The Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM) is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. CARICOM was the result of a 15-year effort to fulfil the hope of regional integration which was born with the establishment of the British West Indies Federation in 1958. The West Indies Federation ended in 1962 but its end may be regarded as the real beginning of what is now the Caribbean Community. In announcing its intention to withdraw from the Federation, the Government of Trinidad and Tobago proposed the creation of a Caribbean Community, consisting not only of the 10 members of the Federation but also of the three Guianas and all the islands of the Caribbean Sea. To discuss this concept, Dr Eric Williams the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago convened the first Heads of Government Conference in July 1963 which was attended by the leaders of Barbados, British Guiana, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago. In July 1965, talks between the Premiers of Barbados and British Guiana and the Chief Minister of Antigua on the possible establishment of a Free Trade Area in the Caribbean resulted in the announcement of definite plans to establish such a Free Trade Area. Six months later, Vere Bird of Antigua, Errol Barrow of Barbados and Forbes Burnham of British Guiana signed an Agreement at Dickenson Bay, Antigua, to set up the Caribbean Free Trade Association (CARIFTA). The new CARIFTA agreement came into effect on May 1, 1968, with the participation of Antigua, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana. The original idea to permit all territories in the Region to participate in the Association was achieved later that year with the entry of Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts/Nevis/Anguilla, Saint Lucia and St. Vincent in July and of Jamaica and Montserrat on August 1, 1968. British Honduras (Belize) became a member in May 1971. At the Seventh Heads of Government Conference in October 1972, Caribbean Leaders decided to transform CARIFTA into a Common Market and establish the Caribbean Community of which the Common Market would be an integral part. The original Treaty of Chaguaramas was signed on 4 July 1973, in honour of the birthday of Norman Manley, a former Premier of Jamaica and a leading advocate of the West Indies Federation. Fifty years later CARICOM has become vital in the region.

David Harris is a freelance journalist based in Barbados.