The term British West Indies refers to the former English and British colonies and the present-day Overseas Territories of the United Kingdom in the Caribbean. In the history of the British West Indies there have been several attempts at political unions. These attempts have occurred over a period of more than 300 years, from 1627 to 1958, and were carried out, or sometimes imposed, first by the English and then the British government. During this time, some of the attempted unions were true federations of colonies and others involved attaching various colonies to a major, nearby colony for the purposes of cheaper, efficient government or because the attached colonies were too small to justify a governor and administration of their own.