The political traditions of the Commonwealth Caribbean…

The political traditions of the Commonwealth Caribbean islands reflect the diverse ways in which they were brought into the British Empire and administered, as well as the dominant political views in London at the time of their incorporation.

Some of these traditions can still be observed in the operation of contemporary politics in the region.

Three patterns have emerged: one for colonies settled or acquired before the eighteenth century; another for colonies taken during the Seven Years' War (1756-63) and ceded by France in 1763; and a third for colonies conquered in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries and ceded by France in the early nineteenth century.