The Effect of the Bases on the Antiguan Economy
In part because of the protracted process of moving the village, and the villagers, construction on the base was not completed until the spring of 1942, although both bases had immediately begun to operate out of temporary facilities — the first planes landed at Coolidge on June 6, 1941, and the first seaplane arrived at Crabbs on June 25.
By this time, submarine activity was intense and Antigua's geographical position crucial. Enemy subs attempting to reach the shipping lanes leading to Trinidad and Curaçao (where there were oil refineries), Guantanamo, Cuba, and the Panama Canal all had to pass near Antigua; in addition, all movement in and out of Guadeloupe, at that point under Vichy control, had to be monitored. Anti-submarine patrols out of Antigua extended over a 350-mile radius into the Atlantic, and there were frequent sightings well into the summer of 1943. Planes flying out of Antigua dropped depth charges and demolition bombs, although there were no reports of subs destroyed as a result. Survivors from torpedoed merchant ships were brought to both St. Kitts and Antigua. There was a blackout beginning on March 29, 1942, and when the harbor at Castries in St. Lucia was mined by the French Vichy government, ships were diverted from St. John's Harbor to Parham and an anti-torpedo net installed.
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Top: The base at Castries, St. Lucia. A blackout was enforced in Antigua when the harbor was mined by the French Vichy government. Ships were diverted from St. John's harbor to Parham and an anti-torpedo net installed.
Bottom: A seaplane, like those that came to Antigua, arriving in Georgetown, British Guiana. The first seaplane arrived in Antigua on June 25, 1941. |
The construction of the two bases provided immediate work for thousands of skilled and unskilled laborers, from carpenters to mechanics to tally clerks, and their subsequent operation provided maintenance, artisanal, and clerical jobs for hundreds more. Further, they earned what was to them a "princely pay." People had cash to spend — the government even had to introduce larger denomination bills as more money came into circulation — and the merchants and import/export houses prospered. As one participant put it, "The good life was flowing."
For the first time since the 1700s, the Antiguan planters no longer controlled access to work, and therefore to a livelihood, for the mass of the population. Men from any village in walking distance from the bases (including from St. John's), as well as from other islands, applied for jobs — not only as construction workers, but in the many ancillary activities necessary on a working base (in laundries, in vehicle maintenance workshops, as tally clerks, etc.).
In addition, there were longer term benefits: new skills were learned, from driver to motor mechanic to heavy equipment operator, that provided Antiguans with marketable skills — marketable not only in Antigua, but after the war in Aruba, Curaçao, England, and the United States. Where before there had been only one or two tractors on the island, now there were bulldozers, huge trucks, steam shovels, and other heavy equipment.
In addition, there were longer term benefits: new skills were learned, from driver to motor mechanic to heavy equipment operator, that provided Antiguans with marketable skills — marketable not only in Antigua, but after the war in Aruba, Curaçao, England, and the United States. Where before there had been only one or two tractors on the island, now there were bulldozers, huge trucks, steam shovels, and other heavy equipment.
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Top: The members of the American commission for inspecting the air bases leased from Great Britain.
Bottom: Major D.A.D. Ogden, the U.S. Army engineer in charge of constructing the base. The caption notes that he "faces delicate labor problem for British colonials fear U.S. will overpay native workers." |
According to the Magnet, the laborers believed that wages were being kept low by the Antiguan government, which was refusing to protect them from exploitation by outsiders, while the Americans were sympathetic to the demand for an increase (Magnet, 9 April 1941, 23 May 1941). To prove the point, the Magnet printed a letter from the U.S. Department of Labor that pointed out that wages throughout the Caribbean were fixed in consultation with local governments (Magnet, 3 May 1941). The British government was also pushing the Americans to raise the rates, although the local administrator was resisting (FO 371/A3382/20/45, A4526/20/45). In the end, a compromise was reached and wages were increased slightly.
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