Spies, Soldiers, and Prostitutes

It is May 1941. The Second World War has not yet reached the Caribbean. But America deploys 25,000 troops to the British colony of Trinidad. Within a year, it becomes 82,000 soldiers. Soon the war erupts into an Eroticized War in the colony. Anyone who remembers the calypsoes of the period, as well as the 'American Occupation' of the island would recognize the extent prostitution and venereal disease now ran rampant throughout the colony.

Alongside this Eroticized War, another war is being waged on the island. This is a Secret War. It is a cat-and-mouse game of espionage between spies from the German Abwehr (military intelligence), and the combined British MI5 agents and local militarized police.

But as the residents come to terms with the rapid changes in their society, the colonial authorities are unawares that the German Abwehr has planned a major naval offensive in the Caribbean. German U-boats are on their way and Trinidad is in their cross-hairs.

Is Trinidad society prepared for this assault? Are its defences able stop this naval offensive?

Historian Richard Escalante explores the key events and issues confronting Trinidad society in the lead up to the fateful attack.