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forthcoming in:
Breno Bringel, Heriberto Cairo (eds.): Critical Geopolitics and Regional (Re)Configurations:
interregionalism and transnationalism between Latin America and Europe, Routledge 2019
Forgotten(Europes.(Rethinking(Regional(Entanglements(from(the(Caribbean(
(
! ! ! ! ! ! ! Manuela!Boatcă!
!
!
“…the!trouble!with!the!English!is!that!their!history!happened!overseas,!so!
they!don’t!know!what!it!means”!
!!!(Salman!Rushdie,!Satanic'Verses,!1988)!
!
“I!would!like!to!pluck!a!story!from!Caribbean!history!in!order!to!suggest!that!
the!region!may!have!been!more!transnational!than!it!looks,!and!that!it!may!
have!become!so!at!a!theoretically!inconvenient!time!(which!is!to!say,!long!ago,!
rather!than!last!year)”!
!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!(Sidney!Mintz,!The'Localization'of'Anthropological'Practice,'1998)!
!
(
Any!reflection!on!regional!entanglements!needs!to!start!from!one’s!own!positioning!within!
them.! I! was! born! and! raised! in! Romania! during! the! state! socialist! regime! and! went! to!
Germany!over!twenty!years!ago!in!order!to!study!sociology.!It!took!me!a!few!years!to!realize!
that,!rather!than!just!studying!in!Germany,!I!had!migrated!and!was!there!to!stay.!This!back-
and-forth!between!Romania!and!Germany!is!the!very!location!I!am!speaking!from.!In!turn,!
this!also!means!that!I!am!speaking!from!the!border!between!Western!Europe!and!one!of!its!
other! Europes! –! the! one! that,! at! different! moments! in! its! history,! has! been! defined! as!
Eastern!Europe!and!is!often!still!reduced!to!being!an!Other!within.!The!Europe!dominating!
the!discourse!about!the!modern,!civilized,!developed,!and!white!world!is!always,!at! least!
implicitly,!Western!Europe,!and!as!such!is!an!instance!of!what!Maria!Todorova!(1997)!has!
labeled!an! “unmarked! category”.! By! contrast,! all! other!Europes! are! considered! particular!
and! partial! and! have! to! be! made! explicit,! i.e.,! they! are! marked! categories:! Eastern! and!
Southern!Europe!are!often!considered!lesser!Europes!and!have!to!be!specifically!mentioned!
to! be! included.!Black! Europe! has! for! a! long! time! been! unthinkable! and! in! need! of!
justification!and!to!this!day!needs!to!be!argued,!defended,!and!explained!(Hine!at!al.!2009;!
Raphael-Hernandez!2010;!Boatcă!2017).!Unmarked!Europe!plays!the!dominant!role!in!the!
historiography!of!Western! colonial!powers!as!well!as! in!the! social!theory!emerged! during!
European!colonialism!and!subsequently!seen!as!applicable!to!the!entire!world.!!!
! In! most! sociological!accounts,! the! Europe! hailed! as! a! standard! of! civilization,!
modernity,!development,!capitalism,! or!human! rights!was!poorly! or!not!at!all!defined! and!
forthcoming in:
Breno Bringel, Heriberto Cairo (eds.): Critical Geopolitics and Regional (Re)Configurations:
interregionalism and transnationalism between Latin America and Europe, Routledge 2019
rarely! broken! down! into! any! subdivisions,! except! when! synechdochically! reduced! to! its!
hegemonic! variant,! Western! Europe.! At! the! same! time,! this! unspecified! entity! was!
overwhelmingly! presented! as! an! autonomous,! institutionally! self-sustaining,! and,! at! least!
since! the! ‘age! of! industry,’! economically! and! politically! self-contained! region.! As! such,!
“Europe”!was! supposed! to! be!always! a! step! ahead! of! the! regions! to! which! it! was! being!
compared,!but!unrelated!to,!and!essentially!unlike!them.!!
This! Europe! –! whose! self-image! and! epistemic! self-positioning! I! have! elsewhere!
called!“heroic”!(Boatcă!2010,!2013,!2015)!–!features!prominently!both!in!the!self-referential!
historiography! of! Western! European! colonial! powers! as! well! as! in! the! social! theory!
emerged! during! European! colonialism.! The! above! motto! from! Salman! Rushdie’s! Satanic'
Verses' is! therefore! a! fitting! description! for! both! the! self-referential! historiography! of!
European!colonial! powers! more! generally! as! well! as! for!much!of! European! social! theory.!
Core! sociological! categories! such! as! class,! reflecting! the! specific! historical! and!
socioeconomic! context! of! Western! European! industrial! society,! channeled! attention! to!
processes! peculiar! to! that! context! rather! than! to! those! transcending! it,! and! to! Western!
Europe!to!the!detriment!of!other!regions.!As!a!result,!class!conflict,!pauperization,!and!social!
mobility! within! self-proclaimed! industrial! nations! became! more! visible! than! colonialism,!
the! trade! in! enslaved! Africans,! and! European! emigration! to! the! Americas,! and! were!
disproportionately!represented!in!mainstream!sociological!theory!both!within!and!outside!
the! West.! It! is! only! in! the! past! twenty! years! that! sociology’s! systematic! neglect! of! the!
dynamics!of! colonialism!and! imperialism!and! of!the!resulting! structural!entanglements! of!
power! between! world! regions! has! been! denounced! as! Eurocentrism! or! Occidentalism!
(Chakrabarty!2000,! Hall!1992)! and! calls! for! its! decolonization! have! ensued! (Walsh! et! al.!
2002,!Connell!2007,!Gutiérrez!Rodríguez!et!al.!2010).!!
The!present! chapter! advances!instead! a! more!encompassing! notion! of!Europe! as! a!
creolized! space:! it! takes! into! account! the! regional! entanglements! to! which! European!
colonialism! and! imperialism! have! given! rise! since! the! sixteenth! century! and! rethinks!
Europe!from!its!unacknowledged!borders!in!the!Atlantic!and!the!Caribbean!Sea.!In!order!to!
show! how! “creolization”! as! a! term! originally! coined! to! describe! processes! specific! to! the!
Caribbean!speaks!to!a!different!understanding!of!Europe!up!to!this!day,!the!history!and!the!
concept! of! Caribbean! Europe! are! used! to! shed! light! on! a! previously! developed! notion! of!
forthcoming in:
Breno Bringel, Heriberto Cairo (eds.): Critical Geopolitics and Regional (Re)Configurations:
interregionalism and transnationalism between Latin America and Europe, Routledge 2019
multiple!and!unequal!Europes!(Boatcă!2010,!2013,!2015).!The!paper!ultimately!argues!that!
a! rethinking! of! Europe! from! its! Atlantic! and! Caribbean! borders! successfully! challenges!
Occidentalist! notions! of! Europeanness! and! the! modern! nation-state,! as! well! as! related!
notions!of!internal!and!external!borders,!sovereignty,!and!modernity.!!
!
Creolizing(Europe(
!
The!most!common!as! well!as!the!most!long-standing!internal!differentiation! within!
Europe!has!been!a!constructed!East-West!division!that!periodically!transferred!geopolitical,!
economic!and!cultural! differences!into!ahistorical!essences,!traditions,! or!paths!of!Eastern!
and! Western! Europe.! The! European! East!thereby!regularly! sanctioned!Western! Europe’s!
position!as!the!norm,!while!partly!acquiring!attributes!of!a!larger!East!in!being!portrayed!as!
Oriental!or!“somehow!Asian”!(Lewis/Wigen!1997:!7,!Bakić-Hayden!1995).!Various!attempts!
at!scientific!orderliness!have!included!pinpointing!a!third!zone!in-between!East!and!West!as!
well! as! further! subdividing! the! shifty! Eastern! Europe! into! North,! Central! (19th!century!
Mitteleuropa),!and!South!Eastern!Europe!(“the!Balkans”),!respectively.!Thus,!the!concept!of!
“Europe”!has!never!had!a!mere!geographic!referent,!but!has!instead!always!reflected!both!the!
geopolitics! as! well! as! the! epistemology! of! the! various! historical! moments!and! the! global!
power!relations!characterizing!them.!!
However,!political!maps!that!represent!distinct!continents!not!only!naturalize!them!as!
commonsensical! entities,! but! also! suggest! that! they! are! made! up! of! nation-states! that! fit!
continental!borders.!Transcontinental!states!such!as!Turkey,!Egypt,!or!Russia!are!thus!posited!
as! anomalies! in! need! of! explanation! (Lewis/Wigen! 1997:! 9).!In! the! case! of! Europe!in!
particular,! such! naturalization!has! the! absurd! effect! of! generating!anomalies! from! the!
definition!of!a!continent!that!is!itself!anomalous.!Thus,!many!European!states!have!territories!
outside!continental!Europe:!Cyprus!is,!strictly!speaking,!located!in!West!Asia,!on!the!Anatolian!
Plate,! Malta! and! Sicily! are! on! the! African! continental! plate.! If,! however,! geographical!
incongruities! result! in! a! few! exceptions!to!the! rule,! it! is! colonial! history! that! reveals!
exceptions!as! systematic!and!the! rule! itself!as!a!function! of! the! political!economy!of! global!
capitalism.!Today,! the!EU! includes! thirty-four!overseas!“entities”!resulted! from! the!colonial!
involvement! of! six! European! member! states:! Denmark,! France,! the! Netherlands,! Portugal,!
forthcoming in:
Breno Bringel, Heriberto Cairo (eds.): Critical Geopolitics and Regional (Re)Configurations:
interregionalism and transnationalism between Latin America and Europe, Routledge 2019
Spain,!and!the!United!Kingdom.!Of!these,!nine!are!part!of!France,!Portugal,!and!Spain!and!thus!
full-fledged! EU! members;! they!are! considered! “outermost! regions”! of! the! European! Union!
and!are! subject!to!EU! legislation! (the!acquis! communautaire)!(European!Parliament!2016).!
The!remaining!twenty-five,!awkwardly!described!in!official!language!as!“countries!that!have!a!
special!relationship!to!one!of!the!Member!States!of!the!European!Community”!(EEAS!2016),!
are!colonies!of!Denmark,!France,!the!Netherlands,!and!the!United!Kingdom;!they!are!not!part!
of! the! single! market,! yet! their! nationals! are! EU! citizens.! These!Overseas! Countries! and!
Territories!(OCTs)!as!a!whole!feature!among!the!regions!in!the!European!Commission’s!list!of!
partners!in!“international!cooperation!and!development”.!Including!the!OCTs!as!a!“region”!in!
it!is!not!only!telling!for!the!anomalous!status!they!hold!within!the!EU!and!ironic!in!the!face!of!
their!being!geographically!spread!across!three!of!the!world’s!oceans.!It!reveals!the!extent!to!
which!geographical!and!political!categories!–!from!“countries”!and!“territories”!to!“regions”!–!
are!used!as!placeholders!for!the!appropriate!term,!“colonies”!and!their!historical!genealogies!
disguised!under!euphemisms!such!as!“special!relations”.!
!
Figure!1.!EU!Overseas!Countries!and!Territories!and!Outermost!Regions!2015!
!
!
forthcoming in:
Breno Bringel, Heriberto Cairo (eds.): Critical Geopolitics and Regional (Re)Configurations:
interregionalism and transnationalism between Latin America and Europe, Routledge 2019
In!spite!of!such!formal!acknowledgment,!official!EU!discourse!foregrounds!continental!
Europe!to!the!detriment!of!all!other!territories!–!most!of!which!are!former!colonies!–!that!are!
part!of!European!countries,!but!are!geographically!located!in!other!continents.!In!the!process,!
it! links! Europeanness! to! a! narrowly! defined! physical!location! which! excludes!both! the!
memory!and!the!present!of!Europe’s!colonial!ties!to!other!regions.!With!the!discourse!of!the!
European!Union,!we!thus!witness!the!reemergence!of!a!“moral!geography”!of!the! continent,!
with!profound!implications!for!the!identity!politics,!citizenship!rights,!military!and!monetary!
policy!of!the!excluded!countries!(Muller!2001).!The!pervasive!civilizing!discourse!situates!the!
European! Union! at! the! top! of! a! value! hierarchy! derived! from! the! historical! legacy! and! the!
current!political!role!of!its!member!states,!viewed!as!exemplary!in!both!cases.!!
!
Introducing(Multiple(and(Unequal(Europes(
(
The! discourse! surrounding! the! emergence,! establishment! and,! later,! expansion! of! the!
European!Union!has!been!gradually!monopolizing!the!label!of!“Europe”!such!that!only!its!28!
member!states!or!at!most!those!about!to!become!members!are!considered!“European”!and!
consequently! included! in! the! term.! As! a! result,! processes! of! accession! to! the! European!
Union! have! consistently! been! defined! as! „Europeanization”,! irrespective! of! the! already!
geographically!European!location!of!the!candidate!states,!from!the!2004!enlargement!round!
to!the!2007!inclusion!of!Romania!and!Bulgaria.!!
At!the!same!time,!Europe‘s!remaining!colonies!overseas!are!graphically!represented!
as!part!of!the!European!Union!in!official!maps,!yet!play!no!part!in!the!definition!of!either!the!
normative! European! ideal! or! the! corresponding! common! identity.! The! fact! that! they! are!
situated!outside! a! continental! European! location! was! never! mobilized! in! a! discourse! of!
exclusion! from! Europe! directed! at! these! territories! on! account! of! any! supposed!cultural,!
political,!or!economic!difference.!As!shown!above,!administratively,!most!are!either!a!part!of!
the! European! states! which! colonized! them! and,! by! extension,! of! the! European! Union,! or!
have!associated! status! within! it;! they!are!included! in! official! European! Union!maps,! their!
citizens! have! European! Union! citizenships;!Portugal’s! “autonomous! regions”! Azores! and!
Madeira,!Spain’s!“autonomous! community”!of!the!Canary!Islands!and!the! French!overseas!
departments! all! use! the! Euro! as! their! official! currency! and! are! represented! on! Euro!
forthcoming in:
Breno Bringel, Heriberto Cairo (eds.): Critical Geopolitics and Regional (Re)Configurations:
interregionalism and transnationalism between Latin America and Europe, Routledge 2019
banknotes,!which!the!European!Central!Bank!claims!“show!a!geographical!representation!of!
Europe”!(European!Central!Bank!2017).!The!presence!(and!absence)!of!overseas!territories!
on!the!banknotes!is!explained!away!with!reference!to!their!size,!while!their!connection!with!
Europe!appears!almost!accidental:!“The!tiny! boxes!near!the! bottom!of!the! banknote!show!
the! Canary! Islands! and! some' overseas' territories' of' France' where' the' euro' is' also' used”!
(European!Central!Bank!2017,!emphasis!mine).!
!
Figure!2.!EU’s!colonies!on!Euro!banknotes!
!
Source:!European!Central!Bank!2017!
!
!In!fact,!as!Karis!Muller!has!pointed!out!early!on,!when!superimposed!on!the!official!
EU!map,!the!areas!covered!by!the!euro!provide!“a!time!lagged!photograph!of!colonization”!
(Muller! 2000:! 328).! Against! this! background,! the! discursive! construction! of! a! singular!
notion! of! Europe! crucially! depends! on! the! silencing! of! the! historical! role! of! its! member!
states! and! their! predecessors! in! creating! the! main! structures! of! global! political! and!
economic!inequality!during!European!colonial!rule.!As!Böröcz!and!Sarkar!have!argued,!the!
member! states! of! the! European! Union! before! the!2004! „Eastern! enlargement“! were! „the!
same!states!that!had!exercised!imperial!rule!over!nearly! half!of! the!inhabitable! surface!of!
the! globe! outside! Europe“! (Böröcz/Sarkar! 2005:!162)! and! whose! colonial! possessions!
covered! almost! half! of! the! inhabited! surface! of! the! non-European! world.!The!34!colonial!
possessions!still!under!the!direct!control!EU!member!states!today!represent!more!than!half!
of!the!58!remaining!colonies!worldwide!(Dependencies!and!Territories!of!the!World!2016).!
forthcoming in:
Breno Bringel, Heriberto Cairo (eds.): Critical Geopolitics and Regional (Re)Configurations:
interregionalism and transnationalism between Latin America and Europe, Routledge 2019
This! is! not! a! coincidence.! The! overseas! empires! of! today‘s! EU! states! such! as! Britain,! the!
Netherlands,!France!and!Belgium!had!been!many!times!larger!than!the!current!size!of!their!
territories.!The!loss!of!colonial!empires!after!World!War!II!therefore!significantly!fueled!the!
political! impetus! behind! the! creation!of! the! European! Economic! Community,! the! EU‘s!
predecessor,!to!which!the!contribution!of!remaining!colonies!was!seen!as!decisive!(Muller!
2001,! Hansen/Jonsson!2011,! 2014).! Upon! its! founding!in! 1957,! the! European! Economic!
Community!included!not!just!Belgium,!France,!Italy,!Luxembourg,!the!Netherlands!and!West!
Germany,! but! also! their! colonial! possessions,! officially! referred! to! as! “overseas! countries!
and!territories”,!the!same!category!used!today!for!the!remaining!colonial!possessions:!“[…]!
they! included,! most! importantly,! Belgian! Congo! and! French! West! and! Equatorial! Africa,!
whereas! Algeria,! which! in! this! time! was! an! integral! part! of! metropolitan! France,! was!
formally! integrated! into! the! EEC! yet! excluded! from! certain! provisions! of! the! Treaty!
(Hansen/Jonsson!2014:!7).!
In!turn,!the!“moral!geography”!at!work!today!denotes!the!symbolic!representation!of!
the! European! continent! reflecting! the!civilizing! discourse! advanced! by!its! main! colonial!
powers.!Most!telling!in!this!regard!were! the! official! maps! of! the! European! Union! shortly!
before!the! 2004!enlargement! round,!in! which!the! European!continent!was! color-coded!to!
reflect! the! „different! speeds“! of! accession! and,! by! extension,! the! candidate! countries‘!
closeness!to!the!European!ideal.!Yellow!were!the!member!states!until!2004.!Blue!were!the!
10!new!members!that!joined!that!year.!Romania!and!Bulgaria,!that!had!been!denied!access!
in!the!2004!enlargement!round,!were!represented!in!purple,!as!was!Turkey,!which!has!been!
a! candidate! to! accession! since! 1986.! At! the! same! time,! Europe‘s! overseas! colonial!
territories,!while!graphically!represented!as!part!of!the!European!Union!(yellow!in!the!map!
below,! just! like! the! full! member! states),! played! no! part! in! the! definition! of! either! the!
European! ideal! or! the! corresponding! common! identity.! Their! location! outside! of!!
continental! Europe! never! triggered! a! discourse! of! exclusion.! At! most,! their! existence! is!
instrumentalized!in!triumphalist!and!celebratory!discourses!of!the!metropole,!as!in!the!case!
of! France’s! “année! de! l’outre! mer”! in! 2011! –! which,! among! other! things,! claimed! the!
biodiversity! of! the! French! overseas! departments! for! Europe! as! a! whole! (Vergès! 2015;!
Éduscol! 2011).! The! very! opposite! is! the! case! for! Turkey,! whose! „semi-Asian“! location! –!
across!the! anomalous! continental!divide!between! Europe! and!Asia!–! has! repeatedly!been!
forthcoming in:
Breno Bringel, Heriberto Cairo (eds.): Critical Geopolitics and Regional (Re)Configurations:
interregionalism and transnationalism between Latin America and Europe, Routledge 2019
part!of!the!arguments!of!denying!it!EU!membership!decades!before!the!start!of!the!Erdogan!
regime.!
!
Figure!2.!Map!of!EU!Enlargement!2004!
!!
The! implicit! geopolitical! imaginary! at! work! here! presupposes! an! ontological! and!
moral!scale!ranging!from!a!geographically!Western!Europe,!whose!modern,!democratic!and!
pacific! character! –! and! therefore! superiority! –! remain! unquestioned,! up! to! a! backward,!
violent!and!inferior!part!–!as!such!of!questionable!Europeanness!–!frequently!located!in!the!
Eastern! part! of! the! continent.! The! discourse! of! European! unity! and! singularity! thus!
paradoxically!reinforces!a! historically! consistent! politics! of! difference! within! Europe! that!
forthcoming in:
Breno Bringel, Heriberto Cairo (eds.): Critical Geopolitics and Regional (Re)Configurations:
interregionalism and transnationalism between Latin America and Europe, Routledge 2019
can! best! be! described! as! a! hierarchy! of! multiple! and! unequal! Europes! emerging! in! the!
sixteenth!century!(see!Boatcă!2013,!2015).!
The!different!Europes!making!up!this!hierarchy!are!the!result!of!power!shifts!within!
the! continent! until! the! 18th!century! and! therefore! have! different! and! unequal! roles! in!
shaping! the! hegemonic! definition! of! modernity! and! in! ensuring! its! propagation.! Four!
multiple! and! unequal! Europes! surface! in! the! dominant! (Western)! European! discourse:!
decadent!Europe!(which!had!lost!both!hegemony!and,!accordingly,!the!epistemic!power!of!
defining!a!hegemonic!Self!and!its!subaltern!Others);!paradigmatically!represented!by!the!
early!colonial! powers! Spain! and! Portugal;! heroic! Europe! (self-defined! as! the! producer! of!
modernity’s! main! achievements),! primarily! represented! by! the! new! colonial! powers! and!
self-proclaimed! leaders! of! modernity’s! main! revolutions,! the! French! Revolution! and!
industrialization!-!France!and!England;!epigonal!Europe!(defined!via!its!alleged!lack!of!these!
achievements!and!hence!as! a! mere! re-producer!of!the! stages!covered!by! heroic! Europe),!
best!epitomized!by!Southeastern!Europe!and!the!Balkans;!and,!lastly,!forgotten!Europe,!the!
colonial!possessions!never!included!in!the!definitions!of!Europe,!modernity,!or!the!Western!
nation-state,! although! they! were! economically! indispensable! for! these! achievements! and!
administratively!integral!parts!of!Western!European!states!until!well!into!the!20th!century!
and! some! even! today.! While! “decadent! Europe”! and! “epigonal! Europe”! were! both!
characterized!by! a! semiperipheral!position,!their! different! trajectories!in!having! achieved!
this!position! acted!toward! disuniting! rather!than! uniting! them!in! their!interests:!In! Spain!
and!Portugal,! the! memory!of! lost! power! and!the! dominion! of!imperial!languages! induced!
the!awareness!of!a!decline!from!the!core,!i.e.!an!imperial!nostalgia.!Instead,!in!that!part!of!
the!continent!that!had!only!emerged!as!“Europe”!due!to!the!growing!demise!of!the!Ottoman!
Empire!–! i.e.,! Eastern! Europe!and! the! Balkans! –!the!rise! to! the! position!of! semiperiphery!
within!the!world!economy!alongside!the!enduring!position!of!periphery!within!Europe!itself!
made! the! aspiration! to! Europeanness! –! defined! as! Western! modernity! –! the! dominant!
attitude.!In!the! case!of!forgotten!Europe,!attitudes!have!ranged!between!the!strong!desire!
for! decolonization,! leading! to! the! independence! of! most! territories! under! European!
domination!in! the! wake! of!World!War! II,! to! the!voluntary!relinquishing! of! sovereignty! in!
exchange!for!EU!citizenship!and!economic!integration! in! the! monetary! union! that! to! this!
forthcoming in:
Breno Bringel, Heriberto Cairo (eds.): Critical Geopolitics and Regional (Re)Configurations:
interregionalism and transnationalism between Latin America and Europe, Routledge 2019
day!characterizes!parts!of!the!Dutch!Antilles,!the!British!Virgin!Islands,!the!French!overseas!
departments!–!which,!since!2011,!also!include!Mayotte.!!
!
!Table'1.'Multiple'Europes'
Europe(
prototype(
role(in(the(
history(of(
modernity(
world-system(
position(
attitude(
role(in(
coloniality(
decadent!
Spain,!
Portugal!
participant!
semiperiphery!
nostalgia!
founding!
heroic!
France,!
England!
producer!
core!
hegemony!
central!
epigonal!
„the!
Balkans“!
reproducer!
semiperiphery!
aspiration!
accomplice!
forgotten!
British!
Virgin!
Islands!
reproducer!
periphery!
ambivalent!
instrumental!
!!!!!!!!!Source:'own'elaboration''
!
Thus,!the!subdivisions!underlying!the!imperial!map!of!multiple!Europes!had!served!
to!positively!sanction!the!hegemony!of! “heroic!Europe”:!France,!England,!and!Germany,!as!
epitomes!of!what!Hegel!had!called!“the!heart!of!Europe”,!became!the!only!authority!capable!
of! imposing! a! universal! definition! of! modernity! and! at! the! same! time! of! deploying! its!
imperial!projects!in!the!remaining!Europes!or!through!them.!!
Such! a! model! is! nevertheless! inevitably!incomplete! and! meant! to! serve! heuristic!
purposes,! not! to! exhaustively! or! even! partially! explain! the! trajectory! of! any! European!
region! in! the! longue! durée.! On! the! basis! of! its! most! prototypical! examples,! however,! the!
model!of!multiple!Europes!as!sketched!above!does!help!illuminate!the!impact!that!the!direct!
or!indirect!involvement!in!the!extra-European!colonial!endeavor!has!had!on!the!definition!
power! associated! with! a! region’s! structural! position! within! the! modern/colonial! world-
system!in!general!and!within!Europe!in!particular.!In!other!words,!the!further! away!from!
the!historical!experience!of!heroic!Europe!a!part!of!Europe!is!or!has!been,!the!less!definition!
forthcoming in:
Breno Bringel, Heriberto Cairo (eds.): Critical Geopolitics and Regional (Re)Configurations:
interregionalism and transnationalism between Latin America and Europe, Routledge 2019
power!it!has!tended!to!have!with!respect!to!discourses!of!modernity,!European!identity,!or!
both.!!!
!
Forgotten(Europes(
Thus,!in!a!hierarchy!of!“multiple!and!unequal!Europes”!that!ranges!from!heroic!to!decadent!
to!epigonal!in!terms!of!the!role!attributed!to!each!in!the!achievement!of!modernity,!the!EU’s!
overseas!territories!appear!as!“forgotten!Europe”!–!they!are!literally!“off!the!chart”!in!terms!
of!Europe’s!self-representation!and!modernity’s!checklist,!yet!“on!the!map”!in!terms!of!the!
claims!laid!to!them!by!continental!European!states.!While!there!is!a!–!however!imprecise!–!
geographical! referent! for! heroic! Europe! in! the! (North)Western! part! of! the! continent,!
decadent!Europe!in!the!South(west),!and!epigonal!Europe!in!the!(South)East,!there!is!none!
for! forgotten! Europe.! This! is! not! only! due! to! the! fact! that! Europe’s! overseas! countries,!
territories!and!outermost! regions!are!spread! out!across! the!Atlantic!Ocean,!the!Caribbean!
Sea,!and!the!Pacific!and!Indian!Oceans!and!thus!not!easily! pinpointed!to!any!one!location.!
Rather,! the! lack! of! a! referent!for! what! ultimately! are! colonial! outposts! is! a! result! of! the!
coloniality!of!memory!that!prevents!any!overarching!category!from!gaining!legitimacy!as!a!
region! of! Europe:! References! that! occasionally! or! more! systematically! feature! in! public!
discourse! tend! to! be! linked! to! the! imperial! history! of! individual! states,! as! in! the! case! of!
labels!such!as!the!“Dutch!Caribbean”,! the!“British!West! Indies”!or!“Françafrique”.! Yet!they!
never!point!to!the!integral!part!that!colonial!possessions!have!played!in!the!consolidation!of!
European!economic!and!geopolitical!power!as!a!whole!or!to!the!present-day!continuities!in!
Western!Europe’s!entanglement!with!and!policies!toward!them.!!
As!an! overarching! category,!“forgotten!Europe”! therefore! helps! stress!the! fact! that!
some!of!the!multiple!Europes!are!more!unthinkable!than!others:!Epigonal!“Eastern”!Europe!
is!white!but!not!quite,!Christian!but!not!Western!Christian,!while!parts!of!it!are!not!Christian!
at!all.!Its!geographical! location! in! Europe! is! unquestioned,! although! its! EU! accession! was!
piecemeal!and!remains!incomplete.!The!modernity!of!individual! Eastern! European! states!
has!repeatedly! been!tied! to! their!EU! membership!status! and!seen! as! a!gradual! process!of!
“Europeanization”.!In!turn,!in!the!case!of!the!Caribbean!territories!of!current!EU!members,!
it!is!the!African!and!Asian!heritage!of! their!populations!and!their!predominantly! syncretic!
religions! that,! together! with! their! remote! geographical! location,! decisively! unsettle!
forthcoming in:
Breno Bringel, Heriberto Cairo (eds.): Critical Geopolitics and Regional (Re)Configurations:
interregionalism and transnationalism between Latin America and Europe, Routledge 2019
Europe’s! prevailing! self-definition! as! continental,! white,! and! Christian.!The!Caribbean’s!
history!of! slavery! –!linked! in! the!dominant!discourse! to! backward,!inefficient,! unfree!and!
non-white! labor! –! served! for! a! long! time! as! a! stark! contrast! to! the! presumed! freedom,!
modernity,!and! high! productivity!of!the! wage-labor!of! white!Europeans.! Within!forgotten!
Europe,! the! Caribbean! colonies! thus! offer!both! a! prime! vantage! point!for! upending! the!
dominant!understanding!and!representation!of!Europe!and!a!concrete!basis!for!a!coherent!
geographic!referent!of!this!hitherto!unthinkable!category.!The!fact!that!more!than!a!third!of!
the!European!Union’s!colonial!possessions!are!located!in!the!Caribbean!today!warrants!an!
engagement! with!what! I! would! like! to! call! “Caribbean! Europe”! –! the!integral!but!
invisibilized!part! of! an! otherwise! highly! visible! Europe.! I! view! it! as! encompassing! all!
Caribbean! territories! previously! colonized! by! a! European! power!and! presently!
administered!as! dependencies! of!a! EU! member,!the! formal! colonial!relation!to! which! still!
figures! in! the! euphemism! of! their! current! official! denomination! –! from! “territory”! to!
“municipality”,!“community”,! or! “department”! of'a! European!state.! This! is! not! to!discount!
the! coloniality! of! power! underlying! the! many! non-administrative! ties! of!dependence!still!
tying!formally!independent!Caribbean!territories!to!Europe.!Instead,!my!goal!is!to!highlight!
the!enduring! colonial! (rather! than! neocolonial)! nature! of!administrative! ties! still! in! force!
today.! According! to! this! definition,! Caribbean! Europe! currently! includes!the! French!
overseas! departments! of! Martinique,! Guadeloupe,! and! French! Guiana,!and!the! French!
overseas!community!of!St.!Martin!from!among!the!EU’s!“outermost!regions”;!and!the!French!
St.! Barthélemy,! the! British! Virgin! Islands,! Anguilla,! Bermuda,! the! Cayman! Islands,!
Montserrat,! and! Turks! and! Caicos! as! well! as! the! Dutch! Aruba,! Curaçao,! Sint! Marteen,!
Bonaire,!Saba!and!Sint!Eustatius!from!among!the! EU’s!“overseas!countries!and!territories”!
(see!map!below!as!well!as!the!overview!in!Bonilla!2015:!7f.).!!
!
Fig.!3!Map!of!the!Caribbean!with!its!European!and!U.S.-American!colonial!possessions!!
forthcoming in:
Breno Bringel, Heriberto Cairo (eds.): Critical Geopolitics and Regional (Re)Configurations:
interregionalism and transnationalism between Latin America and Europe, Routledge 2019
!
!
As! such,! Caribbean! Europe! represents! only! one! instance! of! the! multiple! Europes!
actively!forgotten!through!the!coloniality!of!memory!at!work!in!the!dominant!EU!discourse.!
A! similar! case! could! be! made! for! an! African! Europe! on! account! of! the! French! outermost!
regions! of! Réunion! and! Mayotte! and! Spain’s! “enclaves”! Ceuta! and! Melilla!or! for! a! Pacific!
Europe!on!account!of!French!Polynesia!and!Wallis!and!Futuna!as!well!as!the!British!Pitcairn!
Islands.!However,!as!the!first!region!in!the!Americas!to!be!claimed!by!European!powers!as!
early!as!1492!and!one!that!received!more!than!a!third!of!the!12.5!million!Africans!trafficked!
in!the!European!slave!trade!from!the!sixteenth!to!the!nineteenth!century,!the!Caribbean!has!
had!the!longest!and!the!most!complex!history!of!entanglement!with!Europe.!It!also!has!been!
the!site!of!several!strategic!EU!projects!and!activities!throughout!the!twentieth!century!and!
until!today:! As! the! coloniality! of! memory! actively! and! consistently! produces! these!
territories! as! absent! from! and! unthinkable! within! the! European!discourse,! it! repeatedly!
taps! into! their! potential! to! act! as! Europe’s! military! and! naval! bases,! sites! of! medical!
experiments,!spaceports,!and!tax!havens,!as!well!as!laboratories!of!neoliberal!economics!or!
warfare,!to!name!but!a!few!of!their!functions!(for!more!see!Hansen/Jonsson!2014:!2;!Bonilla!
2015:!184f.).!
forthcoming in:
Breno Bringel, Heriberto Cairo (eds.): Critical Geopolitics and Regional (Re)Configurations:
interregionalism and transnationalism between Latin America and Europe, Routledge 2019
The! notion! of! forgotten!Europes! advanced! here! is! not! intended! to! claim! overseas!
countries!and!territories!for!Europe!in! a!renewed,! theoretically!and! epistemically!colonial!
gesture.!Rather,!it!is!meant!to!creolize!the!very!notion!of!Europe!by!drawing!attention!to!the!
decisive! shifts! that! colonial! possessions! operate! in! both! its! historical! legacies! and! its!
present!borders!when!colonial!possessions!are!consistently!taken!into!account.!The!project!
of!creolizing!Europe!is!therefore!contingent!upon!creolizing!social!theory!so!as!to!reinscribe!
the! transnational! experiences! of! regions! othered! as! non-European! and!non-Western!or!
racialized! as!non-White! –! such! as! the! Caribbean! –! as! well! as! the! multiple! entanglements!
between!Europe!and!its!colonies!into!sociological!thought.!In!this!sense,!the!concrete!notion!
of!Caribbean!Europe!can!be! seen!as!an!instance!of!what!Lionnet!and!Shih!have!called!“the!
becoming! theory! of! the! minor”! –! ! thinking! through! and! with! invisibilized,!peripheral,! or!
subaltern! formations,! or! thinking! from! coloniality:! “If! minor! formations! become! method!
and! theory,! then! new! analytics! will! be! brought! to! the! foreground! to! creolize! the!
universalisms! we! live! with! today,! doing! so! from! the! bottom! up! and! from! the! inside! out”!
(Lionnet/Shih!2009:!21).!
What!does!the!creolization!of!Europe!through!the!lens!of!its!Caribbean!colonies!look!
like!concretely?!In!other!words,!what!does!Europe!look!like!when!its!Caribbean!component!
is!remembered?!In! the! following,! I! discuss! two! different! but! related! aspects! impacted! by!
this!shift!of!perspective!and!point!at!other!areas!where!this!impact!can!be!felt.!
!
Creolizing'European'borders'
'One!of!the! most!immediate!effects! of!rethinking!Europe! through!the!Caribbean! is!a!
drastic! redrawing! of! European! and! E.U.! borders.! The! first! shift! that! occurs! when!
considering!Caribbean!Europe!an!integral!part!of!the!European!Union!concerns!the!latter’s!
external! Western! borders.! The! European! Union’s! Western! boundary! has! never!been!
questioned! in! official! discourse! or! constituted! the! object! of! accession! negotiations! (there!
was! no! “Western! enlargement”! of! the! EU).! Very! much! unlike! both! the! Eastern! and! the!
Southern! boundaries,! it! is! mostly! considered! unproblematic.! Often! conflated!with! the!
Western!border!of!the!European! landmass,!it!is!seen! as!beginning!with!the! Atlantic!Ocean!
on!the!Western!coast!of!Portugal!–!although,!in!the!case!of!the!E.U.,!this!already!leaves!both!
the! Spanish! Canary! Islands! and! Portuguese! Azores! and! Madeira! unaccounted! for.! When!
forthcoming in:
Breno Bringel, Heriberto Cairo (eds.): Critical Geopolitics and Regional (Re)Configurations:
interregionalism and transnationalism between Latin America and Europe, Routledge 2019
both! these! Atlantic! colonies! and! Caribbean! Europe! are!taken! into! account,! however,! the!
Western! borders! of! the! E.U.! are! suddenly! relocated! to! the! Americas! –! more! precisely,! to!
French! Guiana! in! South! America! and! Guadeloupe!in! the! Caribbean,! which,! as!overseas!
regions! of! France,! are!integral! parts! of! the! French! Republic!and! consequently! of! the!
European! Union.! The! shift! also! affects! the! external! borders! of! the! E.U.! more! generally:!
Through!French!Guiana,!France!borders!Brazil!and!Suriname,!while!the!Netherlands!share!a!
maritime!border! with!Venezuela! and!the! United!States! through!the! Lesser!Antilles,!which!
include!the!U.S.!Virgin!Islands!(see!figure!3).!
! Accounting!for!Caribbean!Europe!impacts!not!only! the!European!Union’s!external,!
but! also! its! internal! borders.!Since!the! territories! of! European! member! states! in! the!
Caribbean!are!differently! positioned!than!on! the!European!landmass,! France!only!borders!
the!Netherlands!on!the!island!of!St.!Martin/Sint!Marteen!and!the!Netherlands!come!to!share!
maritime!borders!with!France!and!the!United!Kingdom!in!the!Caribbean!Sea.!!
If!claiming!that!the!westernmost!point!of!the!European!Union! lies!in!the! Caribbean!
or! that! France! borders! Brazil! seems! spectacular! or! extreme,! this! only! goes! to! show! the!
extent!to!which!the!coloniality! of!memory!is!ingrained! in!the!public!perception! of!Europe.!
From! an! official! E.U.! position,! the! above! are!uncontested! formal! borders.! They! however!
only!surface!in!official!discourse!in!times!of!crisis,!or!when!they!can!sway!political!results!in!
the!metropole:!French! presidential!candidates! all!campaigned!in!the!Caribbean! territories!
in!the! 2017!presidential! elections,!which! earned! Emmanuel!Macron!a! significant! share!of!
the! votes! in! an! otherwise! tight! race! (Le! Monde! 2017);! the! United! Kingdom! was! being!
unanimously!accused! of! colonialism!by! Gibraltar,! Bermuda,! the!British! Virgin! Islands!and!
the!Cayman! Islands!in! 2018!when! it!attempted! to!legislate! for!its! Overseas!Territories! on!
the!issue!of!disclosing!information!on!business!owners!(Bernews!2018);!while!widespread!
destruction!in!large!parts!of!the!non-independent!Caribbean!in!the!wake!of!Hurricanes!Irma!
and!Maria! in!2017! prompted!heated! debates!on! the!rights! of!small! island!territories!with!
high!GNI!per!capita!to!receive!official!development!aid!(The!Guardian!2017).!
Apart!from!the!drastic! formal!corrections!operated!on! the!borders!of!the! European!
Union,!this!shift!of!perspective!also!impacts!the!conventional!geographic!understanding!of!
Europe!as!a!coherent!continent!and!the!modern!political!norm!of!a!united!state!territory.!If!
French,! Spanish,! and! Portuguese! national! territory! spans! Europe,! the! Atlantic! Ocean,! the!
forthcoming in:
Breno Bringel, Heriberto Cairo (eds.): Critical Geopolitics and Regional (Re)Configurations:
interregionalism and transnationalism between Latin America and Europe, Routledge 2019
Caribbean,!and! South! America,! then!transcontinental!states! such! as! Turkey!are! no! longer!
the!exception!to!European!geography,!but!the!rule.!When!the!Treaty!on!the!European!Union!
states!that!“any!European!country!may!apply!for!membership!if!it!respects!the!democratic!
values!of! the! EU!and! is! committed!to! promoting! them”!(European! Commission! 2016b),!it!
however!conflates!both!geographic!and!political!criteria!in!the!phrase!“European!country”.!
Yet! not! even! geographic! Europeanness! makes! sense! as! a! criterion! for! European! Union!
accession.!Most!of!the!E.U.’s!founding!members!did!not!meet!it!in!1957,!when!the!European!
Economic! Community! was! created!and! their! overseas! colonies! were! included,! and! some!
would! still! not! meet! it! today.! Here,! too,! the! history! and! present-day! reality! of! Caribbean!
Europe! help! shed! light!on! the!type! of! polity! to! which! official!or! scholarly! references! to!
“European! countries”! implicitly! or! explicitly! point.! Accordingly,! a! map! of! Europe!
representing! continental! and! non-continental! European! territories! as! a! single! space,!
locating! Europe’s! current! Western! borders! in! the! Atlantic! Ocean! and! the! Caribbean! Sea!
would!look!like!the!one!featured!in!figure!4:!
!
Fig.!4.!Europe!with!current!Western!Borders!in!the!Atlantic!Ocean!and!the!Caribbean!
!
Map!by!Isabel!Röder,!University!of!Freiburg!!
!
Creolizing'European'statehood'
forthcoming in:
Breno Bringel, Heriberto Cairo (eds.): Critical Geopolitics and Regional (Re)Configurations:
interregionalism and transnationalism between Latin America and Europe, Routledge 2019
The!notion!of! “European!country”! invoked! in! the! language! of! the! European!
Commission! is! based! on!the!sovereign! nation-state!that! emerged! with! the! Peace!of!
Westphalia!in!the!seventeenth!century!and!was!consolidated!in!the!aftermath!of!the!French!
Revolution!at!the!end!of!the!eighteenth.!!
For! a! long! time,! mainstream! historiography! and! social! science! viewed! the! rise! of!
nation-states! as! the! gradual! overcoming! of! multinational! political! organizations! and!
multiethnic!empires!throughout!the!world.!The!resulting!conceptualization!of!empires!and!
nation-states!as!mutually!exclusive!and!chronologically!discrete!political!formations!and!of!
the! nation-state! as! the! modern! norm! generated! its! own! anomalies.! The! existence! of! the!
Habsburg,!the! Ottoman,!and! the!Tsarist!Empire! well!into! the!twentieth-century! had! to!be!
explained!away!accordingly!as!survivals!of!the!old!order,!“anachronistic!holdovers!from!an!
age! of! aristocracy,! clinging! to! their! imperial! identifications! in! the! face! of! the! inevitable!
national!challenges!that!mounted!over!the!course!of!the!nineteenth!century”!(Cooper!2005:!
156).!In!spite!of!ample!evidence!for!the!coexistence!of!imperial!and!national!state!structures!
in! the! nineteenth! century! and! most! of! the! twentieth,! the! dominant! view! is! that! they! no!
longer!coexist!in!the! twenty-first.!What!Sylvia!Walby!(2003)!has!appropriately!called! “the!
myth!of!the!nation-state”!is!both!firmly!anchored!in!the!prevailing!understanding!of!modern!
statehood!and!has!continued!to!generated!related!myths.!
State! formations! which,! as! the! European! and! U.S.!Caribbean!territories,! are! still!
colonized!in!the! twenty-first!century,!continue! to!be!viewed! as!exceptions!from! the!above!
trajectory!from!empire!to!nation!and!as!anomalies!in!a!modern!world!of!sovereign!nation-
states.!A!growing!literature!tries!to!capture!the!paradoxical!logic!behind!the!functioning!of!
state! structures! in! the! non-independent! Caribbean! using!concepts! such! as! “extended!
statehood”! (De! Jong/Kruit! 2005),! “postcolonial! sovereignty! games”! (Adler-Nissen/Pram!
Gad! 2013),! “the! myth! of! sovereignty”! (Lewis! 2013)! or! “non-sovereign! futures”! (Bonilla!
2015).!The!same!ambiguous!status!with!regard!to!these!territories’!populations!is!echoed!in!
Françoise!Vergès’!notion!that,!for!the!inhabitants!of!France’s!overseas!possessions,!French!
Republican! principles! of! citizenship,! equality! and! fraternity! are! “inflected:! citizens! but!
colonized,!equal!but!not! completely,!brothers!–! but!junior!brothers”!(Vergès!2005:!75,!my!
translation).!!
forthcoming in:
Breno Bringel, Heriberto Cairo (eds.): Critical Geopolitics and Regional (Re)Configurations:
interregionalism and transnationalism between Latin America and Europe, Routledge 2019
Even! a! radically! critical! view! of! empire! in! the! European! context! manages! to! once!
again!forget!(or!disconsider)! Caribbean!Europe!in! the!endeavor!of! characterizing!present-
day! state! structures! and! to! conclude! that! “the! most! important! fact! about! empires! is! that!
they! are! gone”! (Cooper! 2005:! 203).! Thus,! Frederick! Cooper’s! detailed! analysis! of! the!
transformations!undergone!by! the!French! state!in! the!aftermath!of!the!French! Revolution!
and!the!Napoleonic!era!convincingly!argues!that!France!remained!an!empire-state!for!most!
of!its!modern!history.!Despite!viewing!the!French!overseas!departments!in!the!Caribbean!as!
decisive! for! this! argument,! and! a! rethinking! of! France! from! its! colonial! borders! as!
necessary,! Cooper! chooses! Algeria’s! independence! as! the! moment! that! marked! France’s!
transition!from!empire!to!nation-state,!stating!that,!“If!one!wants!to!rethink!France!from!its!
colonies,!one!might!argue!that!France!only!became!a!nation-state!in!1962,!when!it!gave!up!
its!attempt!to!keep!Algeria!French!and!tried!for!a!time!to!define!itself!as!a!singular!citizenry!
in! a! single! territory”!(Cooper! 2005:! 22).! When! taking! the! French! outermost! regions! into!
account,! however,! the! very! definition! of! “empire”! Cooper! provides! becomes! a! more! apt!
characterization!of!post-1962!France!than!any!available!definition!of!a!unitary!nation-state,!
for!which!France!has!been!seen!as!paradigmatic.!Cooper!defines!empire!as!“a!political!unit!
that! is! large,! expansionist! (or! with! memories! of! an! expansionist! past),! and! which!
reproduces!differentiation!and!inequality!among!people!it!incorporates”!(Cooper!2005:!27).!
What!is!therefore!important!in!the!context!of!Caribbean!Europe!in!the!twenty-first!century!
is! that! its! history! and! present! as! integral! parts! of! European! states! and! supra-state!
organizations!such!as!the!E.U.!or!the!British!Commonwealth!of!Nations!effectively!creolize!
the! norm! of! the! sovereign! nation-state.! The!non-independent! Caribbean! encompasses!
multiple! political! forms! and! overlapping! zones! of! affiliation! that! fall! outside! of! the! legal!
definition!of!either! independent!states!or!formal!colonies! (categorized!here!as! “Caribbean!
Europe”),! but! also! “a! large! number! of! non-sovereign! enclaves:! military! bases,! privately!
owned! islands,! semiautonomous! tourist! resorts,! free-trade! zones,! tax! havens,! wildlife!
preserves,! satellite! launching! stations,! detention! centers,! penal! colonies,! floating! data!
centers,! and! other! spaces! of! suspended,! subcontracted,! usurped,! or! imposed! foreign!
jurisdiction! that! challenge! the! principles! of! bounded! territorial! authority! associated! with!
the! Westphalian! order”! (Bonilla! 2015:! 10).!Thus,! when! the! norm! itself! becomes!
questionable,!it! is! not! the! non-sovereign,! non-emancipated,! or! non-decolonized! state!
forthcoming in:
Breno Bringel, Heriberto Cairo (eds.): Critical Geopolitics and Regional (Re)Configurations:
interregionalism and transnationalism between Latin America and Europe, Routledge 2019
structure!that!is!in!need!of!explanation,!but!the!universality!of!the!nation-state!norm!as!well!
as!the!continuities!of! distinct!formations!to!which!it!gave!rise! under!colonial!and!imperial!
rule.!!
'
Crisis(as(a(magnifying(lens('
Regional!entanglements!that!have!been!structurally!invisibilized!for!several!centuries,!as!in!
the!case!of!Europe’s!entanglements!with!its!colonial!possessions,!suddenly!acquire!visibility!
in! times! of! political,! economic,! or! ecological! crisis.! The! aftermath! of! the! devastating!
hurricanes!in!the!Caribbean!in!2017!has!brought!to!the!fore!the!ambivalent!colonial!status!
of!Puerto!Rico!in! relation!to!the!United!States!and!of! French,!British!and!Dutch!outermost!
regions!and!overseas!countries!in!relation!to!the!European!Union.!Repeated!labor!strikes!in!
the! French! overseas! departments! throughout! the! 2000’s,! which! have! triggered! the!
temporary! shutdown! of! the! European! satellite! launching! station! in! French! Guiana,! have!
rekindled! debates! about! the! sovereignty! of! French! Caribbean! possessions! in! the! face! of!
mounting!inequalities!in!the!region.!
! In!most!cases,!the!worldwide!attention!thus!commanded!is!short-lived!and!does!not!
lead!to!a!systematic!reconsideration!of!the!mechanisms!of!invisibilization,!or!a!questioning!
of! the! logic! of! the! coloniality! of! memory! underlying! these! territories’!lack! of! geopolitical!
visibility.!Through! the! category!of!forgotten! Europes,! the!perspective!delineated! here! has!
intended! to! show! that! the! becoming! theory! of! the! minor,! i.e.,! thinking! from! coloniality,!
offers!a! way! out! of! periodically! producing! anomalies! to! a! singular!European!norm.!Thus,!
instead! of! explaining! away! those! forgotten! Europes! that! surface! in! times! of! crisis! or!
relegating! them! to! the! status! of! exceptions,! I! suggest! that! crises! should! be! used!as! a!
magnifying!lens!for!exposing!ongoing!colonial!entanglements.!!
! A!telling!recent!illustration!is!offered!by!the!Brexit!negotiations,!a!European!crisis!for!
which!the!issue!of!borders!is!of!central!importance.!Both!E.U.!level!and!media!discussions!of!
Brexit-imposed!borders! have! revolved!around! the! problems! posed!by!the! Irish! border!as!
well! as! by! Gibraltar.! Both! can! reasonably! be! considered! colonial! borders!that!have! only!
become! highly! visible! since! their! ambivalent! post-Brexit!status! is! threatening! to! create!
immigration,!customs!and!trade!chaos.!The!overwhelming!vote!to!remain!in!the!EU!(96%!in!
Gibraltar! and! 56%! in! Northern! Ireland)!was! outweighed! by! the! leave! vote.! At! the! same!
forthcoming in:
Breno Bringel, Heriberto Cairo (eds.): Critical Geopolitics and Regional (Re)Configurations:
interregionalism and transnationalism between Latin America and Europe, Routledge 2019
time,!British!overseas!territories!were! not! given! a! vote! and! their! impeding! hard! borders!
have!not!yet!been!the!object!of!Brexit!negotiations,!despite!their!representatives’!repeated!
plea!that!they!should!be.!Anguilla,!a!British!territory!since!1650,!borders!France!as!well!as!
the!Netherlands!through!its!own!English!channel!in!the!Caribbean!–!the!Anguilla!channel!–!
and!is!dependent!upon!both!for!trade!and!transportation:!planes!bound!to!Anguilla!can!only!
land!on!the!Dutch!island!of!Sint!Marteen,!while!the!only!cargo!port,!through!which!Anguilla!
receives!most!goods,! is! located! in! the! French! part! of! the! island,! St.! Martin! (s.! fig.! 5).!The!
European!Union!is!the!island’s!only!source!of!significant! development!aid!and!is! currently!
funding!reconstruction!projects!after!Hurricane!Irma.!Yet!this!funding!would!be!cut!off!after!
Brexit,!while!Anguilla’s!citizens!would!lose!both!EU!citizenship!and!unencumbered!access!to!
medical!care,!postal!services,!and!international!travel!for!which!they!would!need!to!pass!the!
EU!border! into!the! neighboring! island.!Tellingly,! the!Government! of! Anguilla!has! issued!a!
report! signaling! the! urgency! and! importance! of! these! issues,! titled! “Anguilla! &! Brexit.!
Britain’s! forgotten! EU! border”! (Government! of! Anguilla! 2017).! Similar! issues! are! being!
tentatively!discussed!with! regard!to! other!remote!territories! affected!by! Brexit.!Forgotten!
Europes! such! as! Anguilla! and! their! corresponding! forgotten! borders! might! well!be! the!
magnifying! glass! needed! in! order! to! make! the! current! implications! of! Europe’s! long-
standing!colonial!entanglements!both!visible!and!legible.!
!
Fig.!5.!Anguilla’s!European!borders!!
forthcoming in:
Breno Bringel, Heriberto Cairo (eds.): Critical Geopolitics and Regional (Re)Configurations:
interregionalism and transnationalism between Latin America and Europe, Routledge 2019
!
!
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