The contribution made to Britain's wealth by its Caribbean colonies is well known. Far less known - indeed dismissively ignored - are the contributions made over the centuries by West Indians to Britain's hard-won military victories, most notably in the two World Wars. At last this injustice has been redressed. In this single volume, the authors tell the compelling story of the Caribbean during nearly five centuries of warfare from the time of Columbus to the present decade; of how West Indian consistently rallied to Britain's side in its many years of peril, volunteers for service in its armed forces or more recently also for work in its wartime factories and forests. The book spotlights the deeds and hardships of West Indian soldiers long engaged in Africa and the Middle East, and of the many who enlisted too in the air forces and merchant navies of the Allies. And it describes the ferocious German submarine campaign in Caribbean waters, the impact that it had on life in the islands and how it was defeated; and it defines also the consequences - social, political and economic - of the World Wars on both the British West Indies and the United Kingdom. Above all, this book is written as a tribute to every West Indian veteran of Britain's wars; also to foster in the generation now growing up an awareness of the sacrifices of their forebears and pride in their achievements.

Part 1. Five Hundred Years of International Conflicts and Wars -- Chapter 1. Historical and Conceptual Perspectives -- Chapter 2. The Spanish Empire -- Chapter 3. Strife and Settlement -- Chapter 4. The Growth of British Power and the Demise of Spain -- Chapter 5. Britain's Fight for Supremacy over France -- Chapter 6. Self-Defence: The Militia -- Chapter 7. The Emancipation Era -- Chapter 8. Small Wars, Peacekeeping and Heroism -- Pat 2. The Impact of the First and Second World Wars in the Region and Overseas -- Chapter 9. The First World War, 1914-1918 -- Chapter 10. The Interwar Years, 1919-1939 -- Chapter 11. The Outbreak of the Second World War: The Home Front -- Chapter 12. Service Overseas -- Part 3. The Sea War and the Role of Enemy Submarines in the Caribbean -- Chapter 13. The War at Sea: The Setting -- Chapter 14. The War at Sea: The Unseen Foe -- Chapter 15. The War at Sea: The Victors -- Part 4. The Remnants of Five Hundred Years of War and Conflict -- Chapter 16. The Legacy -- Appendix A. Top-Scoring U-Boat Commanders in the Caribbean -- Appendix B. West Indians Awarded the Victoria Cross -- Appendix C. Private Johnson Gideon Beharry Receives the Victoria Cross.