History, Culture and Society

Caribbean Studies

Periods of Caribbean History The Encounter: the Age of Discovery

The Settling Down: Colonization

Emancipation: Engaging in Freedom

Globalization: the Changing Encounter

Theme in Caribbean HistoryMigration

Genocide/Oppression

Resistance/Resilience

The Settling Down: Colonization This was the 17th, 18th and 19th century. Other Western Europeans challenged the

authority of the Spaniards in the 'New World'

This brought a number of conflicts: looting;plunder; raids and attacks from privateers,pirates and buccaneers

An emphasis was made on colonization: by the French, British and the Dutch.

Colonization meant that each Caribbean territory was ruled or governed by Western European Country

The Settling Down: Colonization The significance of Historical Events and

Processes: European settlement and colonization Slavery The Sugar Revolutions (around 1640) The Development of the Plantation and

Economy and Society

The Settling Down: Colonization Some significant historical events were:

Various rebellions, maroon wars

The Haitian Revolutions

The Abolitions of the Slave Trade (1807 in

the British Colonies)

Emancipation (1834 in British Colonies)

The Settling Down: Colonization The Treaty of Tordesillas, 1494- divided the

'new world' between the Spanish and Portuguese.

This blocked other Europeans from the wealth of some islands.

Then the ruling colonizers could not supply the region with the goods that was needed.

The trading agreement Asiento allowed: the Portuguese, the Dutch and the British to trade.

The Settling Down: Colonization The treaties were too weak to allow the

Spanish to continue the dominance because: The Britain and Netherlands disregarded the

treaties because they were ex-Roman Catholics and it was the Pope who assign authority to the treaties.

France was Roman Catholic, but was in conflict with the Vatican about the leadership in the France Church.

The wealth of the Indies made it impossible for the Spanish to keep other countries out. Wealth was too attractive for one Country to have it all

The Settling Down: Colonization The British, Dutch and French who came to

the Caribbean to pillage, steal and smuggle defying the treaties were, therefore, interlopers- they were there illegally.

They were successful at there quest because the empire of the Spaniards was too huge and unwieldly for the Spanish to police, govern and supply effectively.

The Europeans then started to migrate to the Indies in large masses of people. They laid claim to the settlement where these immigrants settled.

The Interlopers The first that came

was: 'Poor white' Criminals Farmers Victims(of war,

poverty and hardships in Europe)

They were contracted as indentured servants

Indentured servants were to: Plant tobacco Other crops

The claims were not enough because of the constant raids from other Europeans

War broke out both in Europe and in the Caribbean.

The Result of the Wars

The treaty arrangement often involved handing over territory to victorious

European powers.Colonization

Discussion Identify countries of the Caribbean that were

colonies of France, Britain, Spain and Dutch European countries.

Are there any countries in the Caribbean that are still colonies of any of the above?

Discuss using indentified territories how colonization influence the country's culture and society.

The Settling Down: Colonization cont'd Migration: African

Slavery The Indenture

Servants were reluctant and unable to work. It was too hard for them

Indentureship became very expensive

There was a swift change from tobacco cultivation to Sugar

This was called the sugar revolution-1640. This created a

enormous and mammoth vacuum for labour that was cheap and efficient.

This change affect life then and is still having a significant impact on society and culture even today.

The Migration: African Slavery Reason for African

slavery:

Slaves even though they are expensive to buy they eventually were far more economical

Indentured servants could not cope with the bulk of work

Little maintainance

They were regarded as inferior to other races

They were made for the climate.

They were physically built for hard work.

The Migration: African Slavery Slaves came primarily from West Africa:

The gold coast

The guinea coast

Benin

To the 'New World' The connection between sugar and slaves are seen

clearly in the Atlantic Triangular Trade system around two 'commodities' .

Ships left British 'slaving' ports of Bristol, London and Liverpool laden with manufactured goods of gun, cloth and utensils and made for the West African Coasts.

There they traded these goods for captured slaves. They then made their way across the Atlantic to the Caribbean and North American-this leg being known as the Middle Passage-

Where the human Cargo was traded for raw sugar,rum and molasses in the Caribbean and cotton and tobacco in North America.

To the 'New World' The ships then made their final leg to Britain

carrying these product to be refined, feeding the industrialization.

It was noted that over 20 million African slaves were captured and forced into the journey of the Middle Passage

It is posited that this was the official genesis of globalization- through the slave trades.

Genocide and Oppression:Slavery

More advance European weaponry gave

European slaver master superiority thus

they dominated the slaves.

The Africans were treated

harshly,overworked, beaten, tortured, and

killed at the whim of European.

Genocide and Oppression:Slavery

African were regarded as chattel, that is,

as property, not Human, and once born

into slavery could not escape.

Christianizing the slaves was apart of this

process.

Influence of slavery It most be noted that slavery has a social,

cultural and economic impact on the

Caribbean both now and then.

THEN refers to the 17th, 18th and the

early 19th century.

NOW refers to the contemporary life in

the Caribbean.

Influence of slavery Economic- THEN

The plantation system- slave labour

This was the economic life- agricultural system.

Plantation was a business

Plantations monopolize the flat fertile coast, where roads settlements and ports were established.

Economic- NOW Sugar still

dominate- Guyana, Barbados, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Cuba,Santo Domingo and Belize.

Slavery was not abolished in some Spanish colonies until the 19th century- labour was by freed slaves or indentured servants.

Influence of Slavery Social- THEN

Demographic changes:

From white dominating Caribs and Arawaks

To White dominating a large enslaved population

Social life became stratified according to class and colour.

Social- NOW African dominated Whites in the

minority- top of the social strata.

Ethnic group at the top through social mobility

Majority of people living in poverty are African and East Indians.

Influence of slavery

Cultural-THEN Cultural life, that

is, the dress, the religion, food, language, music developed as a syncretic mix of European, Indigenous and African Traditions

Cultural- NOW African traditions are at

the helm. Examples: African dress and

fashion. Revival of the Orisha

and other Afro-centric religions.

Rastafarianism as an African- based philosophy in opposition to eurocentric values

Response to Slavery: Resistance and Resilience

You should note that they were few rebellions that were successful during Slavery.

However, they showed resilience and resistance.

“African slaves resisted their predicament, even when they appeared to be happy and contented. Their forms of resistance could be describe as passive, active, and a combination of both known as maroonage.”

Response to Slavery: Resistance and Resilience

There were three ways that the slaves

resisted on the plantation:

Non-Violent

Violent Resistance

Maroonage

Non- Violent Resistance Refusal to work Evasion of work Malingering Deliberately losing tools and implements Misunderstanding instructions Composing songs that mimicked the whites

life style suicide

Violent Resistance Individual or group acts against white

persons. In Jamaica there were numerous rebellions

between 1673 to Emancipation in 1834. The revolution in Haiti mushroomed into

war between France and the slaves in 1791, the slaves being victorious.

Read up on the Haitian revolution and its impact on the society of slaves then.

Maroonage Slaves ran away far from European society They would wage wars in the form of

attacks, raids and inspiring rebellion on Estates.

In Jamaica maroon settlement were successful in defending runaway slaves from being recaptured.

They lived in inaccessible territories such as the Blue Mountain and the Cockpit countries.

Resilience Maroon communities maintained African

Culture as a way of life; The slaves maintain life as usual:

By establishing families;

Support network of friends;

Organize subsistent provision grounds;

Sold some of their produce;

Engage in forms of recreation for

enjoyment.

Society and Culture Today Caribbean people continue to resist oppression

through music and song- reggae and similar movements in Jamaica music originated among the poor and the oppressed and so too did the steelband and Calypso in Trinidad.

Resilience and resistance are shown through our

propensity to adapt.

European traditions may dominate, for example,

Christian faith, but they have been syncretized by

other traditions, example Rastafarianism.

The End

Any questions?

Emancipation: “Engaging” FreedomEmancipation: “Engaging” Freedom

History, Culture and Society.History, Culture and Society.

What happened?What happened? The British parliament abolished slavery in

1834, to take effect 1840. The Apprenticeship System- designed to

facilitate the transition from a slave society to one of a free man.

This was more to facilitate the planters more than the slaves themselves.

Caribbean ResponseCaribbean Response Barbados and Antigua abolished slavery

without the apprenticeship system. This created difficulties:

Constant tension between whites and blacks

The rights of the newly freed were with held because there were no representation in the early emancipation.

Sugar price competition: from India, South Africa,Australia(all apart of the British Empire) and Cuba and Belize.

What Resulted?What Resulted?

The response of the ex-slaves varied across the Caribbean.

Barbados and Antigua ex-slaves had no choice but to continue working on the Estates for wages

Wages were extremely low thus the Majority of Africans lived in abject poverty.

What Resulted?What Resulted? In larger territories such as Jamaica,

Trinidad and Guyana, the ex-slaves could move away and set up their own small provision grounds and maintained a resilience, self-sustaining living.

The planter class in these countries faced labour shortage.

The turn was to Indentured Servants.

IndentureshipIndentureship Free labour was sourced from Africa,

India and china. They were to work for 5 to 7 years for

small wages. They were promise a free passage back

home or a piece of land. They were treated harshly and

inhumanely.

IndentureshipIndentureship Most of the labour came from India.

Between 1838 and 1917 half a million were sent to

Guyana to work on sugar estates.

Approximately 145000 migrated to Trinidad

38000 to Jamaica; 2500 to Grenada and smaller

numbers to St Vincent and St Lucia.

Thousands of Chinese came to Trinidad, Jamaica and

Guyana.

Intra- Caribbean and Metropolitan Intra- Caribbean and Metropolitan MigrationMigration

Over-population occurred due to the depression in the economics of the plantation system.

There were several mass migration.

Thousands of Jamaican went to Cuba as

Labourers on newly established plantations.

Many Barbadians, Jamaicans and others

went to Panama in the 1900s to build the

Panama Canal

Intra- Caribbean and Metropolitan Intra- Caribbean and Metropolitan MigrationMigration

The Caribbean benefited immensely from remittances.

Many of the people did not return. The largest migration was to the 'Mother

country' Britain. This happened in the aftermath of World

War II (1939 – 1945). The migration facilitated the rebuilding of

the country.

IIntra- Caribbean and Metropolitan ntra- Caribbean and Metropolitan MigrationMigration

In the 1960 and 1970s Britain and France established stringent qualifications of entry.

The economic condition were not getting better thus in the same period they turned to Canada and the United States of America.

These countries followed the trend of the British and France government.

OppressionOppression Indentured servants faced harsh living

They were given crowded barracks, meagre

wages, long hours of heavy manual labour.

Incurred many debts.

East Indian Indentureship ended in 1917 because

of the harsh treatment of Indians living abroad.

There was constant strain between the Africans

and the East Indians and the Planter Class.

Resistance and ResilienceResistance and Resilience The African invested in Alternatives and

made attempts at economic diversification.

There was a great highlight of extreme resourcefulness and entrepreneurial skills.

The development of a dynamic and independent peasantry.

Resistance and ResilienceResistance and Resilience The settled in Free Villages and bought

out bankrupt or abandoned sugar estates. Some simple squatted on vacant land. They cultivated traditional food and cash

crops, and banana, coconut, rice, and arrowroot.

They also accept seasonal labour on the estates.

Other ThingsOther Things The East Indians introduced Rice:

Produced cocoa and ground provisions.

The Chinese moved into local commerce,

shops, laundries and restaurants.

Conclusion The period of Emancipation: Engaging FreedomEmancipation: Engaging Freedom

saw increasing culture pluralism in the Caribbean. The aftermath of slavery and Indentureship also

saw the different groups brought by the Europeans making a bid to settle down and resist the negative influences Europeans domination.

The economy became diversified as Caribbean people became more resilient.

Freedom also meant emancipation from oppressive economic policies and political freedom.

This era saw Caribbean people struggling for economic survival, for the establishment of Trade Unions and their own political parties.

Globalization: The Changing EncounterGlobalization: The Changing Encounter

The trend and occurrence of migration, oppression resistance and resilience

continues in the 21st century.

GlobalizationGlobalization Connotes the following:

Deepended interconnection and relationship

between all countries of the World.

Cheap and efficient transport.

Increase accessibility to the mass media.

Increase in Information and

Communications technology (ICT).

Globalization: Caribbean styleGlobalization: Caribbean style Drug trade has levied sanctions from the

United States of America The Shiprider Agreement gives the United

States armed forces the right to enter our sovereign sea and air space to pursue and arrest suspected drug traffickers.

There is increase deportation of Caribbean nationals.

Globalization enables metropolitan countries to intervene in the movements of Caribbean people I and out of the region.

OppressionOppression The impetus of Globalization came from the

industrialized world. The tenets of globalization is in their

interest to eliminate trade barriers, to be able to move capital quickly and locate their operations anywhere they wish.

They are help in all this by the innovations of the ICT.

Multinational Companies (MNCs) headquarters in industrialized countries- dominated the world economy.

Globalization made their presence hegemonic.

OppressionOppression Caribbean countries like most developing

countries are caught in the bind. Were were use to trading agricultural

produce with Britain and France. Things changed with Globalization- preferential treatment was anti globalization policies.

Preferential treatment was now thrown through the door by the European Union (EU).

OppressionOppression To cope with the monolith, Caribbean

countries have had to align themselves with various regional, sub-regional and bilateral integration Schemes, such as:

OESC

CARICOM

MERCOSUR

ACS

FTAA

OppressionOppression In a globalized world the industrialized

countries benefit the most. The activities of MNCs and the regulations

of organizations such as the EU and the World Trade Organization (WTO) acts as a neo- colonialist regimes.

Most Caribbean countries are independent but economic ties are more binding. Tis is similar to the plantation society and their slave masters.

Resistance and ResilienceResistance and Resilience Globalization is both a threat and an

opportunity for Caribbean states and has generated a range of responses.

Caribbean countries have resisted by siding with the countries of the global south (developing) countries.

Cultural erasure has been combated by avid efforts of Cultural retentions and cultural renewal.

One cultural response is Rastafarianism- it looks at capitalism as 'Babylon' and stress peace.

Readings Chapter four-Tracing history in the

Caribbean society and culture. Pages 93-124. In Cape Caribbean Studies: An Interdisciplinary Approach

Chapter three- History, Society and Culture. Pages 52-87.Caribbean studies self study.