Colonialism’s Legacy Has Left Caribbean Nations Much More Vulnerable to Hurricanes

November 11, 2025

The Caribbean's current vulnerability to hurricanes stems directly from colonial-era policies that fundamentally altered how island communities interacted with their environment. Before European colonization, indigenous groups like the Taino and Kalinago developed sustainable practices including storm-resistant crops and strategic settlement locations away from coasts. Colonial powers dismantled these systems, forcing coastal settlement for trade convenience, implementing exploitative plantation economies, and creating inequitable land ownership structures that persist today.

Who is affected

Indigenous peoples (Taino and Kalinago) who were forced off their lands
Enslaved peoples who were imported and their descendants
Current Caribbean island residents, particularly over 70% of the population living along coastlines
Barbudans who cannot individually own land due to crown land policies
Poorer residents living in marginal, disaster-prone areas like steep hillsides
Residents of chattel houses in Barbados
Communities living in former Dutch slave hut areas in Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao
Working class populations who received redistributed land in the 1960s and 70s
Island governments across the Commonwealth Caribbean and French Antilles

What action is being taken

The Caribbean is developing wind-related building codes to increase resilience
Scientific guidance is being provided through the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology in Barbados
Dominica and Saint Lucia have implemented new minimum building standards for recovery after disasters
Grenada is working to guide new construction as it recovers from Hurricane Beryl
Trinidad and Tobago has developed a national land use strategy

Why it matters

This matters because the Caribbean's vulnerability to intensifying hurricanes is not a recent phenomenon but rather a systemic problem rooted in centuries of colonial exploitation. The colonial legacy of coastal settlement patterns, inequitable land ownership systems, and inadequate building standards directly undermines disaster preparedness and recovery efforts today. Understanding these historical causes is essential because they continue to prevent residents from accessing financial credit, insurance, and protective measures, while exposing the majority of the population to increasing storm risks and sea-level rise from climate change. Without addressing these structural inequalities inherited from colonialism, Caribbean islands will remain disproportionately vulnerable to natural disasters regardless of modern technological advances.

What's next

Grenada hopes to guide new construction during recovery from Hurricane Beryl
Work remains to be done to overcome the legacy of colonial-era land policies and development
Trinidad and Tobago has struggled to implement its national land use strategy (implying future implementation efforts)

Read full article from source: The San Diego Voice & Viewpoint