The West Indies Federation, also known as the Federation of the West Indies, was a short-lived Caribbean federation. It lasted from January 3, 1958 to May 31, 1962. It was made of several Caribbean colonies of the United Kingdom. The expressed intention of the Federation was to make a political unit that would become independent from Britain as a single state—possibly similar to the Canadian Confederation, or Australian Federation. Before that could happen, the Federation collapsed due to internal political conflicts.