Word: anguilla
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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...sent troops into Nigeria, or settled the Rhodesian problem by force, or even managed to dampen the nationalism of the Scots. Instead, to a cascade of laughter around the world, he had dispatched the crack "Red Devils" of the 16th Parachute Brigade to subdue the rebellious Caribbean island of Anguilla, whose 35 sq. mi. and population of 6,080 make it one of the tiniest remnants of empire...
Unceremoniously Expelled. The absurdities began two years ago, when Britain decided to create five Associated States out of its smaller Caribbean islands in an attempt to aid their move toward self-rule. In Anguilla's case, planners forgot the traditional hostility between the natives of backward Anguilla and the people of St. Kitts, which was made the dominant partner in the Archipelago. The association lasted only three months, and in May 1967 the Anguillians expelled the 15-man St. Kitts-directed police force and demanded direct links with Britain. While London dithered, an Anguillian referendum, by a vote...
...second British emissary, William Whitlock, arrived in early March, prepared to offer Webster's Anguillians precisely what they had desired in 1967. But it was two years too late: Anguilla was by now fully committed to self-government and independence from St. Kitts. Whitlock snubbed Webster, and within five hours the Crown's agent was unceremoniously expelled from the island. Gathering up the last tattered hems of colonial majesty, Britain ordered troops to Anguilla...
...Brutish British. Anguilla was ready: a flotilla of lobster smacks, so one story went, would wake the island by blowing horns when a British ship appeared. A herd of goats was supposedly assigned to clog the airstrip, and there was desultory talk of using sharp rocks to block island beaches against infiltrators. Undaunted, the British mustered a force of about 300 men, including the Red Devils, a Royal Marine platoon and bobbies from Scotland Yard, to set up a pacification program. When the British surged ashore, automatic weapons at the ready, there were only a few children to meet them...
Dubious Victory. All foreigners, including some Americans, were interrogated. Jack Holcomb, a 40-year-old Florida businessman suspected of having undue influence over Webster, was deported, vigorously protesting his innocence. The Rev. Freeman Goodge, pastor of the Anguilla Baptist Church, was questioned about alleged connections with the Mafia. His home was searched, he reported. "They went through the chicken coop, even searched my wife's underwear and went through a new Bible leaf by leaf...