Instapundit links to an article in The Gleaner, Jamaica's newspaper, written by a local pastor. He reports that almost twice as many Jamaicans wish the island was still a British colony, rather than the independent nation that it is. Some 49% preferred colonial status vs. 27% who like the current status best, according to a poll commissioned by the paper. Apparently 24% had no opinion.
It appears the article's author is both surprised and appalled at these numbers. I am neither. Actually I suspect such feelings are relatively widespread among the citizens of former colonies which became independent following World War II.
Colonial governments in the 1800s were no prize, often corrupt, racist and brutal. By the time the Second World War started, most colonial administrators had become no worse than the European governments they represented, genuinely trying to help the colonies function and prosper.
At the time European governments gave their Third World colonies independence in the late 1940s, most were better governed than the typical now-independent former colony is governed today. No wonder the citizens of former colonies remember that things were once better than they are now, mostly that is an accurate appraisal.
Is it likely independent Haiti, for example, is better governed or happier than French Martinique or Guadeloupe? Few would agree.
