The British Windward Islands was an administrative grouping of British colonies in the Windward Islands of the West Indies, existing from 1833 until 31 December 1959 and consisting of the islands of Grenada, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent, the Grenadines, Barbados (the seat of the governor until 1885, when it returned to its former status of a completely separate colony), Tobago (until 1889, when it was joined to Trinidad), and (from 1940) Dominica, previously included in the British Leeward Islands.
The seat of government was Bridgetown on Barbados, from 1871 to 1885, and thereafter St. George's on Grenada. The islands were not a single colony, but a confederation of separate colonies with a common governor-in-chief, while each island retained its own institutions. The Windward Islands had neither legislature, laws, revenue nor tariff in common. However, there was a common audit system, while the islands united in maintaining certain institutions of general utility.
In 1859 a common court of appeal for the group was established, composed of the chief justices of the respective island colonies. Under the West Indian Court of Appeal Act 1919 this court was replaced by the West Indian Court of Appeal, responsible for appeals from not only the Windward Islands but also the Federal Colony of the Leeward Islands, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, and British Guiana.
In 1939 the Windward and Leeward Islands Supreme Court and the Windward and Leeward Islands Court of Appeal were established, which was replaced in 1967 by the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court which provides both functions. [1]
The Lesser Antilles are a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. They are distinguished from the large islands of the Greater Antilles to the west. They form an arc which begins east of Puerto Rico and swings south through the Leeward and Windward Islands almost to South America and then turns west along the Venezuelan coast as far as Aruba. Barbados is isolated about 100 miles east of the Windwards.
The West Indies Federation, also known as the West Indies, the Federation of the West Indies or the West Indian Federation, was a short-lived political union that existed from 3 January 1958 to 31 May 1962. Various islands in the Caribbean that were part of the British Empire, including Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Jamaica, and those on the Leeward and Windward Islands, came together to form the Federation, with its capital in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. The expressed intention of the Federation was to create a political unit that would become independent from Britain as a single state — possibly similar to Canada, the Federation of Australia, or the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. Before that could happen, the Federation collapsed due to internal political conflicts over how it would be governed or function viably. The formation of a West Indian Federation was encouraged by the United Kingdom, but also requested by West Indian nationalists.
The Leeward Islands are a group of islands situated where the northeastern Caribbean Sea meets the western Atlantic Ocean. Starting with the Virgin Islands east of Puerto Rico, they extend southeast to Guadeloupe and its dependencies. In English, the term Leeward Islands refers to the northern islands of the Lesser Antilles chain. The more southerly part of this chain, starting with Dominica, is called the Windward Islands. Dominica was originally considered a part of the Leeward Islands, but was transferred from the British Leeward Islands to the British Windward Islands in 1940.
The Windward Islands are the southern, generally larger islands of the Lesser Antilles. Part of the West Indies, they lie south of the Leeward Islands, approximately between latitudes 10° and 16° N and longitudes 60° and 62° W.
The British West Indies (BWI) were colonised British territories in the West Indies: Anguilla, the Cayman Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands, Montserrat, the British Virgin Islands, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, British Guiana and Trinidad and Tobago. Other territories included Bermuda, and the former British Honduras.
The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (ECSC) is a superior court of record for the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), including six independent states: Antigua and Barbuda, the Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and three British Overseas Territories. It has unlimited jurisdiction in each member State.
The term British West Indies refers to the former English and British colonies and the present-day overseas territories of the United Kingdom in the Caribbean.
The Diocese of Barbados is one of eight dioceses of the Anglican Communion that is part of the Province of the West Indies.
The British Leeward Islands was a British colony from 1671 to 1958, consisting of the English overseas possessions in the Leeward Islands. It ceased to exist from 1816 to 1833, during which time it was split into two separate colonies. It was dissolved in 1958 after the separation of the British Virgin Islands, and the remaining islands became parts of the West Indies Federation.
The chief justice of Trinidad and Tobago is the highest judge of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and presides over its Supreme Court of Judicature. He is appointed by a common decision of the president, the prime minister and the leader of the main opposition party.
Sturge Park was a cricket ground located on five acres of land adjacent to Plymouth, Montserrat. The ground, used by the Montserrat cricket team and infrequently by the Leeward Islands cricket team, was destroyed in the Soufrière Hills volcanic eruption of 1997. A replacement ground, the Salem Oval, was opened in 2000 on the north of the island.
Sir John Worrell Carrington, was a British jurist, elected representative, and colonial administrator between 1872 and 1902. He served the Caribbean colonies of Barbados, St. Lucia, Tobago, Grenada, and British Guiana until his final appointment as Chief Justice of Hong Kong.
Sir Charles Henry Major was a British judge, who served in various colonies around the Caribbean, as well as in Fiji.
The attorney general of the Leeward Islands was the chief law officer of the Leeward Islands. The British crown colony of the Leeward Islands, comprising Antigua, Barbuda, the British Virgin Islands, Montserrat, Saint Kitts, Nevis, Anguilla, and Dominica, existed as a political entity, under various names, from 1671 to 1958, when it became part of the West Indies Federation.
The chief justice of the Leeward Islands headed the Supreme Court of the Leeward Islands.
The Chief Justice of Grenada is the head of the Supreme Court of Grenada which consists of the High Court with three justices and a two-tier Court of Appeal.
The chief justice of St Lucia was the head of the Supreme Court of St Lucia, an island member of the Windward Islands in the West Indies.
The chief justice of St Vincent was the head of the Supreme Court of Saint Vincent in Saint Vincent, an island member of the Windward Islands in the West Indies.
Major-General Sir Evan John Murray-Macgregor of Macgregor, 2nd Baronet, was a Scottish colonial administrator and senior British army officer.
The Colonial Office tonight announced appointment of J. H. Jarrett, now Colonial Secretary of the Bahamas, as chief justice of the Windward and Leeward islands.
Mr. Henrique's appointment became effective on 24th December, 1958.
The Queen has been pleased to give directions for the appointment of Cyril George Xavier Henriques, Esq., (Commissioner for Law Revision, British Honduras) to be Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Windward and Leeward Islands.
The Secretary of State for the Colonies ... has appointed Mr. Justice Frank E. Field to the office of Chief Justice of the Windward and Leeward Islands with effect from 2nd December, 1963.