In 1946, after more than three hundred years as French colonies, Martinique, Guadeloupe, and French Guiana were transformed into "overseas departments" of France, equal and identical in theory to any French department. This book assesses the effects of almost half a century of political assimilation into France and asks to what extent the high standard of living enjoyed by French West Indians today has been offset by losses on the political, cultural, and psychological levels.
The book, whose contributors come from the French West Indies themselves and from Britain and Jamaica, brings a variety of perspectives to bear on what to many observers will seem a paradox in the postcolonial age: three West Indian societies that are now part of Europe and whose desire to remain French far outweighs- or so it seems- their desire to be West Indian.
- ISBN10 081391566X
- ISBN13 9780813915661
- Publish Date 29 July 1995
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country US
- Imprint University of Virginia Press
- Format Paperback
- Pages 202
- Language English