This unique work assesses the diplomatic, commercial and political consequences of the conflicting interests of the British imperial government and colonial Trinidad on Venezuela. Imperial interests predominated and the British turned a blind eye to the use of Trinidad by opponents of Venezuelan regimes as a base for the overthrow of Venezuelan governments. The island colony played an important role in the politics of destabilization in Venezuela.
The scholarship is based on a variety of primary sources, particularly the British Foreign Office and the Colonial Office as well as Venezuelan and US archives.