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| A POINT OF VIEW By David Cannadine Those with time and money to burn have long sought respite from winter chills in warmer climes. But perhaps global warming will put paid to this annual migration if rising sea levels swamp these tropical retreats. | A POINT OF VIEW By David Cannadine Those with time and money to burn have long sought respite from winter chills in warmer climes. But perhaps global warming will put paid to this annual migration if rising sea levels swamp these tropical retreats. |
| Until the past few days, it's been an unusually mild winter on the north-east coast of the United States. But there's still ample time for the sort of devastating blizzards where 20 inches of snow falls in as many hours, where every major airport is closed from Boston to Philadelphia, and where even Manhattan can be brought to a silent, ghost-like standstill. | Until the past few days, it's been an unusually mild winter on the north-east coast of the United States. But there's still ample time for the sort of devastating blizzards where 20 inches of snow falls in as many hours, where every major airport is closed from Boston to Philadelphia, and where even Manhattan can be brought to a silent, ghost-like standstill. |
| So it's scarcely surprising that many people on the American east coast prefer to spend the months of January and February in warmer places and gentler climes, provided they have the leisure and the money to spare. | So it's scarcely surprising that many people on the American east coast prefer to spend the months of January and February in warmer places and gentler climes, provided they have the leisure and the money to spare. |
| High rolling at the BreakersIndeed, a recent article in the New York Times drew attention to what it reported as a new trend, of rich couples preferring to stay in grand hotels for several months in places such as Florida, rather than going to the expense, inconvenience and worry of buying a home of their own in the winter sun. | High rolling at the BreakersIndeed, a recent article in the New York Times drew attention to what it reported as a new trend, of rich couples preferring to stay in grand hotels for several months in places such as Florida, rather than going to the expense, inconvenience and worry of buying a home of their own in the winter sun. |
| There's nothing particularly novel about this way of spending time and dollars, for Florida has been a favourite destination of the East Coast rich since the 1890s, when train travel first made it possible to get there in reasonable time. | There's nothing particularly novel about this way of spending time and dollars, for Florida has been a favourite destination of the East Coast rich since the 1890s, when train travel first made it possible to get there in reasonable time. |
| One businessman who saw this all coming was a partner of John D Rockefeller's named Henry Morrison Flagler. He built many of Florida's railroads, and many of Florida's hotels, among them The Breakers at Palm Beach, in the style of an Italian Renaissance palace, and Casa Monica at St Augustine, with its Moorish columns, Oriental turrets and red-tiled roof. | One businessman who saw this all coming was a partner of John D Rockefeller's named Henry Morrison Flagler. He built many of Florida's railroads, and many of Florida's hotels, among them The Breakers at Palm Beach, in the style of an Italian Renaissance palace, and Casa Monica at St Augustine, with its Moorish columns, Oriental turrets and red-tiled roof. |
| On into the interwar years, Florida remained an appealing destination, both for the wealthy in search of sunshine, and for those hoping to ensnare a millionaire. Billy Wilder's glorious film Some Like It Hot caught the place and those people perfectly. | On into the interwar years, Florida remained an appealing destination, both for the wealthy in search of sunshine, and for those hoping to ensnare a millionaire. Billy Wilder's glorious film Some Like It Hot caught the place and those people perfectly. |
| Goldeneye | Goldeneye |
| In the aftermath of World War II, and as air travel became more readily available, the Caribbean began to supersede Florida as the new-year destination of choice for rich Americans, and it also began to beckon for comfortably-off Britons who were eager and able to escape the deprivations of Attlee austerity and the terrible winter of 1947. | In the aftermath of World War II, and as air travel became more readily available, the Caribbean began to supersede Florida as the new-year destination of choice for rich Americans, and it also began to beckon for comfortably-off Britons who were eager and able to escape the deprivations of Attlee austerity and the terrible winter of 1947. |
| Noel Coward renamed Ian Fleming's house Golden Eye, Nose and Throat Hear Radio 4's A Point of View One of the early pioneers of part-time residence in the Caribbean was Ian Fleming, the centenary of whose birth will be marked this year by an exhibition at the Imperial War Museum. | Noel Coward renamed Ian Fleming's house Golden Eye, Nose and Throat Hear Radio 4's A Point of View One of the early pioneers of part-time residence in the Caribbean was Ian Fleming, the centenary of whose birth will be marked this year by an exhibition at the Imperial War Museum. |
| The Flemings were Scottish and they were bankers, but despite his Eton education, Ian Fleming was considered insufficiently serious to be allowed into the family firm, and after drifting in and out of stockbroking, and dabbling as a journalist, he was recruited to naval intelligence on the outbreak of the war. | The Flemings were Scottish and they were bankers, but despite his Eton education, Ian Fleming was considered insufficiently serious to be allowed into the family firm, and after drifting in and out of stockbroking, and dabbling as a journalist, he was recruited to naval intelligence on the outbreak of the war. |
| When hostilities ceased, Fleming joined Kemsley Newspapers, publishers of the Sunday Times, and he successfully insisted that his contract allow him to spend January and February abroad - which, in his case meant Jamaica, not far from Montego Bay, where he built a home to which he gave the name Goldeneye, after one of the wartime operations with which he'd been involved. | When hostilities ceased, Fleming joined Kemsley Newspapers, publishers of the Sunday Times, and he successfully insisted that his contract allow him to spend January and February abroad - which, in his case meant Jamaica, not far from Montego Bay, where he built a home to which he gave the name Goldeneye, after one of the wartime operations with which he'd been involved. |
| It was at Goldeneye that Ian Fleming wrote his Bond books between 1952 and his death in 1964, so it's not surprising that the Caribbean looms large in them. Fleming took the name of his fictional hero from the author of a recently-published work on birds of the West Indies, and several of the Bond novels are set in that part of the world, among them Dr No and Thunderball. | It was at Goldeneye that Ian Fleming wrote his Bond books between 1952 and his death in 1964, so it's not surprising that the Caribbean looms large in them. Fleming took the name of his fictional hero from the author of a recently-published work on birds of the West Indies, and several of the Bond novels are set in that part of the world, among them Dr No and Thunderball. |
| Fleming at his Caribbean retreatOther Britons soon followed Fleming to Jamaica, including his friend Noel Coward, who became a near neighbour at Blue Harbour. But while many such glamorous names established themselves on Jamaica's north shore, the living conditions were not as sophisticated or sybaritic as might have been expected. Indeed, Noel Coward renamed Ian Fleming's house Golden Eye, Nose and Throat, in critical homage to its faulty design, inadequate facilities and appalling food. | |
| Nevertheless, it was to Fleming's house in Jamaica that Anthony Eden journeyed in November 1956, when his health had collapsed in the aftermath of the Suez fiasco for which, as British Prime Minister, he bore the ultimate responsibility. | Nevertheless, it was to Fleming's house in Jamaica that Anthony Eden journeyed in November 1956, when his health had collapsed in the aftermath of the Suez fiasco for which, as British Prime Minister, he bore the ultimate responsibility. |
| It was a politically disastrous decision, to head off to the sun-drenched Caribbean, leaving his beleaguered cabinet colleagues to sort out the mess and pick up the pieces. When he returned at the end of the year, Eden had no choice but to resign, with his political career over. | It was a politically disastrous decision, to head off to the sun-drenched Caribbean, leaving his beleaguered cabinet colleagues to sort out the mess and pick up the pieces. When he returned at the end of the year, Eden had no choice but to resign, with his political career over. |
| Yet despite repeated ill health, his retirement was a long one, and he spent much of it in the Caribbean - not in Jamaica, which by the 60s would become a less attractive destination than it had been in the immediate aftermath of WWII, but in the British colony of Barbados, where Eden regularly escaped the English winter until his death in 1977. | Yet despite repeated ill health, his retirement was a long one, and he spent much of it in the Caribbean - not in Jamaica, which by the 60s would become a less attractive destination than it had been in the immediate aftermath of WWII, but in the British colony of Barbados, where Eden regularly escaped the English winter until his death in 1977. |
| Island paradise | Island paradise |
| By the time Anthony Eden and his wife Clarissa had settled in Barbados, the island had superseded Jamaica as the preferred Caribbean destination of both the British and the American rich, and if there was one person who was responsible for initiating this trend, it was the appropriately Anglo-American personage of Ronald Tree. | By the time Anthony Eden and his wife Clarissa had settled in Barbados, the island had superseded Jamaica as the preferred Caribbean destination of both the British and the American rich, and if there was one person who was responsible for initiating this trend, it was the appropriately Anglo-American personage of Ronald Tree. |
| A January honeymoon in Barbados for Beatle George HarrisonHe was always known as Ronnie, he was born in the UK of US parents, he was extremely rich and his first wife was the niece of Nancy Astor. During the 30s, Tree established himself in the inner sanctums of British politics. As a Tory MP he opposed Neville Chamberlain's policy of appeasement, and it was at that time that he became a friend and supporter of Eden's. | A January honeymoon in Barbados for Beatle George HarrisonHe was always known as Ronnie, he was born in the UK of US parents, he was extremely rich and his first wife was the niece of Nancy Astor. During the 30s, Tree established himself in the inner sanctums of British politics. As a Tory MP he opposed Neville Chamberlain's policy of appeasement, and it was at that time that he became a friend and supporter of Eden's. |
| Tree also purchased Ditchley Park, a beautiful 18th Century mansion located in Oxfordshire, not far from Blenheim Palace, where Winston Churchill regularly stayed for weekends during WWII. | Tree also purchased Ditchley Park, a beautiful 18th Century mansion located in Oxfordshire, not far from Blenheim Palace, where Winston Churchill regularly stayed for weekends during WWII. |
| In 1945, Tree's life changed dramatically. He lost his parliamentary seat at the general election, and he soon sold Ditchley. One of his reasons for doing so was that he had divorced his first wife, and married Marietta Peabody Fitzgerald, another upper class American with an impeccable East Coast pedigree. | In 1945, Tree's life changed dramatically. He lost his parliamentary seat at the general election, and he soon sold Ditchley. One of his reasons for doing so was that he had divorced his first wife, and married Marietta Peabody Fitzgerald, another upper class American with an impeccable East Coast pedigree. |
| But she loathed the countryside, and she was bored by country life, so Ronnie and Marietta Tree duly decamped to the US. There they established themselves as two of the most glittering figures in New York high society, where Marietta involved herself in Democratic politics, and she also conducted a succession of affairs with such high-end figures as John Huston and Adlai Stevenson. | But she loathed the countryside, and she was bored by country life, so Ronnie and Marietta Tree duly decamped to the US. There they established themselves as two of the most glittering figures in New York high society, where Marietta involved herself in Democratic politics, and she also conducted a succession of affairs with such high-end figures as John Huston and Adlai Stevenson. |
| In 1946, Tree visited Barbados for the first time, and he fell in love with the island. He acquired a 40 acre plot where he built Heron Bay Villa, constructed from local white coral stone, in a grand Palladian style that was in some ways more appropriate to Ditchley than to Barbados. | In 1946, Tree visited Barbados for the first time, and he fell in love with the island. He acquired a 40 acre plot where he built Heron Bay Villa, constructed from local white coral stone, in a grand Palladian style that was in some ways more appropriate to Ditchley than to Barbados. |
| Nevertheless, this Tree House, as it was called, fitted well into the lush, tropical landscape and it soon became the social centre of the island for visitors from the US and UK, and as Heron Bay became ever more overflowing with guests, Tree resolved to establish a hotel nearby, where his friends could both stay and pay. | Nevertheless, this Tree House, as it was called, fitted well into the lush, tropical landscape and it soon became the social centre of the island for visitors from the US and UK, and as Heron Bay became ever more overflowing with guests, Tree resolved to establish a hotel nearby, where his friends could both stay and pay. |
| He bought a 400 acre sugar plantation, that had recently gone bankrupt, which was named Sandy Lane, and there he put up his luxury hotel, which opened in 1961, and which soon became a mecca for the rich and famous. | He bought a 400 acre sugar plantation, that had recently gone bankrupt, which was named Sandy Lane, and there he put up his luxury hotel, which opened in 1961, and which soon became a mecca for the rich and famous. |
| Climate change | Climate change |
| By the time Ronnie Tree died in 1976, Barbados had been independent of British rule for 10 years, and the world had moved on since Anglo-Americans like him had first set foot in the Caribbean. Yet the Americans and the British keep visiting in January and February each year, and this winter tourism is a major industry in Barbados, as it still is in Florida. | By the time Ronnie Tree died in 1976, Barbados had been independent of British rule for 10 years, and the world had moved on since Anglo-Americans like him had first set foot in the Caribbean. Yet the Americans and the British keep visiting in January and February each year, and this winter tourism is a major industry in Barbados, as it still is in Florida. |
| Hurricane approachingIn the long perspective of history, these are relatively recent developments. It's scarcely a century since Henry Morrison Flagler made Florida an attractive getaway destination, and it's not much more than 50 years since Ronnie Tree did the same for Barbados. | Hurricane approachingIn the long perspective of history, these are relatively recent developments. It's scarcely a century since Henry Morrison Flagler made Florida an attractive getaway destination, and it's not much more than 50 years since Ronnie Tree did the same for Barbados. |
| But how much longer will it last? If the most pessimistic predictions concerning global warming are borne out, then rising sea levels may spell the end for The Breakers, for Sandy Lane and for other less expensive hotels. So if you can afford to spend the winter in Florida or Barbados, you might be well advised to do so sooner, rather than later. | But how much longer will it last? If the most pessimistic predictions concerning global warming are borne out, then rising sea levels may spell the end for The Breakers, for Sandy Lane and for other less expensive hotels. So if you can afford to spend the winter in Florida or Barbados, you might be well advised to do so sooner, rather than later. |
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| Add your comments on this story, using the form below. | Add your comments on this story, using the form below. |
| A very interesting article about the history of certain holiday destinations, but it had absolutely nothing to do with global warning, as the introduction suggests. The final paragraph about other people's global warming predictions is almost irrelevant.Paddy Scott, Melbourne, Australia | |
| Don't you think it's a little contradictory to suggest to people that they go somewhere 'sooner rather than later' when in so doing they will hasten the demise of the very places that they're visiting? This lack of thought about what we are doing to the planet is the reason we're in the mess we're in today. Nick | |
| To trivialise the huge impact of climate change on the natural world and many millions of people in focusing the loss of a few low-lying rich-man's playgrounds is just ludicrous. Wouldn't it be much better if people stopped taking such extravagant trips half way around the world and helped reduce their carbon footprint instead? When are people going to realise that we have to give up our addiction to long distance leisure travel?Mark, Lowestoft | |
| Mark from Lowestoft is missing the point of global warming. Whilst long distance (air) travel is pretty harmful, I recyle everything, cycle anywhere local - including to work 7 miles away in the summer - and to the local market to buy local produce (I only fill my small diesel corsa up every 6 weeks), don't buy air freighted products in the supermarket and live in a house with state of the art double glazing and insulation. As a result, I have the cash and enough unused carbon to justify a long haul air trip to myself every year...Alex, Birmingham, UK | |
| As ever I am baffled as to the PURPOSE of David Cannadine's piece on this site. Does it have a point, or is historical name dropping now a spectator sport?Mark, Reading |