Abstract
WEST Indian affairs attracted considerable public attention in the period immediately prior to the outbreak of the present hostilities. Severe economic depression and the deplorably low standard of living had indicated that all was not well and general concern was manifested by the Imperial Government. Signs of considerable distress and labour unrest, culminating in disturbances in various Colonies during the late thirties, resulted in the appointment of a West Indian Royal Commission which toured the various Colonies in the Caribbean area during 1938–39, with the object of making specific recommendations. Unfortunately, the report of this Commission has not yet been released, but the main conclusions reached and certain recommendations made were published in February 1940 (Cmd. 6174). Now apart from Trinidad, which has a big petroleum industry, and British Guiana, which has developed bauxite mining and to a less extent gold and diamond diggings, all these Colonies depend entirely on the agricultural industry for their prosperity. The recorded opinion of the 1938–39 Royal Commission that “agriculture is the principal source of sustenance and wealth in the West Indies and the standards of life must largely depend on the intensive use of the soil” therefore accurately portrays conditions.
Article PDF
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
EVANS, G. WEST INDIAN AGRICULTURE. Nature 149, 626–630 (1942). https://doi.org/10.1038/149626a0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/149626a0