The referendum in which the Scots voted yesterday to decide the future relationship between themselves and the rest of the United Kingdom is by no means only a domestic affair, but an event with significant implications for the rest of the world, including the Caribbean. There is the possibility of a reconfiguration of the UK, still a power that influences economic, political and social affairs around the world.
The fact that this vote has been taken in the era of globalism is a strong reminder of how that trend has inspired more nationalism in almost every part of the world: the map of Europe has changed over the past two decades, with the collapse of the Soviet Union leading to the balkanisation of much of the landscape as individual peoples reclaimed their national heritage.
The events that led to this historic referendum are not of recent vintage but have their genesis in the 1960s with the rise of the Scottish National Party, gaining even greater momentum in the late 1990s with the re-establishment of the Scots parliament.
The strength of the pro-independence feeling also says something about the power of Scots culture, national pride and the ancestral memory of Scots resistance to English domination until the two kingdoms were fortuitously united under a single monarch three centuries ago.
The possible breakup of a union that has lasted for 307 years is of keen interest, not only here in the unitary state of T&T, where the debate over internal self-government for Tobago continues, but also for other states across the Caribbean, including St Kitts/Nevis and Antigua/Barbuda.
Of course, for countries formed on such a tiny scale there are downsides to independence and going it alone: there is strength in unity, as well as economies of scale.Who knows what the Caribbean might have achieved by now if the Federation had endured instead of breaking up when Jamaica voted against it and Dr Williams concluded, "One from ten leaves nought"?
It is hard to ignore comparisons to the situation in Crimea, which was recently declared to be separated from Ukraine. However, that was the result of a militarily enforced, unsupervised referendum that bears little resemblance to Scotland's historic September 18 vote, apart from the fact that both are affecting the rest of the world.
Whichever way it goes, the Scotland vote will lead to some significant changes. Most of the focus has been on the major economic and geo-political changes that would result from a "yes" vote, but "no" could also trigger significant global responses and trends. The UK government has pledged to devolve more powers–and funding–to Scotland if it votes to stay in the union, and that could inspire and inform similar movements in other areas of the world.
So in the Caribbean, which has deep historical, political and legal connections to the UK, many are awaiting the outcome of the Scottish vote with interest.