THE ORIGINS AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS
OF THE FOREIGN BORN POPULATION IN
DOMINICA, ST. LUCIA AND ST. VINCENT
Klaus de Albuquerque, Professor
Department of Sociology and Anthropology
College of Charleston
Charleston, SC 29424
and
Jerome L. McElroy, Professor
Department of Business Administration and Economics
Saint Mary's College
Notre Dame, IN 46556-5001
(August, 1999)
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
Klaus de Albuquerque and Jerome L. McElroy have had extensive teaching, research and policy experience in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Their academic research and consulting throughout the Eastern Caribbean has focused on small-scale agriculture, inter-
island migration, the implications of political status change, sustainable tourism strategies and, more recently, longitudinal patterns of serious crime in the region.
ABSTRACT
In the context of the West Indian migration tradition, this article focuses on a counter stream of immigration from 1871 to 1991 to explain the presence of various foreign born groups in Dominica, St. Lucia and St. Vincent. Census data highlight the importance of East Indian immigrants in the late nineteenth century and of West Indians in the twentieth. Examination of the 1991 socio-economic characteristics reveals the foreign born are more educated with higher occupational and income status than their native counterparts--differences due primarily to British and North American immigrants, and Caribbean professionals working in regional organizations/businesses.
INTRODUCTION: THE MIGRATION TRADITION IN THE WEST INDIES1
The post-emancipation period (1834 onwards) in the Caribbean witnessed considerable immigration, beginning with the first shipment (1838) of East Indian indentured labor to British Guiana. East Indian migration to the region continued until 1918
(Roberts and Byrne, 1966). It was augmented by smaller migratory streams from China (1847 to 1924), primarily to British Guiana, Jamaica, and Trinidad (Shaw, 1985), from Madeira (1842-1886), and from Syria/Lebanon (Laurence, 1971; Lowenthal, 1972).2 Because of the sustained nature of these labor movements, one might consider, after European colonization and the establishment of the plantation system through imported African slavery, the nineteenth to be the century of immigration to the Caribbean.
However, there was also considerable intra-regional labor migration after emancipation. Early intra-regional migration was from the smaller Eastern Caribbean islands to the larger sugar-
producing territories of Trinidad and British Guiana (Richardson, 1981). Later movements were primarily seasonal, to cut cane in Martinique, Puerto Rico, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic (Crane, 1971; Proudfoot, 1950; Richardson, 1983). A fairly sizeable number of Jamaicans and Barbadians migrated in the 1860s to work as laborers on Central American plantations (Augier et. al, 1960). However, by far the most significant labor migration occurred between 1884 and 1888 when thousands of West Indians were recruited to work on the first Panama Canal venture (Proudfoot, 1950; Roberts, 1955; Richardson, 1985). Some of these migrants stayed on in Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Panama, but the vast majority returned home at the end of the sugarcane harvesting season or on termination of their contracts (Proudfoot, 1950; Richardson, 1983).
The early part of the twentieth century saw the pattern of labor migration continue: to Panama (1905-1913), the Dominican Republic (1900-1930s), and Cuba (1900-1930s) (Proudfoot, 1950; Richardson, 1983; 1985). Again, some migrants stayed on, but most of the work was seasonal, and so West Indian men moved back and forth. More permanent employment opportunities emerged in the Venezuelan oil fields (1916-1929), and in the oil refineries of Curacao (1915-1940s) and Aruba (1925-1940s) (Proudfoot, 1950; Hill, 1977). The repatriation of West Indian migrants from Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Venezuela in the early 1930s, and the closure of these migration outlets was a major contributing factor to the depression that swept the English-speaking Caribbean, culminating in riots on several islands in the late 1930s (Richardson, 1983).
Apart from continuing employment in Aruba and Curacao (through the late 1940s), and some seasonal migration within the Eastern Caribbean during the sugar harvesting season, there were few regional opportunities left for West Indian men in the post-war period. Although they had long sustained their families through labor migration, the closure of all traditional outlets in the 1940s and early 1950s forced them to journey beyond the Caribbean to replenish the depleted workforce in war-torn Europe.
In 1948, the first group of Jamaican immigrants arrived in England, beginning a mass migration from the British Caribbean
that continued until 1962, when immigration restrictions severely limited the flow of West Indians to Britain (Peach, 1968). In this exodus, some small islands like Montserrat lost over a quarter of their population (Philpott, 1973). Fortunately, relaxed immigration restrictions in the United States and Canada provided West Indians another safety valve against the population pressures and lack of economic opportunities at home.
The 1960s tourism-led boom in the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) also attracted large numbers of Leeward Islanders and a considerable number of Windward Islanders (de Albuquerque and McElroy, 1982).3 As a regional growth pole, the USVI set a migration reversal pattern that was to be repeated elsewhere in the region. Because of the labor-intensive demands of tourism and related construction, a former labor exporting society became transformed into a net labor importer in less than a decade (see McElroy and de Albuquerque, 1988). This migration transition has also occurred in the Bahamas (Haitian immigrants), the Cayman Islands (Jamaicans), the British Virgin Islands (Kittitians, Nevisians, Antiguans, Guyanese, Dominicans, and Vincentians), Antigua (Dominicans, Montserratians, persons from the Dominican Republic4, Guyanese, Chinese, and Lebanese), St. Maarten (Antilleans5, Haitians and Santo Domingans), and Martinique (Dominicans, Haitians, and St. Lucians) (McElroy and de Albuquerque,1988 ; de Albuquerque and McElroy, 1995). The advent of mass tourism in Barbados in the 1960s also attracted immigrants, primarily from St. Lucia and St. Vincent. However, Barbados continues to be an emigrant society, with the better educated and more highly skilled Barbadians6 migrating to Britain, the U.S. and Canada.
St. Lucia, which is in transition to becoming a mass tourism destination, has also witnessed a significant inflow of migrants during the 1990s. Some are returnees from abroad or within the region, but there are also Grenadians, Vincentians, Guyanese, Haitians, and Santo Domingans in this migrant stream. At the same time as St. Lucia has been receiving migrants, primarily to work in the tourist industry, well educated middle and upper class St. Lucians have continued to migrate to the United States, Canada, and other CARICOM territories (a veritable brain drain). The push factor at work here is the relative scarcity of well paying jobs since most new job creation remains in low wage positions in tourism and related services. What is occurring is a kind of displacement similar to what has occurred in Barbados and Antigua, with the better educated and more highly skilled St. Lucians leaving, and poorly educated unskilled workers arriving.
SCOPE AND FOCUS
Despite the migration transition underway in some islands, the twentieth century has witnessed persistent emigration from the Caribbean, greatly diminished more recently by immigration
restrictions in the U.S. and Canada. However, with any major outward emigrant stream, there has been a small counter
stream into the region. The aim of this paper is to examine this little studied counter stream in three Windward Islands--Dominica, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. We examine and present data on historical and contemporary migration to these islands to explain the presence of various foreign born groups over a 120 year period (1871-1991). In particular, the focus is on the socio-economic characteristics of the current foreign born persons in these three islands, and how their characteristics compare to those of the native born population.
As the migration literature documents, migrants tend to be better educated, are engaged in higher status occupations, earn higher incomes, and have smaller households than non-migrants (Ravenstein 1889; Long, 1988, U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1991; Weeks, 1994). However, in the comparison of immigrants with native born, the level of development of the sending and receiving society is the most important determinant. The Windward Islands have some of the lowest per capita GDPs in the region. Migrants to these islands, with the exception of the Guyanese, come from sending societies with significantly higher per capita GDPs. It follows (1) that the foreign born would be better educated than the native born, (2) they would be primarily involved in high status occupations, for which many were specifically recruited, (3) they would command higher incomes, and (4) commensurate with their income, they would tend to have smaller households. None of these facts have been documented for the foreign born population in most islands7, and this study represents a first of its kind for the three Windward Islands.
Dominica, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent are very similar topographically (volcanic islands), with Dominica having the steeper terrain. They form part of the southern Windward island chain of the Lesser Antilles (see Figure 1). Dominica, although the largest in area (751 sq. km), has the smallest population. St. Vincent is distinguished by its Grenadine archipelago of small islands (Bequia, Canouan, Mustique etc.) and rocks extending southwest to Grenada. Dominica and St. Lucia are close socio-culturally because they share an African/French-creole based cultural tradition and speak a mutually intelligible "Kweyol" (creole). English is the official language in all three islands.
All three islands share similar histories. The original pre-Columbian settlers (circa AD 200) were Arawak Indians who were conquered by the more war-like Caribs (circa AD 1000). The Caribs were later decimated by European diseases and wars with the two primary European powers, Britain and France. The islands changed hands between the French and the British several times--St. Lucia a total of 14 times (Jesse, 1953). The French occupation of St. Lucia (150 years) was the longest French presence on all three islands, and accounts for its African-French-based creole culture and French place names. The Treaty of Versailles (1787) restored British control over Dominica and St. Vincent (Honychurch, 1984), and the Treaty of Paris (1814) finally ceded control of St. Lucia to the British
(Jesse, 1953).
In all three islands agriculture has been the mainstay of the economy, but the contribution of agriculture to GDP has been steadily declining, especially in St. Lucia (de Albuquerque, 1995). Throughout this century, the three islands have had a monocrop export economy--first sugar, and then bananas from 1946 forward. Dominica, because of its steep terrain, was never a major sugar producer. Towards the end of the nineteenth century sugar was replaced by limes in Dominica, but the lime industry was destroyed by disease in 1922 (Baker, 1994). In addition, all
three islands have been traditional exporters of labor and up until the late twentieth century, seasonal labor migration and emigration provided an important safety valve for the working poor and a small and aspiring middle class.
From the mid 1960s to the late 1980s, bananas, dubbed the "green gold", brought some measure of prosperity. However, in the 1990s the consolidation of the European Union and the threatened loss of their protected United Kingdom market have spurred on moves towards economic diversification. All three islands began programs to expand and diversify agriculture and attempted to develop light industries and attract offshore assembly type manufacturing (garments, etc.). However, relatively high labor and transport costs made it soon apparent that tourism would have to be the primary engine of growth. In the 1980s, St. Lucia embarked on an ambitious program of tourism development, while Dominica and St. Vincent lagged behind. As the millennium approaches, St. Lucia is poised to enter the mass tourist market, Dominica is hinging its development on nature-based ecotourism, and St. Vincent is concentrating its efforts on establishing exclusive resorts in the Grenadines. We have characterized Dominica and St. Vincent as Stage 1 or newly emerging tourist destinations (low density and long staying tourists), and St. Lucia as a more developed Stage 2 destination on a rapid growth trajectory (McElroy and de Albuquerque, 1998).
Data were derived from the 1946 Census of Population for the Windward Islands, and from the 1980 and 1991 Censuses of Population and Housing for Dominica, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent.
Special tabulations on the characteristics of the foreign versus native born population were prepared for the Senior Author by the respective National Statistical Offices.
Table 1 encapsulates the late nineteenth and early twentieth
century immigration experiences of Dominica, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent. In 1871, there were still substantial numbers of persons born in Africa. Their numbers declined by 1891, and in 1911 few of these post-emancipation labor recruits were still alive (see Roberts and Byrne, 1966). During the forty-year period, the foreign born populations of Dominica and St. Lucia roughly doubled while the same population in St. Vincent fell over 60 percent.
Portuguese migration from Madeira began in 1842. With the exception of St. Vincent, Dominica and St. Lucia received only a handful of Madeirans (data for St. Lucia were not reported in the 1946 Census). Cape Verdians also migrated to Dominica but subsequent generations were absorbed into the majority black population. Islanders from these two Portuguese territories were propelled by population pressures at home and attracted by the prospects of new economic opportunities in the West Indies.
The height of East Indian migration to the region occurred between 1866 and 1880 (Roberts and Byrne, 1966) and this is noticeable in Table 1. After 1891, the population of persons born in India declined rapidly. St. Lucian planters recruited the greatest number of East Indian indentured laborers (4,354), but over half (2,446) of them returned/were repatriated home. St.Vincent received 2,472 East Indians, the majority (1,422) choosing to stay on (Roberts and Byrne, 1966). In 1991, St. Lucia had the largest number (3,466) of persons of East Indian origin of the three islands (de Albuquerque and McElroy, 1999b). Dominica did not receive any indentured East Indians (Roberts and Byrne, 1966).
As noted earlier, very few Chinese chose to migrate to the Windwards (see Table 1). Likewise, Syrians-Lebanese chose to settle in the larger territories (Jamaica and Trinidad), accounting for their very small presence (see Tables 3-5) in the three islands. Some Syrian-Lebanese arrived in the 1890s in Dominica, and then again in the 1920s and 1930s (Honychurch, 1999). The current Syrian-Lebanese population in St. Vincent is of more recent origin--32 out of the 37 Syrian-Lebanese enumerated in the 1991 Census were born in the Middle East (St. Vincent and the Grenadines, 1993). Unlike detailed accounts of British settlement in Jamaica, Barbados, and Antigua (see for example, Long, 1754; Harlow, 1969; Anon, 1980), there has been very little written about French and British settlers to the three Windwards. There are a few details of the planter class, of prominent Governors/Administrators (Hesketh Bell in Dominica), politicians, doctors, botanists, and missionaries (see Honychurch, 1984), but very little is known about the lawyers, accountants, managers, and clerks who ran the plantations, or of ordinary immigrants--Scottish merchants, poor English and Irish (they settled primarily in Anguilla and Montserrat), yeoman farmers, and indentured servants. Neither is much known about the poor white communities that established themselves in Bequia (St. Vincent) and elsewhere in the Grenadines.
The little data available on the early British/European population of Dominica shows their numbers declining from 45 percent of the population in 1730 to 22 percent by 1763 (Borome, 1967). Table 1 shows very little British/European presence in Dominica, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent between 1871 and 1911. The situation had not changed much by 1946 (Tables 3 to 5). Some of these persons were undoubtedly descendants of the small planter class, and even smaller merchant class, but most others were colonial administrators and functionaries. Nineteen eighty and 1991 saw the progressive increase in the numbers of Britons and other Europeans on all three islands (Tables 3 to 5). These were almost all expatriates working for international organizations or in upper management levels in the private sector. Corresponding to these changes, from 1891 (1911 in Dominica) there was a steady decline in the proportion of foreign born persons on all three islands (Table 1). This decline continued in 1946 and 1980/81, but by 1991 the proportion of the foreign born population had risen on all three islands (Tables 3 to 5), a trend likely to continue through 2000/2001.
During the twentieth century, all islands were chronic labor exporters. For example, between 1921-46, Dominica, St. Lucia and St. Vincent lost 5,637, 8,292, and 11,793 persons through emigration respectively (Table 2). Most of the movement was to Trinidad, Venezuela, Curacao, and Aruba ( Proudfoot, 1950). St.Lucia has consistently lost population from 1901 to 1997, with the most intense emigration (to Barbados, Martinique, Canada, the U.S., and the USVI) occurring between 1970 and 1980. The rate of emigration has slowed perceptibly in the 1980s and 1990s. Likewise, St. Vincent experienced intense emigration (to Barbados, Trinidad, Canada, and the U.S.) between 1970 and 1991. Dominica, although having the smallest population, lost the greatest number of persons (to Antigua, Guadeloupe, Canada, and the U.S.) between 1980-91. In fact, during the 1980-91 intercensal period, Dominica lost more persons through migration (-15,325) than it gained through natural increase (12,713).
Despite being emigrant societies, all three islands have experienced a small counter stream of immigrants. These have been primarily from within the Caribbean, among them, children of emigrants born elsewhere in the region (Tables 3 to 5). In 1946, 88 percent of Dominica's foreign born population came from the Caribbean (Table 3). The equivalent numbers for St. Lucia and St. Vincent were 85 and 86 percent respectively. By 1981, Caribbean immigrants only accounted for 51 percent of Dominica's foreign born population, 62 percent of St. Lucia's, and 67 percent of St. Vincent's (Tables 3 to 5). In 1991, the proportion of Caribbean immigrants among the foreign born population had risen to 70 percent in Dominica, 64 percent in St. Lucia, and 72 percent in St. Vincent (Tables 3 to 5).
Geographical proximity explains much of the intra-regional migration. For example, given Dominica's proximity to Antigua and other Leeward Islands, it is not surprising that nearly 50 percent of the foreign born population in 1946 was from the Leewards (Table 3). But other factors were also at work. For
example, the fairly substantial numbers of Bajans on all three islands (Tables 3 to 5) was due to the fact that Barbados was linked administratively to the British Windward Islands, so these islands received their complement of Bajan public servants, policemen, and teachers. In the case of the 363 persons born in French Guiana enumerated in St. Lucia in the 1946 Census (Table 4), most were returning children of St. Lucians who had earlier been recruited to French Guiana. The same applies to persons born in Panama, Venezuela, and the Dutch West Indies--they were sons and daughters born overseas to Windward Island migrants (Tables 3 to 5). Their numbers had dwindled significantly by 1980 as this cohort began to die out.
(Table 4 about here)
There are some discernible differences in immigrant origins
among the three islands. As mentioned earlier, most of the immigrants from Dominica came from the Leeward Islands. In 1946, 19 percent came from the French West Indies, mostly from Guadeloupe but also from Martinique (Dominica lies between Guadeloupe and Martinique--see Figure 1). In 1981, immigrants from the United Kingdom, French West Indies and the United States were the next largest group after CARICOM immigrants.
The largest group of St. Lucia's Caribbean immigrants in 1946 were Bajans. Geographical proximity plus the recruitment of Bajan policemen and teachers explains this. In addition, just as Bajans migrated to St. Lucia, St. Lucians also migrated to Barbados in the wake of Bajans emigrating to Britain, Canada, and the United States. In 1980, Guyanese dominated among the CARICOM immigrants (Table 4). The Guyanese have also become the single largest foreign born group in St. Lucia in the 1990s (Fletcher, 1995), reflecting the different economic fortunes of these two countries.
St. Vincent's largest group of Caribbean immigrants have come from Trinidad and Tobago--29 percent in 1946, 20 percent in 1980, and 34 percent in 1991 (Table 5). Again geographical proximity is an important factor, and this has led to continuous
movement between the two islands. The largest foreign born group in Trindad is from St. Vincent. Some of the persons born in Trinidad enumerated in the 1980 and 1991 censuses were children
of returning Vincentians, but most were Trinidadians working for regional organizations, banks, businesses, and insurance companies (Fraser, 1999). In the 1990s, Guyanese, mostly Afro-Guyanese, have become the largest group of immigrants. Some of them are children of Vincentians who had earlier migrated to Guyana. The Indo-Guyanese immigrants are mostly professionals, primarily lawyers serving as magistrates or in the Government legal service (Fraser, 1999). On all three islands in recent decades, there have been sharp increases in the number of immigrants from Britain, Canada and the United States.
SOCIO-ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS
As hypothesized earlier, it is expected that the foreign born population would be better educated, hold higher status positions, have significantly higher incomes, and maintain smaller households than the native born population. The next six tables examine these socio-economic differences.
Education
Table 6 shows the highest level of education of various foreign born groups recorded in the 1991 census. It is apparent that the foreign born population is extremely well educated compared to the native born. In Dominica, only 2.8 percent of the native born had a university degree compared to 28 percent of the foreign born. Among the foreign born, 70 percent of those born in Canada and the United States had university degrees.
Among the three islands, St. Lucia, with two nobel laureates8, appears to have the best educated population. A significantly larger share of St. Lucians (30%) have completed secondary school and pre-university/university training that either Dominicans (16%) or Vicentians (23%). However, compared to the foreign born population, only 2.2 percent of St. Lucians have university degrees to 23 percent for the foreign born. Over 50 percent of the persons in St. Lucia born in the United States and Canada have university degrees. The CARICOM population in both Dominica and St. Lucia also appear to be well educated compared to the native born (approximately 18 percent have university degrees). The same pattern is apparent in St. Vincent, although persons born in the CARICOM are much less well educated (only 3.7 percent with university degrees) than their counterparts in Dominica and St. Lucia (Table 6). Also, proportionately fewer of the other foreign born groups have completed university (11 percent).
Occucpation
Occupationally, the foreign born groups in Dominica, with the exception of those born in the CARICOM or elsewhere in the Caribbean, have between 52 and 90 percent of their economically active populations employed in administrative, managerial, professional, and technical fields. The counterpart figure for the native born population is 18 percent (Table 7). The high occupational status of the Canadian and United States born populations is to be expected as most were recruited specifically
for professional, technical, or managerial positions or are attached to international organizations.
The same occupational differences are observable in St. Lucia (Table 8)--Canadians, Americans, and Britons are overwhelmingly involved in managerial, professional, and technical fields. Persons born in other CARICOM countries or elsewhere in the Caribbean also have substantial numbers employed in these fields, 59 and 58 percent respectively. Many of these Caribbean nationals work for regional organizations like the Organization for Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) which has its headquarters in St. Lucia, or in management positions for regional banks, businesses, and insurance companies. There are also a significant number of professionals (doctors and lawyers) in this population. By contrast, only 15 percent of St. Lucians are employed in professional and managerial fields. However, it should not be overlooked that in terms of numbers, there are 3,790 St. Lucian administrators, managers, professionals, and technical experts compared to 478 among the foreign born.
The situation is similar in St. Vincent. Nearly two-thirds of the foreign born work in administrative and technical positions while the ratio for Vicentians is under 15 percent. On the other hand, between 60 and 63 percent of the native born population in all three islands is, not unexpectedly, employed in low status occupations--agriculture, clerical, sales and services, and unskilled labor. Unlike, Dominica and St. Lucia where 30 percent of the native born population works in agriculture, St. Vincent has only 16 percent employed in agriculture. The single largest occupation in St. Vincent is listed as "labourer" (Table 9) . Many of these are seasonal farm workers and could have been classified under "agriculture". The next largest occupation after agriculture on all three islands is production/crafts, absorbing between 19 and 24 percent of the total labor force. This covers employment in light assembly-type manufacturing primarily for export.
Income
Given the relatively high educational and occupational status of most foreign born groups in the three Windward Islands, it is not surprising that the median income of the foreign born is roughly twice that of the native born (Table 10). In St.
Lucia, those born in the United Kingdom have the highest median income (EC$38,137), followed by persons born in Canada and other Commonwealth countries. In St. Vincent, persons born in the Far East (32 enumerated in the 1991 Census) have the highest median income level, followed by persons born in Africa (22 in 1991). The small numbers of economically active persons in these two groups might have some bearing on their median income, especially when one considers that most of the Africans are professionals under contract, and the Chinese are wealthy Hong Kong Chinese attracted by the economic citizenship program (Fraser, 1999).9
Household Size
Average household size of native versus foreign born does not mirror the findings on education, occupation, and income.
Native born persons have among the smallest households in Dominica (3.6 persons), while those born in the "Other Caribbean" the largest (5.4 persons). Among the latter group there may be a few Guadeloupeans, Haitians, and Santo Domingans, the poorest of the foreign born groups. This same group "Other Caribbean" also has the largest average household size (7.2 persons) in St. Lucia (Table 11). Although this group has a higher median income in St. Lucia compared to the native born population, it may well be that the critical housing shortage in urban areas in St. Lucia is forcing relatively low income foreign born groups to include relatives and non-related fellow countrymen in their households. This is certainly the case among the recent Chinese, Lebanese, and Santo Domingan migrants to Antigua.
In Dominica, the average household size for persons born in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Other Commonwealth countries conforms to expectations based on the income levels of these groups. The same is true for these same groups in St. Lucia, except for U.S. born persons with an average household
size of 5.1 persons. We are at a loss to explain the latter.
CONCLUSION
Unlike some of the larger territories like Trinidad and British Guiana (Guyana), the Windwards did not experience much immigration in the nineteenth century. In fact, since the late nineteenth century, Dominica, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent have consistently lost population through migration. It is therefore not surprising that the three islands never had a significant number of foreign born persons. The proportion of foreign born has actually declined since 1891 (1911 in Dominica) and only rose slightly between 1980 and 1991. In St.Lucia it has risen considerably since 1991 as St. Lucian emigrants are being replaced by new migrants, especially Guyanese (teachers initially) from the poorer territories.
The foreign born enumerated in the 1991 censuses were primarily from within the region, the CARICOM area in particular.
Historically, as this study has demonstrated, this has always been the case. As a group the foreign born are better educated, employed in higher status occupations, and have considerably higher incomes than the native born. Those from outside the Caribbean (the United Kingdom, Canada, other Commonwealth countries, and the United States), who are largely expatriate professionals, have the highest educational attainment, and incomes three to six times greater than the native born populations.
If the experience of the USVI, St. Maarten, Antigua, and other heavily developed tourist destinations is any guide, one would expect in the decades ahead a dramatic increase in the number of foreign born persons in St. Lucia as this island completes the migration transition and becomes a net labor importer in its bid to become an internationally popular mass-market tourist destination. These new migrants, however, will be very different from their forebearers. In all likelihood they will mainly comprise poorly educated service workers recruited primarily for low paying positions (the majority) in the visitor industry.
NOTES
1. The West Indies refers to the former British West Indies and
encompasses all the English-speaking territories in the
region including Belize and Guyana.
2. Sephardic Jews from Spain, Portugal, and North Africa migrated as early as the seventeeth century, choosing to
settle in Cuba, Curacao, the Danish West Indies, Jamaica
and Trinidad.
3. They were originally recruited on temporary work visas, but
most subsequently had their statuses adjusted to permanent
residents, and now the majority are U.S. citizens. In 1990
persons born in the English-speaking Caribbean accounted for
23 percent of the total population of the USVI.
4. More commonly referred to in the region as Santo Domingans to
distinguish them from Dominicans from the island of Dominica.
Some Santo Domingans are claiming the right to reside in many Leeward islands on the basis that their grandfather or father had been born on one of these respective islands and later migrated to the Dominican Republic.
5. Antilleans refers to persons from the Dutch West Indies. In
the case of St.Maarten these are persons from Curacao, Aruba
and Bonaire.
6. Commonly referred to as "Bajans"in the region.
7. One exception is our work on the USVI (de Albuquerque and
McElroy, 1982;1999a).
8. Sir Arthur Lewis in economics and Derek Walcott in literature.
9. By paying a certain fee, say US$100,000, it is possible to
procure a St. Vincent passport. We are not sure if a minimum
investment in some kind of local business is also required.
Dominica has a similar program.
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Figure 1. The Caribbean
Source: Burton (1995).