X-Nico

3 unusual facts about British West Indies


Cleeve Horne

Born in Jamaica, British West Indies, Horne, primarily a society painter, is thought to have painted over 400 portraits during his career ca.

Eugene McLanahan Wilson

Wilson died while on a visit to regain his health in Nassau, New Providence Island, British West Indies, April 10, 1890.

Palemon Howard Dorsett

Returning to the USA in 1932, he retired from the USDA, but joined the Allison Vincent Armour agricultural expedition to the British West Indies and Guianas the same year.


Alastair Forbes

Forbes’ first overseas posting was to Dominica in the British West Indies in 1936 as a magistrate and government officer, where much of his time was spent compiling an index of the island's laws (his assistant for many years was the barrister (later Dame) Eugenia Charles, who subsequently co-founded the centrist Dominica Freedom Party and in 1980 became the Caribbean's first female prime minister).

British Guiana during World War II

Like all the other British colonies in the West Indies, Guiana gave full support to the Allied war effort by providing personnel for the British Armed Forces, land for an American military base, and raw materials for war production.

Captain William Mackintosh

He married Leonora Sophia, daughter of Col. Dickinson, of Jamaica, British West Indies, who claimed to be closely related to Sir Stamford Raffles, founder of Singapore.

East Caribbean dollar

In 1822, the British government coined 1/4, 1/8, and 1/16 fractional 'Anchor dollars' for use in Mauritius and the British West Indies (but not Jamaica).

Queen Anne's proclamation of 1704 introduced the gold standard to the British West Indies, putting the West Indies about two hundred years ahead of the East Indies in this respect.

It was one of the many experimental political and economic ventures tested by the British government to form a uniform system within their British West Indies territories.

In the years immediately following 1873, there was a fear that the British West Indies might return to a silver standard.

In the years following the 1838 order-in-council, the British West Indies territories began to enact local legislation for the purposes of assimilating their monies of account with the British pound sterling.

A few years later copper fractional dollars were coined for Mauritius, Sierra Leone, and the British West Indies.

In 1949, the British government formalized the dollar system of accounts in British Guiana and the Eastern Caribbean territories by introducing the British West Indies dollar (BWI$) at the already existing conversion rate of $4.80 per pound sterling (or $1 = 4 shillings 2 pence).

Mathew Macnider

The MacNiders quickly became one of the leading mercantile families there, selling Canadian timber and supplies to the Royal Navy and trading in wine and spices from Europe and the British West Indies to Quebec, London and Scotland.

Robert C. Lawson

There are now 582 churches world-wide, including congregations in West Africa, Mexico, Canada, the British West Indies, the Dominican Republic, England, Haiti, and the Philippines.

Royal Bank of Trinidad and Tobago

With several independent countries in the former British West Indies engaging in left-leaning policy experiments, seen by many as heading down the road towards socialism or "Communism", many Canadian banks were seeking to sever their ties in the Caribbean region so as to avoid having their operations nationalized.

Treatment of slaves in the United States

In 1811, Arthur William Hodge was the first slaveholder executed for the murder of a slave in the British West Indies.

Windward Islands

The Windward Islands are called such because they were more windward to sailing ships arriving in the New World than the Leeward Islands, given that the prevailing trade winds in the West Indies blow east to west.


see also

British West Indies Regiment

General Allenby sent the following telegram to the Governor of Jamaica: "I have great pleasure in informing you of the gallant conduct of the machine-gun section of the 1st British West Indies Regiment during two successful raids on the Turkish trenches. All ranks behaved with great gallantry under heavy rifle and shell fire and contributed in no small measure to the success of the operations".

David Apperley

In 2003 Tanya Streeter, world record free diver, employed Apperley to lead a group of safety divers to the British West Indies to act as support for the world record attempt.

Trinidad and Tobago dry forests

Beard, J. S. (1944) The natural vegetation of Tobago, British West Indies.