Abstract
Operation Sheepskin, the military invasion of Anguilla that Britain carried out in March 1969, ended the island’s short-lived stint as an independent republic, leading to direct colonial rule, significant development projects, and the transformation of local life. This chapter uses oral testimonies from former rebels and an array of archival sources to better understand Britain’s approach to decolonization, events surrounding the invasion, and the rebels’ success in removing their island from the Associated State of St. Kitts, Nevis, and Anguilla.
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Notes
- 1.
Petty and Hodge, Anguilla’s Battle, 8–9.
- 2.
For a narrative relating the Revolution to the emergence of Anguillian character and nationalism, see Bernice B. Lake, “What Makes Us Anguillians” (paper presented at the Third Biennial National Development Conference, The Valley, Anguilla, November 12, 2007).
- 3.
Mawby, Ordering Independence, 216.
- 4.
Petty and Hodge, Anguilla’s Battle, 5.
- 5.
Updike, “Letter from Anguilla,” 65.
- 6.
Passalacqua, “St. Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla,” 6.
- 7.
Hubbard, History of St. Kitts, 143.
- 8.
House of Commons Parliamentary Debates, Weekly Hansard, no. 711, January 27–February 2, 1967.
- 9.
House of Commons Parliamentary Debates, Weekly Hansard, no. 711, January 27–February 2, 1967.
- 10.
People in Nevis also rejected the structure of the associated state; they complained that they were allocated only two of the ten seats in its assembly and held that the Kittian majority consistently favored its own constituents. Hubbard, History of St. Kitts, 143.
- 11.
In 2014, several interviewees asserted that the only modern Caribbean revolutions to have achieved their goals in the end were those of Anguilla and Cuba.
- 12.
Webster, Revolutionary Leader, 12.
- 13.
In 2014 interviews, several people attributed this action to retaliation for the lack of political support for Bradshaw among Anguillians.
- 14.
Atlin Harrigan, “Editorial,” Beacon (Anguilla), September 27, 1967.
- 15.
John “Bob” Rogers, interview by the author and Jansie Webster, September 20, 2014, transcript.
- 16.
John “Bob” Rogers interview.
- 17.
John “Bob” Rogers interview.
- 18.
Walicek, “Freedom for the Emancipated,” 156–158.
- 19.
Petty and Hodge, Anguilla’s Battle, 48.
- 20.
“Anguilla,” Times (London), August 2, 1967.
- 21.
“Anguilla,” Times.
- 22.
John “Bob” Rogers interview.
- 23.
Webster, Scrapbook, 84.
- 24.
For those who supported the movement against formal association with St. Kitts, law and order on their island prevailed and did not need to be restored. Some people did break existing laws in order to strengthen support for the cause and force Britain to become involved.
- 25.
John “Bob” Rogers interview.
- 26.
Mawby, “Overwhelmed,” 258.
- 27.
Clevette Rogers, interview by the author and Jansie Webster, February 19, 2014, transcript.
- 28.
Sid Moody, “Little Island of Anguilla Still Seeking Dependency,” April 28, 1968, Anguilla Heritage Room, Anguilla Library Service.
- 29.
Webster, Scrapbook, 30.
- 30.
“Anguilla Had Mail Troubles Too,” Journal (Newcastle upon Tyne), April 10, 1969.
- 31.
“Commonwealth Secretariat Background Paper, St. Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla: Recent Developments,” 3, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO papers on Anguilla) 141/57.
- 32.
Bradshaw was angered when the leaders of the rebel movement appealed for recognition as a separate associated state but was further enraged when they, after not receiving a response from Britain, announced that they would accept annexation by the US. Passalacqua, “St. Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla,” 6.
- 33.
As explained by Ronald J. Webster, Anguilla’s rejection of association with St. Kitts involved two declarations of independence. The first, in 1967, involved a refusal to cooperate and dialogue with the central government in Basseterre. Adams was involved in the early part of the movement but was not formally elected and only occasionally identified himself as the President of Anguilla. The second, in 1969, was a bolder and more organized unilateral declaration of independence that took place without any agreement with Britain. Ronald J. Webster, interview by the author, February 17, 2014, transcript.
- 34.
Ronald J. Webster, interview.
- 35.
Iwandai Gumbs, interview by the author and Jansie Webster, February 23, 2014, transcript.
- 36.
Ronald J. Webster, interview.
- 37.
Ronald J. Webster, interview.
- 38.
Ronald J. Webster, interview.
- 39.
“Mr. Jerry Gumbs,” Beacon (Anguilla), October 28, 1967.
- 40.
“Mr. Jerry Gumbs,” Beacon.
- 41.
Fisher and Kohr served as advisors in the areas of law and development, respectively. See Juan de Onis, New York Times, “Anguillian Representative Calls on UN to Recognize Island’s Independence,” August 6, 1967.
- 42.
“Commonwealth Secretariat Background Paper,” 3.
- 43.
Tammy Gumbs, email message to the author, September 28, 2014.
- 44.
Like most men on the island, Gumbs spent years abroad simply to secure wages to survive. He acquired the gifts of healing and prophecy in eastern Cuba in the 1920s, when a voice told him that he had been chosen by God. See Walicek, “George Anderson Gumbs.”
- 45.
Webster, Revolutionary Leader, 26.
- 46.
Ronald J. Webster, interview; Carmen Woods, interview by the author and Jansie Webster, February 17, 2014, transcript.
- 47.
Canon Carleton’s appointment as parish priest was eventually revoked because of his involvement in the Revolution; his writings and securing of arms proved particularly controversial. See Brooks, “Role of the Church.”
- 48.
Norman Kirkham, “Bradshaw Asks Stewart for Guns and Tear Gas,” Daily Telegraph (London), May 10, 1969.
- 49.
Richie Allen, “Anguilla Will Remain Part of Tri-Island State Says Bradshaw,” Journal (Newcastle upon Tyne), April 15, 1969.
- 50.
“Editorial,” Beacon (Anguilla), November 2, 1968.
- 51.
Leopold Kohr, “The Ten Facts of Anguilla Life,” San Juan Star (San Juan, PR), March 26, 1969.
- 52.
British diplomatic papers indicate that the US was concerned about the division of associated states and the emergence of numerous small independent republics. While the US maintained distance from the crisis, its diplomats expressed concern about Webster’s influence as a charismatic leader. For “the balance sheet,” see “Editorial,” Beacon (Anguilla), November 2, 1968.
- 53.
“Commonwealth Secretariat Background Paper,” 3–4.
- 54.
See Announcement by Campbell Fleming, Beacon (Anguilla), September 28, 1968.
- 55.
“Commonwealth Secretariat Background Paper,” 4–5.
- 56.
“Commonwealth Secretariat Background Paper,” 4–5.
- 57.
“Commonwealth Secretariat Background Paper,” 5. Shortly after the announcement of these results, President-elect Webster appealed to both the US and Mexico for recognition, but neither answered. See Eloy O. Aguilar, “Webster Tells Why Anguilla Is Independent,” Daily News of the Virgin Islands (Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas), February 20, 1969; and “Tiny Anguilla Votes to Cut British Ties and Be a Republic,” New York Times, February 8, 1969.
- 58.
Republic of Anguilla, “Statement of Policy,” March 1969, Anguilla Heritage Room, Anguilla Library Services.
- 59.
Westlake, Under an English Heaven, 178–181.
- 60.
Westlake, Under an English Heaven, 178–181.
- 61.
Brisk, Dilemma of a Ministate, 27.
- 62.
Westlake, Under an English Heaven, 205.
- 63.
“Mistakes in Foreign Policy,” Times (London), March 11, 1969.
- 64.
Ronald J. Webster, interview.
- 65.
Webster, Revolutionary Leader, 111.
- 66.
Carmen Woods, interview.
- 67.
Ministry of Defence, Royal Navy, Department of Public Relations, “Operation Sheepskin—The Invasion of Anguilla,” Colonial Film: Moving Images of the British Empire, http://www.colonialfilm.org.uk/node/2021; Webster, Scrapbook, 108–109.
- 68.
Webster, Scrapbook, 107.
- 69.
He later wrote that his people had already collected ammunition and guns and hidden them in “secret vaults.” Webster, Scrapbook, 110. Today several locals involved in the movement recall that arms were wrapped in plastic and hidden in abandoned wells and an underground cave.
- 70.
Webster, Scrapbook, 107.
- 71.
Webster, Scrapbook, 114–115.
- 72.
Ministry of Defence, “Operation Sheepskin—The Invasion of Anguilla.”
- 73.
Examples of slogans and signs held by protesters can be seen in the unedited silent film “Operation Sheepskin—The Invasion of Anguilla.”
- 74.
Olive Rogers, interview by the author and Jansie Webster, February 19, 2014, transcript.
- 75.
Olive Rogers, interview.
- 76.
“Anguillans Tell British to Get Out,” Washington Post, March 20, 1969.
- 77.
Olive Rogers, interview.
- 78.
Force Anguilla consisted of part of the 2nd Battalion, the Parachute Regiment, a half-squadron of Royal Engineers, members of the Royal Army Medical Corps and the Royal Corps of Signals, and a Metropolitan Police detachment.
- 79.
Westlake, Under an English Heaven, 207.
- 80.
Ionia Hodge, interview by the author and Jansie Webster, October 24, 2014, transcript.
- 81.
Lana Conor Hoyoung, interview by the author and Jansie Webster, October 24, 2014, transcript.
- 82.
Bobby Valentine, interview by the author and Jansie Webster, February 15, 2014, transcript.
- 83.
Brisk, Dilemma of a Ministate, 27.
- 84.
Richie Allen, “Anguilla Will Remain Part of Tri-Island State Says Bradshaw,” Journal (Newcastle upon Tyne), April 15, 1969.
- 85.
Verna Bryan, interview by the author and Jansie Webster, February 19, 2014, transcript.
- 86.
Iwandai Gumbs, interview.
Bibliography
Transcripts of unpublished interviews are cited in the notes.
Brisk, William J. The Dilemma of a Ministate: Anguilla. Columbia: Institute of International Studies, University of North Carolina, 1969.
Brooks, Errol. “The Role of the Church in the Anguilla Revolution.” In Commemorative Magazine: 40th Anniversary of the Anguilla Revolution, edited by Foster Rogers and the Anguilla Day Committee, 30–31. The Valley, Anguilla: The Government of Anguilla, 2007.
Hubbard, Vincent K. A History of St. Kitts. Oxford: Macmillan Education, 2002.
Mawby, Spencer. Ordering Independence, the End of Empire in the Anglophone Caribbean. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012.
Mawby, Spencer. “Overwhelmed in a Very Small Place.” Twentieth Century British History 23, no. 2 (2012): 246–274.
Passalacqua, Mary D., ed. “St. Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla.” Caribbean Monthly Bulletin 4, no. 11 (1967): 6.
Petty, Colville L., and A. Nat Hodge. Anguilla’s Battle for Freedom, 1967–1969. Anguilla: PETNAT, 2010.
Updike, John. “Letter from Anguilla.” In Picked-Up Pieces, 65. New York: Random House, 1975.
Walicek, Don E. “Freedom for the Emancipated: August 1, 1838 in the British Caribbean.” In Creolization and Commonalities: Transgressing Neocolonial Boundaries in the Languages, Literatures and Cultures of the Caribbean and the Rest of the African Diaspora, edited by Nicholas Faraclas, Ronald Severing, Christa Weijer, Elisabeth Echteld, and Wim Rutgers, 156–158. Willemstad: University of Curaçao, 2014.
Walicek, Don E. “George Anderson Gumbs.” In Dictionary of Caribbean and Afro-Latin American Biography, edited by Franklin Knight and Henry Louis Gates, Jr. London: Oxford University Press, forthcoming.
Webster, Ronald J. Revolutionary Leader: Reflections on Life, Leadership, Politics. Denver: Outskirts Press, 2011.
Webster, Ronald J. Scrapbook of Anguilla’s Revolution. The Valley, Anguilla: Seabreakers Unlimited, 1997.
Westlake, Donald E. Under an English Heaven. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1972.
Acknowledgment
The author thanks Ms. Jansie Webster and Mr. Ángel Lozada for assistance in completing research for this chapter and Dr. Humberto García Muñiz for comments on an earlier draft. This project was possible due to a 2014–2016 grant from the Institutional Fund for Research at the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Píedras Campus.
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Walicek, D.E. (2017). The Anguilla Revolution and Operation Sheepskin. In: Puri, S., Putnam, L. (eds) Caribbean Military Encounters. New Caribbean Studies. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-58014-6_8
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