American impressions of the Caribbean as a land of rum and beaches are belied by the region's past--and future--as an area of instability. While democracy is deeply rooted in a few countries, its hold is shaky at best in several others. Moreover, several island nations have economies so small and inefficient that they have little to export but their populations. The refusal of Bermudans to vote for independence last year may show that they, at least, have understood the point: In an increasingly troubled region, reliance on a foreign power for security and prosperity may be the most sensible form of nationalism. And the only available foreign power is the United States.
Three American Interests
While there has been continuing debate over foreign adventures throughout American history, there has been little argument over the importance of the Caribbean to American security. The Basin constitutes the coastal waters of the United States, which began trying to dominate it soon after the War of 1812. This was achieved over the course of a century by expelling the Spanish and then overpowering the British. In the process the United States acquired several colonies in the region, including the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, and there were even efforts to annex the Dominican Republic and Cuba. American intervention in Central America and the Caribbean islands has been frequent over the last hundred years, from the Spanish-American War to President Clinton's "permissive" invasion of Haiti. As most of the island Caribbean remained under British rule until very recently, intervention in the English-speaking Caribbean has been limited to Grenada--so far.
