abandoned their Aruba and Curacao refineries, causing huge damage to their economies.