Editing Bermuda (section)

====British North America, British West Indies and the Caribbean Community====
The British Government originally grouped Bermuda with North America (given its proximity, and Bermuda having been established as an extension of the [[Colony of Virginia]], and with [[Carolina Colony]], the nearest landfall, having been settled from Bermuda). After the acknowledgement by the British Government of the independence of [[Thirteen Colonies|thirteen continental colonies]] (including Virginia and the Carolinas) in 1783, Bermuda was generally grouped regionally by the British Government with [[The Maritimes]] and [[Newfoundland and Labrador]] (and more widely, as part of [[British North America]]), substantially nearer to Bermuda than is the Caribbean.

From 1783 through 1801, the British Empire, including British North America, was administered by the [[Home Office]] and by the [[Home Secretary]], then from 1801 to 1854 by the [[War Office]] (which became the ''War and Colonial Office'') and Secretary of State for War and Colonies (as the [[Secretary of State for War]] was renamed). From 1824, the [[British Empire]] was divided by the War and Colonial Office into four administrative departments, including ''North America'', the ''West Indies'', ''Mediterranean and Africa'', and ''Eastern Colonies'', of which the North American department included Bermuda.<ref>{{cite book |last=Young |first=Douglas MacMurray |date=1961 |title=The Colonial Office in The Early Nineteenth Century |publisher=Longmans |location=London, UK |page=55}}</ref> The [[Colonial Office]] and War Office, the [[Secretary of State for the Colonies]] and the Secretary of State for War, were all separated in 1854.<ref name="Maton95">{{Cite web |last=Maton |first=William F. |year=1998 |title=British Columbia Terms of Union |series=The Solon Law Archive |website=Solon.org |url=http://www.solon.org/Constitutions/Canada/English/bctu.html |url-status=live |access-date=22 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110807080143/http://www.solon.org/Constitutions/Canada/English/bctu.html |archive-date=7 August 2011 |ref=Terms of Union}}</ref><ref name=Maton98>{{cite web |last=Maton |first=William F. |date=8 December 1995 |title=Prince Edward Island Terms of Union |series=The Solon Law Archive |website=Solon.org |url=http://www.solon.org/Constitutions/Canada/English/peitu.html |url-status=live |access-date=18 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201127014912/https://www.solon.org/Constitutions/Canada/English/peitu.html |archive-date=27 November 2020 |ref=Edward}}</ref> The War Office, from then until the 1867 [[Canadian Confederation|confederation]] of the Dominion of Canada, split the military administration of the British colonial and foreign stations into nine districts with ''North America and North Atlantic'' including the station of ''Bermuda''.<ref>
{{Cite book |last=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Meteorological Observations at the Foreign and Colonial Stations of the Royal Engineers and the Army Medical Department 1852—1886. |date=1890 |publisher=Eyre and Spottiswoode |location=London, UK}}
</ref> The Colonial Office, by 1862, oversaw eight Colonies in British North America, which included Bermuda separately.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |date=1 October 1862 |title=Colonial Governors and Bishops |page=7 |work=The Wiltshire County Mirror |location=Salisbury, Wiltshire, England |quote=Our North American colonies are eight in number, - Canada, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland, Bermuda, Vancouver Island, and British Columbia}}</ref> By 1867, administration of the [[South Atlantic Ocean]] archipelago of the [[Falkland Islands]], which had been colonised in 1833, had been added to the remit of the North American Department of the Colonial Office.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Birch |first1=Arthur N. |last2=Robinson |first2=William |date=1867 |title=The Colonial Office List for 1867 |location=London |publisher=Harrison |page=8 |quote=}}</ref> Following the 1867 [[Confederation of Canada|confederation]] of most of the British North American colonies to form the [[Dominion of Canada]], Bermuda and Newfoundland remained as the only British colonies in North America (although the Falkland Islands also continued to be administered by the North American Department of the Colonial Office).<ref>{{cite book |last=Fairfield |first=Edward |date=1878 |title=The Colonial Office List for 1878 |location=LONDON |publisher=Harrison and Sons |at=Page 17, PART II. — COLONIES .-- Colonies. North American. |quote=CANADA: PROVINCES OF CANADA-Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Manitoba, North-west Territories, British Columbia, Prince Edward Island; NEWFOUNDLAND; BERMUDA; FALKLAND ISLANDS}}</ref> The reduction of the territory administered by the British Government would result in re-organisation of the Colonial Office. In 1901, the departments of the Colonial Office included the ''North American and Australasian'' department to which Bermuda was a part.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mercer |first1=W. H. |last2=Collins |first2=A. E. |date=1901 |title=The Colonial Office List for 1901 |location=LONDON |publisher=Harrison and Sons |page=xiii}}</ref> In 1907, the [[Colony of Newfoundland]] became the [[Dominion of Newfoundland]], leaving the [[Imperial fortress]] of Bermuda as the sole remaining British North American colony.

Bermuda, with a land mass totalling less than 21 square miles and a population of 17,535, could hardly constitute an Imperial administrative region on its own. By 1908, the Colonial Office included two departments (one overseeing dominion and [[British protectorate|protectorate]] business, the other colonial): The Crown Colonies Department was made up of a West Indian Division that included Bermuda, as well as Jamaica, Turks Islands, British Honduras, British Guiana, Bahamas, Bermuda, Trinidad, Barbados, Windward Islands, Leeward Islands, Falkland Islands, and St. Helena.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mercer |first1=W. H. |last2=Collins |first2=A. E. |date=1908 |title=The Colonial Office List for 1901 |location=London |publisher=Waterlow and Sons Limited |page=xiii }}</ref>

[[File:Military Governors and Staff Officers in British North America and West Indies 1778 and 1784.jpg|thumb|Military Governors and Staff Officers in British North America and West Indies, 1778 and 1784]]
Following Canadian confederation in 1867, the British political, naval and military hierarchy in Bermuda became increasingly separated from that of the Canadian Government (the [[Royal Navy]] headquarters for the [[North America and West Indies Station]] had spent summers at Halifax, Nova Scotia, and winters at Bermuda, but settled at Bermuda year round with the [[Royal Naval Dockyard, Halifax]] finally being transferred to the [[Royal Canadian Navy]] in 1907, and the [[Bermuda Garrison]] had been placed under the military Commander-in-Chief America in New York during the American War of Independence, and had been part of the Nova Scotia Command thereafter, but became the separate ''Bermuda Command'' from the 1860s with the Major-General or Lieutenant-General appointed as Commander-in-Chief of Bermuda also filling the civil role of [[Governor of Bermuda]]), and Bermuda was increasingly perceived by the British Government as in, or at least grouped for convenience with, the British West Indies (although the established [[Church of England]] in Bermuda, which from 1825 to 1839 had been attached to the See of [[Nova Scotia]]) remained part of the [[Diocese of Newfoundland|Diocese of Newfoundland and Bermuda]] until 1879, when the Synod of the Church of England in Bermuda was formed and a Diocese of Bermuda became separate from the Diocese of Newfoundland, but continued to be grouped under the ''Bishop of Newfoundland and Bermuda'' until 1919, when Newfoundland and Bermuda each received its own bishop.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Piper |first=Liza |date=2000 |title=The Church of England |url=https://www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/society/anglicanism.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817010608/https://www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/society/anglicanism.php |archive-date=17 August 2021 |access-date=17 August 2021 |website=Heritage Newfoundland and Labrador |publisher=Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage Web Site}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=<!--Not stated--> |date=<!--Not stated--> |title=Our History |url=https://anglicanenl.net/home/our-history |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210928125032/https://anglicanenl.net/home/our-history/ |archive-date=28 September 2021 |access-date=17 August 2021 |website=Anglican East NL |publisher=Anglican Diocese of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador}}</ref> Newfoundland attained Dominion status in 1907, leaving the nearest other territories to Bermuda that were still within the [[Commonwealth realm|British Realm]] (a term which replaced ''Dominion'' in 1952 as the dominions and a number of colonies moved towards full political independence) as the British colonies in the [[British West Indies]].<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=1812 |title=CIVIL LIST OF THE PROVINCE OF LOWER-CANADA 1828: GOVERNOR |magazine=The Quebec Almanack and British American Royal Kalendar for the Year 1828 |location=Quebec |publisher=Neilson and Cowan, No. 3 Mountain Street}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=1812 |title=STAFF of the ARMY in the Provinces of Nova-Scotia, New-Brunswick, and their Dependencies, including the Island of Newfoundland, Cape Breton, Prince Edward and Bermuda |magazine=The Quebec Almanack and British American Royal Kalendar for the Year 1828 |location=Quebec |publisher=Neilson and Cowan, No. 3 Mountain Street}}</ref>

Other denominations also at one time included Bermuda with Nova Scotia or Canada. Following the separation of the Church of England from the [[Roman Catholic Church]], Roman Catholic worship was outlawed in England (subsequently ''Britain'') and its colonies, including Bermuda, until the [[Roman Catholic Relief Act 1791]], and operated thereafter under restrictions until the Twentieth Century. Once Roman Catholic worship was established, Bermuda formed part of the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Halifax-Yarmouth|Archdiocese of Halifax, Nova Scotia]] until 1953, when it was separated to become the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Hamilton in Bermuda|Apostolic Prefecture of Bermuda Islands]].<ref name="romancatholicbermuda_about-us">{{Cite web |last=<!--Not stated--> |title=A History Of Our Church |url=https://www.romancatholicbermuda.bm/about-us |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210923114348/https://www.romancatholicbermuda.bm/about-us |archive-date=23 September 2021 |access-date=28 August 2021 |website=Roman Catholic Diocese of Hamilton in Bermuda |publisher=The Diocese of Hamilton in Bermuda |quote=The Diocese of Hamilton in Bermuda was established in 12th June 1967. Bermuda was served by the Diocesan clergy of Halifax until 1953, after which pastoral responsibility transferred to the Congregation of the Resurrection.}}</ref> The congregation of the first [[African Methodist Episcopal Church]] in Bermuda (St. John African Methodist Episcopal Church, erected in 1885 in [[Hamilton Parish, Bermuda|Hamilton Parish]]) had previously been part of the [[British Methodist Episcopal Church]] of Canada.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Chudleigh |first=Diana |url=https://www.bnt.bm/shop1/bermudas-architectural-heritage/bermuda-39-s-architectural-heritage-hamilton-parish-detail |title=Bermuda's Architectural Heritage: Hamilton Parish |date=2002 |publisher=The Bermuda National Trust |location=Bermuda |access-date=11 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210828012312/https://www.bnt.bm/shop1/bermudas-architectural-heritage/bermuda-39-s-architectural-heritage-hamilton-parish-detail |archive-date=28 August 2021}}</ref><ref name="romancatholicbermuda_about-us"/>

An appreciable number of British West Indians immigrated to Bermuda during the course of the 20th Century, with some filling qualified roles and integrating into the community, but others working as labourers and often derided as criminals or "''jump ups''" competing for jobs and pushing down the cost of labour.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |date=23 August 2002 |title=Celebrating Jamaicans put 'jump-ups' tag behind them |url=https://www.royalgazette.com/other/article/20110203/celebrating-jamaicans-put-jump-ups-tag-behind-them |work=The Royal Gazette |location=City of Hamilton, Pembroke, Bermuda |access-date=23 July 2024 |quote=JAMAICANS in Bermuda have come a long way in only a few years. Once laughingly dismissed as "jump-ups", they have since established themselves as pillars of our community, gaining recognition for the many worthy contributions they have made to the island.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Campbell |first=Sandra |url=https://www.thebermudian.com/heritage/heritage-heritage/power-prejudice-the-story-of-the-1902-dockyard-riots-the-reverend-charles-monk-trial |title=Power & Prejudice: The Story of the 1902 Dockyard Riots & The Reverend Charles Monk Trial |date=2 March 2023 |magazine=The Bermudian |location=Bermuda |publisher=The Bermudian }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |last=Ziral |first=James A. |date=16 March 2023 |title=A Forgotton Chapter: Blacks in the Building of Dockyard |url=https://www.thebermudian.com/heritage/heritage-heritage/a-forgotton-chapter-blacks-in-the-building-of-dockyard/ |magazine=The Bermudian |location=Bermuda |publisher=The Bermudian |access-date=5 January 2024 |archive-date=13 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240713185234/https://www.thebermudian.com/heritage/heritage-heritage/a-forgotton-chapter-blacks-in-the-building-of-dockyard/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Shorto |first=Lieutenant-Colonel A. Gavin |url=https://www.royalgazette.com/other/article/20110204/the-roots-of-creole-charm/ |date=4 February 2011 |title=The roots of Creole charm |work=The Royal Gazette |location=City of Hamilton, Pembroke, Bermuda |access-date=30 March 2023 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Wilson |first=Ceola |date=24 August 2012 |title=Tributes for icon of Bermuda's West Indian community |url=http://www.royalgazette.com/article/20120824/NEWS/708249993 |work=The Royal Gazette |location=City of Hamilton, Pembroke, Bermuda |access-date=8 May 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Stovell |first=E. McNeil |date=8 December 2018 |title=Our Caribbean neighbours deserve more respect |url=http://www.royalgazette.com/opinion/article/20181208/our-caribbean-neighbours-deserve-more-respect |work=The Royal Gazette |location=City of Hamilton, Pembroke, Bermuda |access-date=8 May 2024 }}</ref> In recent decades, West Indians also came to be associated in Bermuda with law enforcement. The difficulty faced by the [[Bermuda Police Service]] in obtaining recruits locally had long led to recruitment of constables from the British Isles, which resulted in criticism of the racial make up of the force not reflecting that of the wider community. Consequently, in 1966 the Bermuda Police Force (as it was then titled) began also recruiting constables from British West Indian police forces, starting with seven constables from Barbados.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |date=25 February 1966 |title=BERMUDA POLICE FORCE TRAINING SCHOOL |page=1 |work=The Bermuda Recorder |location=Bermuda }}</ref> Although the practice of recruiting from the British West Indies would continue, it was not deemed entirely successful. As the ''"Bermuda Report for the year 1971"'' recorded:

{{Blockquote|More recently police have been recruited from the Caribbean with a view to correcting the racial imbalance in the force. This has not been particularly successful, Bermudians regarding West Indians as much, if not more, expatriate as recruits from the United Kingdom, which has been and remains the main source of recruitment.<ref>{{cite report |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=1975 |title=Bermuda Report for the year 1971 |publisher=Her Majesty's Stationery Office (Printed in Bermuda by the Island Press Ltd) |at=pages 23 and 24 |isbn=0-11-580164-2}}</ref>}}
Despite the traditional antipathy some Bermudians had for West Indians, and despite Bermuda not being in the Caribbean region, Bermuda became an associate member of the [[Caribbean Community]] (CARICOM) in July 2003.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bermuda Government today |url=http://bermuda-online.org/bdagovt.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100702140057/http://www.bermuda-online.org/bdagovt.htm |archive-date=2 July 2010 |access-date=9 July 2010 |website=Bermuda-Online.org |quote=In July 2003, Bermuda formally joined the Caribbean Community as an Associate Member (non-voting member)...}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Jacobs |first=Stevenson |date=3 July 2003 |title=Premier signs Caricom deal |work=[[The Royal Gazette (Bermuda)|The Royal Gazette]] |url=http://www.royalgazette.com/article/20030703/NEWS/307039988 |access-date=15 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121110114416/http://www.royalgazette.com/article/20030703/NEWS/307039988 |archive-date=10 November 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Strengthening Bermuda's Links to the Caribbean: Associate Membership of the Caribbean Community |url=http://www.gov.bm/portal/erver.pt/gateway/PTARGS_0_2_2043_223_990_43/http%3B/ptpublisher.gov.bm%3B7087/publishedcontent/publish/cabinet_office/central_policy_unit/dept___cpu___reports/articles/caricom_discussion_paper_3.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121110114104/http://www.gov.bm/portal/erver.pt/gateway/PTARGS_0_2_2043_223_990_43/http%3B/ptpublisher.gov.bm%3B7087/publishedcontent/publish/cabinet_office/central_policy_unit/dept___cpu___reports/articles/caricom_discussion_paper_3.pdf |archive-date=10 November 2012 |publisher=Government of Bermuda |type=Discussion paper}}</ref>

CARICOM is a [[socio-economic]] bloc of nations in or near the [[Caribbean Sea]] established in 1973. Other outlying member states include the Co-operative Republic of [[Guyana]] and the Republic of [[Suriname]] in South America, and [[Belize]] in Central America. The [[Turks and Caicos Islands]], an associate member of CARICOM, and the Commonwealth of [[The Bahamas]], a full member of CARICOM, are in the Atlantic, but close to the Caribbean. Other nearby nations or territories, such as the United States, are not members (although the US Commonwealth of [[Puerto Rico]] has [[observer status]], and the [[United States Virgin Islands]] announced in 2007 that they would seek ties with CARICOM). Bermuda has minimal trade with the Caribbean region, and little in common with it economically, being roughly {{convert|1000|mi|km|order=flip}} from the Caribbean Sea; it joined CARICOM primarily to strengthen cultural links with the region.{{citation needed|date=April 2021}}

Among some scholars,{{Who|date=August 2010}} "the Caribbean" can be a socio-historical category, commonly referring to a cultural zone characterised by the legacy of slavery (a characteristic Bermuda shared with the Caribbean and the US) and the plantation system (which did not exist in Bermuda). It embraces the islands and parts of the neighbouring continent, and may be extended to include the Caribbean Diaspora overseas.<ref name="acs-aec.org">[[Norman Girvan|Girvan, Norman]] (2001), {{Cite web |title=Reinterpreting the Caribbean |url=http://www.acs-aec.org/About/SG/Girvan/Speeches/rei1.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110615225544/http://www.acs-aec.org/About/SG/Girvan/Speeches/rei1.htm |archive-date=15 June 2011 |access-date=5 August 2010}} In ''New Caribbean Thought'', Folke Lindahl and Brian Meeks (eds), UWI Press, pp. 3 ff. [https://books.google.com/books?id=mUC4PA7ZedYC&pg=PA3 Google Books] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160412174947/https://books.google.com/books?id=mUC4PA7ZedYC&pg=PA3 |date=12 April 2016 }} {{ISBN|976-640-103-9}}</ref>

The PLP, which was the party in government when the decision was made to join CARICOM, has been dominated for decades by West Indians and their descendants. The prominent roles of West Indians among Bermuda's black politicians and labour activists predated party politics in Bermuda, as exemplified by [[E. F. Gordon]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=16 June 2011 |title=Dr EF Gordon – fought tirelessly for equal rights for black Bermudians |work=[[The Royal Gazette (Bermuda)|The Royal Gazette]] |url=http://www.royalgazette.com/article/20110616/ISLAND11/706149914/-1 |url-status=live |access-date=14 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111026051055/http://www.royalgazette.com/article/20110616/ISLAND11/706149914/-1 |archive-date=26 October 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Hill, René |date=15 August 2011 |title=President aims to make West Indian Association more cohesive, responsive |url=http://www.royalgazette.com/article/20110815/ISLAND02/708159968 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140314000453/http://www.royalgazette.com/article/20110815/ISLAND02/708159968 |archive-date=14 March 2014 |access-date=13 March 2014 |website=[[The Royal Gazette (Bermuda)|The Royal Gazette]]}}</ref> The late PLP leader, Dame [[Lois Browne-Evans]] (whose parents and grandparents emigrated to Bermuda from [[Nevis]] and [[St. Kitts]] in 1914), and her [[Trinidad and Tobago|Trinidadian]]-born husband, John Evans (who co-founded the ''West Indian Association of Bermuda'' in 1976),<ref name="royalgazette.com">{{Cite news |last=Wilson |first=Ceola |date=24 August 2012 |title=Tributes for icon of Bermuda's West Indian community |work=[[The Royal Gazette (Bermuda)|The Royal Gazette]] |url=http://www.royalgazette.com/article/20120824/NEWS/708249993 |access-date=13 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140313195214/http://www.royalgazette.com/article/20120824/NEWS/708249993 |archive-date=13 March 2014}}</ref> were prominent members of this group. A generation later, PLP politicians included [[Premier of Bermuda|Premiers]] Dr. [[Ewart Brown]] (raised in Jamaica, with two Jamaican grandparents)<ref>{{cite news |last=Hainey |first=Raymond |date=1 November 1999 |title=Patterson tells Jamaicans they can aid their country  |url=https://www.royalgazette.com/other/business/article/20110208/patterson-tells-jamaicans-they-can-aid-their-country |work=The Royal Gazette |location=City of Hamilton, Pembroke, Bermuda |access-date=23 July 2024 |quote=Transport Minister Dr. Ewart Brown, who went to school in Jamaica, and had two Jamaican grandparents, said he hoped Mr. Patterson's visit, the first by a Jamaican PM, would put an end to strains in the relationship between Atlantic Bermuda and its Caribbean neighbours. Dr. Brown said: "Tonight perhaps we can put to rest our ambivalent and sometimes schizoid attitude to West Indians." He added that the only school named after a black teacher in Bermuda was Victor Scott – who was a Jamaican.}}</ref> and [[Edward David Burt]] (whose mother is Jamaican),<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |date=23 July 2017 |title=New Bermuda premier a "miracle baby" |url=https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20170723/new-bermuda-premier-miracle-baby |work=The Gleaner |location=Jamaica |access-date=24 July 2024 |quote=An older sister of Bermuda's new Premier David Burt says he was a "miracle baby" as their Jamaican mother, Merlin, suffered complications during her pregnancy.}}</ref> Deputy Premier Walter Roban (son of Matthew Roban, from [[Saint Vincent and the Grenadines|St. Vincent and the Grenadines]]),<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |date=8 December 1998 |title=Roban: Happy to work in the shadows: He works quietly, believing in the gentle art of persuasion rather than decree. But, as Roger Crombie discovers, there  |url=https://www.royalgazette.com/other/business/article/20110209/roban-happy-to-work-in-the-shadows-he-works-quietly-believing-in-the-gentle-art-of-persuasion-rat |work=The Royal Gazette |location=City of Hamilton, Pembroke, Bermuda |access-date=15 August 2024 |quote=Mr. Roban's father, Matthew Roban, came to Bermuda from St. Vincent and the Grenadines. He married Charlotte Pavey and the couple had two children, Walter and his sister Teresa Pavey Roban.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Jonathan Kent |date=15 August 2003 |title=Roban denies that PLP ran a racist campaign |url=https://www.royalgazette.com/other/article/20110203/roban-denies-that-plp-ran-a-racist-campaign |work=The Royal Gazette |location=City of Hamilton, Pembroke, Bermuda |access-date=15 August 2024 |quote=He denied any PLP involvement with printed material that Mr. Swan said had appeared on sports club noticeboards and in the mail suggesting that UBP candidates were "carrying out the slavemaster's agenda". "Speaking as one of the campaign managers, I can say that no such material was produced by the PLP," said Mr. Roban. "This had nothing to do with the PLP. "Mr. Swan should be very careful about who he is aiming these accusations against. He seems to be accusing the people who operate these clubs. "Race plays a role in many aspects of Bermuda life and we are aware of that and deal with it with sensibility. We do not deal with it lightly, certainly not in a way that could abuse or insult people."}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Sékou Hendrickson |date=15 August 2024 |title=OBA leader says Walter Roban's criticisms are worn-out |url=https://www.royalgazette.com/politics/news/article/20240815/oba-leader-says-walter-robans-criticisms-are-worn-out |work=The Royal Gazette |location=City of Hamilton, Pembroke, Bermuda |access-date=15 August 2024 |quote=The Leader of the Opposition has hit back at an opinion piece by the former Deputy Premier, accusing its criticisms of being a repeat of old claims. Jarion Richardson added that Walter Roban's article, published in yesterday's edition of The Royal Gazette, reminded his party of how not to act. He said: "To Bermuda, we in the OBA double our commitment to not act like this Progressive Labour Party Government, to simplify government and governing, to exist solely to serve the interests of others.}}</ref> and Senator Rolfe Commissiong (son of Trinidadian musician [[Rudolph Patrick Commissiong]]).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Commissiong |first=Rudolph Patrick |date=2020 |title=Meet Rudolph Commissiong – a pioneer of steelband music – Arranger & Captain of Esso Dixie Stars – UpClose! |url=https://www.panonthenet.com/upclose/1950s/rudolph-commissiong.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210408181021/https://www.panonthenet.com/upclose/1950s/rudolph-commissiong.htm |archive-date=8 April 2021 |access-date=4 March 2022 |website=Pan on the Net }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=<!--not stated--> |date=20 September 2011 |title=PLP Candidates: Commissiong & Rabain |work=BerNews |location=Bermuda |url=https://bernews.com/2011/09/plp-candidates-rolfe-commissiong-diallo-rabain |url-status=live |access-date=4 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220801142427/http://bernews.com/2011/09/plp-candidates-rolfe-commissiong-diallo-rabain/ |archive-date=1 August 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=<!--not stated--> |date=10 October 2020 |title=Rolfe Commissiong No Longer In Cabinet |work=BerNews |location=Bermuda |url=https://bernews.com/2020/10/rolfe-commissiong-no-longer-in-cabinet/ |url-status=live |access-date=4 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220131130613/https://bernews.com/2020/10/rolfe-commissiong-no-longer-in-cabinet/ |archive-date=31 January 2022}}</ref> They have emphasised Bermuda's cultural connections with the West Indies. A number of Bermudians, both black and white, who lack family connections to the West Indies have objected to this emphasis.<ref name="royalgazette.com" /><ref>Wells, Phillip, [http://www.limeyinbermuda.com/2005/09/bic_releases_fi/comments/page/7/ "BIC releases final report"], ''A Limey in Bermuda'', 15 September 2005. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140313212406/http://www.limeyinbermuda.com/2005/09/bic_releases_fi/comments/page/7/ |date=13 March 2014 }}</ref><ref>Wells, Philip, [http://www.limeyinbermuda.com/2005/11/open_mike_3/comments/page/3/ "Open mike: Bermuda and the Caribbean"], ''A Limey in Bermuda''. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140313223014/http://www.limeyinbermuda.com/2005/11/open_mike_3/comments/page/3/ |date=13 March 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Khalid al Wasi |date=12 April 2002 |title=The West Indianisation of Bermuda |url=https://archive.org/details/2002-04-12-mon-w-indianisation-of-bermuda-kalid-al-wasi |work=[[Mid-Ocean News]] |location=City of Hamilton, Pembroke, Bermuda |access-date=15 August 2024 |quote=}}</ref>

The decision to join CARICOM stirred up a huge amount of debate and speculation among the Bermudian community and politicians.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Smith |first1=Karen |last2=Breen |first2=Stephen |date=14 December 2002 |title=Caricom set to pass |work=[[The Royal Gazette (Bermuda)|The Royal Gazette]] |url=http://www.royalgazette.com/article/20021214/NEWS/312149994 |access-date=15 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121110114057/http://www.royalgazette.com/article/20021214/NEWS/312149994 |archive-date=10 November 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=19 December 2002 |title=Welcome to Caricom |work=[[The Royal Gazette (Bermuda)|The Royal Gazette]] |url=http://www.royalgazette.com/article/20021219/COMMENT/312199980 |access-date=15 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121110120332/http://www.royalgazette.com/article/20021219/COMMENT/312199980 |archive-date=10 November 2012}}</ref> Opinion polls conducted by two Bermudian newspapers, ''[[The Royal Gazette (Bermuda)|The Royal Gazette]]'' and ''[[The Bermuda Sun]]'', showed that clear majorities of Bermudians were opposed to joining CARICOM.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Smith |first1=Karen |last2=Breen |first2=Stephen |date=16 December 2002 |title=The 'ayes' have it in the great Caricom debate |work=[[The Royal Gazette (Bermuda)|The Royal Gazette]] |url=http://www.royalgazette.com/article/20021216/NEWS/312169990 |access-date=15 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121110120625/http://www.royalgazette.com/article/20021216/NEWS/312169990 |archive-date=10 November 2012}}</ref>

The UBP, which had been in government from 1968 to 1998, argued that joining CARICOM was detrimental to Bermuda's interests, in that:<ref>{{Cite news |last=Johnson |first=Ayo |date=18 June 2003 |title=UBP takes 'wait-and-see' stance on Caricom |work=[[The Royal Gazette (Bermuda)|The Royal Gazette]] |url=http://www.royalgazette.com/article/20030618/NEWS/306189976 |access-date=15 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121110114530/http://www.royalgazette.com/article/20030618/NEWS/306189976 |archive-date=10 November 2012}}</ref>
* Bermuda's trade with the West Indies is negligible, its primary economic partners being the US, Canada, and UK (it has no direct air or shipping links to Caribbean islands);
* CARICOM is moving towards a single economy;
* the Caribbean islands are generally competitors to Bermuda's already ailing tourism industry; and
* participation in CARICOM would involve considerable investment of money and the time of government officials that could more profitably be spent elsewhere.