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| 1962, Jan. 15 |
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| The People's National Movement announced that the colony of Trinidad and Tobago would seek independence outside the West Indies Federation. | 1 |
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| Feb. 6 |
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| The British government announced its decision to dissolve the West Indies Federation in view of the recent withdrawals. | 2 |
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| April 10 |
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| Legislative elections in Jamaica gave Sir Alexander Bustamente's Labor Party a majority. He took office as premier on April 24. | 3 |
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| May 24 |
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| Eight small colonies in the West Indies announced plans for a new federation without Jamaica or Trinidad and Tobago. | 4 |
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| Aug. 6 |
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| Jamaica became an independent dominion within the British Commonwealth. | 5 |
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| Aug. 31 |
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| The independence of Trinidad and Tobago within the Commonwealth was celebrated under its first prime minister, the noted historian ERIC WILLIAMS (1911–81). Originally a sugar exporter, over the next 20 years Trinidad and Tobago developed into an important oil-refining nation and the economic center of the British Caribbean. | 6 |
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