Colonial Office: West Indies, United States Bases: Original Correspondence

IDENTITY STATEMENT AREA

Reference code(s): CO 971

Title: Colonial Office: West Indies, United States Bases: Original Correspondence

Date(s): 1941 - 1951

Level of description: Series

Extent and medium of the unit of description: 161 file (s)

CONTEXT AREA

Name of creator(s):

Administrative/Biographical history: In the late summer of 1940 negotiations began on the possibility of American forces leasing bases in the West Indies. These talks resulted on 2nd September 1940 in a preliminary agreement granting the United States the right to lease naval and air bases for 99 years, in return for fifty reconditioned American destroyers. The lease granted lands on the eastern side of the Bahamas, the southern coast of Jamaica, the west coast of Trinidad and areas on Antigua and British Guiana. Lands in Bermuda were given as a gift.
The talks were conducted between the United States, the Foreign Office, the Colonial Office and the individual islands' governments. The United States Bases Agreement was signed on 27th March 1941.

Archival history:

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer:

CONTENT AND STRUCTURE AREA

Scope and content: This series contains records relating to the United States Bases Agreement 1941 and in particular the affects of leasing West Indian land to American forces.
Includes correspondence on local issues such as sovereignty, employment, building materials, crime, compensation for leased land, and legislation on customs duties, further acquisition of land and the interpretation of, and amendments to the agreement.
There is also material on bases in Newfoundland.
Sub-series of note include PRO Online Catalogue (PROCAT) CO 971/20/2: Construction of US bases: concern over racial prejudice in employment considerations.

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information:

Accruals:

System of arrangement: These records are contained within a division of CO termed: Correspondence with the colonies, entry books and registers of correspondence

CONDITIONS OF ACCESS AND USE AREA

Conditions governing access: Subject to 30 year closure unless otherwise stated

Conditions governing reproduction:

Language/scripts of material: English

Physical characteristics:

Finding aids: For registers to this correspondence see PRO Online Catalogue (PROCAT) series: CO 972.

ALLIED MATERIALS AREA

Existence and location of originals:

Existence and location of copies:

Related units of description: For related correspondence between the Foreign Office and the United States government see PRO Online Catalogue (PROCAT) series: FO 371/50287 and FO 371/50288.

Publication note:

DESCRIPTION CONTROL AREA

Recorder's note:

Rules or conventions: Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.

Date(s) of descriptions: December 2001

Interest: Caribbean, Black, Asian

Specific group:

Subjects

Equal opportunity

Racial discrimination

Employment

Sovereignty

Personal/Corporate names

Places