Unholy Alliances: Negotiation, Ideology and Morality in Twentieth-Century Dutch-Spanish Caribbean Affairs
Margo Groenewoud, PhD
Princess Juliana, the later Queen of the Netherlands, in 1943 proclaimed Santo Domingo under dictator Rafael Trujillo to be “the most corrupt of all countries and nothing less than a scoundrel dictatorship.”[1] Yet she, along with many Dutch Caribbean people from all walks of life, accepted the highest decoration – and many other benefits – from that same dictator.[2] It is just one of many cases that have high anecdotal value, yet are also illustrative of how relations and negotiations work in practice.
Throughout the twentieth century, and in the era of dictatorships and Cold War in particular, interactions in the Caribbean region were situated in a continuum of geopolitical complexities, resulting in ideological and moral dilemmas. My argument is that navigating conflicting interests within Dutch-Spanish affairs was not just a strategic element of governance and diplomacy, but a sine qua non – or part of life – on all levels in these affairs: for individuals, institutes, commerce and government. These interregional interactions showcase the development of negotiation, survival and resilience culture: how to get things done, which battles to choose, when to stand up and when to turn a blind eye, how to barter, and how to balance collective interest with individual interest. Analyzing these interactions and dynamics, this study gives insight in the development of resilience, but also lays bare patterns in Caribbean thinking and acting relevant to citizenship, democracy and political ideology at large.
The Dutch Caribbean[3] has always had the reputation of being stable and business-minded, quick to seize commercial opportunities. This did not change when, in the course of the twentieth century, these former Dutch colonies went through several constitutional changes. When industries and commerce rapidly developed in the early twentieth-century Caribbean, the Dutch islands of Aruba and Curaçao in particular were an ideal linking pin between Europe and the Americas, They thrived in that position, with the oil industry, the provision of offshore facilities, a growing shipping and aviation network, and with opportunity-driven individuals, whether entrepreneurs or migrant laborers. Dutch and Dutch Caribbean companies and laborers were acceptable partners for both the left and right ends of the political spectrum – a welcome trait in the era of dictators and Cold War.
Analyzing negotiation and resilience culture in twentieth-century Dutch-Spanish Caribbean affairs is of particular interest for the study of the Cold War. While scholars of Latin America and the Caribbean have long insisted on the inclusion of these regions in studies of the global Cold War, often their analyses are confined to US-Latin America relations and focus on tense ideological disputes. By turning to interregional dynamics, this study offers a different portrait of Cold War history than familiar narratives of intractable dispute and violence, showing that this era was also characterized by pragmatic connections among elite politicians, businessmen and (migrant) laborers who routinely worked across ideological and political cleavages. The result was an adaptive, resilient response that may well inform regional approaches to development today.
Scientists and policy makers consider resilience an essential ingredient for achieving sustainable development in vulnerable areas such as the Caribbean. Defined as the ‘the ability of an individual, system or organization to meet challenges, survive and do well despite adversity’, strengthening resilience is central to all UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and to a myriad of other NGO and governmental programs, such as the US Department of State U.S.-Caribbean Resilience Partnership.[4]
Caribbean Studies – interdisciplinary by nature – have understood resilience as a multifaceted concept of regional relevance long before it emerged in policy recommendations and agreements.[5] This project builds on that long scholarly tradition. It seeks to uncover social strengths dynamics in Dutch-Spanish Caribbean affairs in the twentieth century, with the ambition to show how resilience in the Caribbean developed amidst ongoing ideological and moral complexity.
In his seminal overview of Caribbean history, B.W. Higman touches on that element of navigating complexities in the Caribbean, and how the US framed ideology and morality in their ventures. Discussing their role in twentieth century Caribbean, he dryly notes: “The United States was not unwilling to tolerate full-blooded dictators and often they flourished in unholy alliance.”[6] Indeed, the same can also be said for the Dutch Caribbean, which developed strengthened ties with countries like the Dominican Republic. Alliances such as these were often not strictly bilateral, but took place in complex multilateral relations involving both the right and the left end of the political spectrum, as well as links with United States interests. While the Dutch and Dutch Caribbean themselves have always hovered in the political center, in their relations with the Spanish Caribbean they had to deal with ideological extremes and political enemies.
Twentieth-century Dutch-Spanish Caribbean affairs is a highly understudied field within Caribbean Studies.[7] Nevertheless, it is an empirical treasure trunk, as I conclude based on explorative research done in the past year. Interactions between the Dutch and Spanish Caribbean comprised commercial and industrial affairs, religious missions, transnational cultural – mostly musical – relations, various forms of labour exchange and labour migration – including a state-regulated migration scheme for sex workers – and the involvement of Dutch Caribbean individuals in Garveyism in the Caribbean and the US, in Black international labor union and communist organisations, and apparently also in political and social activism such as the anti-Trujillo movement.[8]
This interdisciplinary research follows these alliances and interactions, moving from the geopolitical to the personal. Uncovering the transnational roots of Caribbean social and communal strengths dynamics, insights resulting from this research have relevance for today’s understanding – and through this improving – of the effectiveness of sustainable development agendas of international NGOs and the Caribbean at large, including the United States.
[1] Fasseur, Juliana & Bernhard, 94.
[2] Based on provisional research done in the National Archives in The Hague and in digitalized newspapers, in particular the Amigoe, (www.delpher.nl).
[3] Dutch Caribbean in this study refers to Suriname and the six Dutch Caribbean islands Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, St. Maarten, Saba and St. Eustatius.
[4] ‘U.S.-Caribbean Resilience Partnership’; ‘UN Sustainable Development Goals’.
[5] Sedoc-Dahlberg, The Dutch Caribbean; Nettleford, ‘The Caribbean’; Scott, ‘On the Question of Caribbean Studies’; Mintz, ‘Enduring Substances, Trying Theories’. to name just a few.
[6] Higman, A Concise History of the Caribbean, 201.
[7] Ferrer, ‘History and the Idea of Hispanic Caribbean Studies’; Groenewoud, ‘Decolonization, Otherness, and the Neglect of the Dutch Caribbean in Caribbean Studies’.
[8] For a complete overview of relevant sources please see project bibliography & primary source list.