A short-lived federal union of ten British Caribbean colonies, created 3 January 1958 as a step toward a single independent West Indian dominion, headquartered at Chaguaramas near Port of Spain.
Collapsed after Jamaica's September 1961 referendum favored withdrawal (54% to leave) and Trinidad and Tobago followed in January 1962 ('one from ten leaves nought'); formally dissolved 31 May 1962, with member territories going on to independence individually.
Polity-specific institutional history of the federation's formation, governance, and 1962 collapse, written by a former federal civil servant; verified on Open Library (work OL185146W, editions incl. Allen & Unwin / Northwestern UP 1968).