Background Paper No. 2


This situation appertains only today in the adjacent Com-

monwealth of Puerto Rico.


 The present United States Virgin Islands have, for over

250 years, been under the federal control of two continental

governments: The Republic of Denmark and the United States of

America. This control, in fact, parallels that which was ex-

cersized on other West Indian islands in the past, and today

is also the case in Puerto Rico. However, in terms of eco-

logical research if in no other fields, such parallels do in

fact end.


 The remaining West Indian islands were, for the most

part, under the control of external governments that had es-

tablished a heritage o0 interest and a president for research

in natural history; a heritage that was ultimately in greater

or lesser degree passed on to the peoples of their islands.

Great Britain, The Nethelands, France, and to a lesser degree

Spain, were all such nations.


 In case any of the participants at this Conference are

unaware of the impact which such colonial actions in fact

had in the West Indies, I would demonstrate in point the dev-

elopment of such a heritage in the former British possessions.

Britains were, and are, by nature naturalists: In th6&r col-

onies in the New World tropics, as elsewhere, they early es-

tablished formal clubs promoting the study of natural hist-

ory; they established botanic and agricultural research sta-


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