Depression riots and the calling of the 1897 West India Royal Commission

Abstract

Questions why the West India Royal Commission of 1897 was considered necessary when serious distress already existed in the 1880s. Author argues that riots caught the government's attention much more readily than statistical data. Even minor disturbances could have distracted London from its preoccupation with the newer, more important parts of the Empire.

Keywords

• British Caribbean
• West India Royal Commission
• Social History
• Political History