Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla

The islands of Saint Christopher and Nevis had been British colonies since the 17th century, though were always administered separately. A union of Saint Christopher and Nevis had been proposed as early as 1867, when Captain James George Mackenzie was appointed Lieutenant-Governor of Saint Christopher with a mandate to seek an amalgamation of the administrations of the two islands. This proposal met with strong opposition, however, and was withdrawn the following year.[1] In 1871, Saint Christopher and Nevis became presidencies within the Federal Colony of the Leeward Islands, with Anguilla being attached to Saint Christopher as a dependency in the same year. However, in 1882, the legislature of the Leeward Islands passed legislation merging the two presidencies, forming a combined Presidency of Saint Christopher and Nevis.[2]

In 1951, the name of the colony was changed to include Anguilla. The Leeward Islands Colony was disbanded in 1958, due to frequent tension between its members. From 1958 to 1962, Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla formed a province of the West Indies Federation, electing two members to the House of Representatives and also having two senators, appointed by the governor-general.[3] In 1967, the territory of Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla was granted full internal autonomy, as an Associated State of the United Kingdom. The UK retained responsibility for defence and external affairs, while a new judicial system was established, the West Indies Associated States Supreme Court (although the Privy Council remained the highest court of appeal). Later in 1967, Anguilla's leaders expelled the federation's police from the island, and declared its independence as the Republic of Anguilla. On 7 November 1970 commission led by Hugh Wooding, former Chief Justice of Trinidad and Tobago, published report which unanimously refused both the idea of independent Anguilla and the return of the status of British colony and recommend that the island should instead remain a part of Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla.[4] The report was welcomed by Robert Llewellyn Bradshaw while the Council of Anguilla rejected it.[4] Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister Joseph Godber stated in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom that his government will analyze the report in light of discussions with all interested parties and that no decision unacceptable to people of Anguilla will be made.[4] A series of interim agreements followed that resulted in direct rule of the island from Britain, although it was not formally separated until December 1980, when it was made a separate Crown colony.[5][6]

Nevis had also attempted to separate from the federation on several occasions, but the island's leaders were unsuccessful in their efforts. However, they did manage to secure greater autonomy for Nevis in the years leading up to independence, which occurred in September 1983 after a delay of several years to allow for negotiations.[7] Sir Frederick Albert Phillips, the first governor of Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla, wrote in 2013:[2]

It is generally acknowledged that the federation failed on several counts. It failed to live up to the promise of greatly improved administration; it failed to produce economies in the administration of the federating islands as one composite unit; and it failed in that it did not produced any significantly greater output in terms of social development.

Flag of Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla from 1958 to 1967

The national football team debuted in 1938, in a friendly against Grenada, but played only sporadically. It has played more regularly since independence.[9] In cricket, the Anguilla, Nevis, and Saint Kitts national teams competed separately at regional level, although combined teams were occasionally fielded in the past.[10] Delegations from Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla were sent to several editions of the CARIFTA Games, winning medals in 1977 and 1983. At the 1978 Commonwealth Games in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, the federation sent four competitors (two runners and two cyclists, all male), but failed to win a medal.[11]