The United States has long dominated economic as well as political affairs in the Caribbean. Recently, however, the relations between the US and the Caribbean nations have been changing. In the early 1980s, the United States unilaterally announced the Caribbean Basin Initiative, which was a set of tariff concessions to the region designed to improve the overall economic situation. More recently, the Association of Caribbean States was created to bring together the islands and countries on the Caribbean rim in an attempt to reposition the region in light of the development of powerful trading blocs in the western hemisphere and Europe. This volume brings together essays that explore the historical, political, and economic dimensions of US-Caribbean relations. As such, it will be of considerable use to scholars and researchers of the Caribbean, economic development, and international relations.

This volume brings together essays that explore the historical, political, and economic dimensions of US-Caribbean relations. As such, it will be of considerable use to scholars and researchers of the Caribbean, economic development, and international relations.

This volume examines the phenomenon of mass population migration from the Caribbean to North America and the United Kingdom and the social, cultural, and economic adaptation of the immigrants to their new environments. A central theme of this volume is that twentieth century Caribbean migration is more than the migration of labor in search of jobs; it is also a movement of households and thus affects not only the well-being of family members but also their social relationships. The contributors provide new analytical perspectives on the factors that motivate this movement, and the social, cultural, and economic impact of the movement on the household itself.

The volume is divided into three parts. Part I examines the historical movement to the United States and the United Kingdom. The chapters in this section explore the relationship between the character of Caribbean development and the factors motivating the migration of households, the nineteenth century beginnings of twentieth century mass Caribbean migration, and the social and economic experiences of the post-World War II Caribbean immigrants in Britain. Part II looks at the problems of settlement and adaptation in the major urban centers where Caribbean immigrants have tended to concentrate, giving special attention to the status of Caribbean women in the United States and the role of social networks in helping immigrants to adapt to their new surroundings. The final section looks at the problem of illegal migration from the Caribbean to the United States, drawing on data from the annual reports of the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Students, researchers, and policy-makers will find In Search of a Better Life an important contribution to the understanding of the total migration process.

Challenging the traditional focus on economic development, this book emphasizes the importance of cultural development in any development strategy. It examines the interaction of the American and Caribbean populations and the influence that interaction has had on their perceptions of each other and of themselves. Although trade is an important component of U.S.-Caribbean relations, the book underscores that population movements and their attendant cultural influences are powerful factors in those relations.

While trade, population movements, and security considerations have traditionally been the three main components of U.S.-Caribbean relations, the chapters in this contributed book emphasize the importance of a fourth--culture. U.S.-Caribbean relations influence and are influenced by Caribbean perceptions of themselves and of the United States; perceptions that are being transformed by American telecommunications, the movements of American tourists to the Caribbean and of Caribbean immigrants to America. Out of these interactions, a new Caribbean cultural identity is emerging, one that will influence the traditional relationship between the U.S. and the Caribbean.