 In addition, they brought in many workers from Jamaica and Belize, both to work on the plantations, but also as lower managers and skilled workers.The companies often favored the West Indian workers because they spoke English and were sometimes better educated than their Honduran counterparts.This perception of foreign occupation, coupled with a growing race-prejudice against the African-descended West Indians, led to considerable tension, as the arrival of the West Indians drove demographic change in the region.