British colonialism in the West Indies bequeathed a number of racial problems to the local societies as they attained independence. The colonial policy of administration in a ‘multi-racial’ social system did little to eliminate ethnic barriers dividing the various groups. A comparison of recent political change in Trinidad and Guyana suggests that the relative size of the various ethnic groups, combined with ecological and ideological differences, have all played an important role in determining the differential degree of conflict these two nations have recently experienced. Political leaders, citizenry and social scientists alike have held diverging views over the nature and future of these 'plural' societies. Some analysts have tended to emphasize the cultural and social cleavages while others have been struck by the apparent capacity of disparate cultural traditions to merge into a unique amalgam.