REVISION - CARIBBEAN HISTORY

Slavery, Revolts, Emancipation and The United States in the Caribbean

Systems of Labour in the Caribbean
EUROPEAN INDENTURESHIP / BONDSERVANTS

1) System of labour which recruited Europeans ( poor emigrants, farmers,

craftsmens and convicts) to work on tobacco farms in St. Kitts , Barbados
etc.
2) They were given free passage to the Lesser Antilles when they signed a 5
year bond.
3) At the end of the 5 years they were given a few simple tools and 5 acres /
2 hectares of land to start their own tobacco farms.
4) The working conditions were good at first but quickly deteriorated, long
work hours , food was terrible and they were subjected to arbitrary
punishments.
 Chattel Slavery
1) Chattel Slavery speaks primarily to the enslavement of Africans.
2) Under this system a person has total ownership of another.
3) There are two basic forms of chattel, domestic chattel, with menial
household duties and productive chattel, working in the fields.
4) When a slave has a child , that child is born into slavery and is a slave for
his/ her entire life.
5) Enslaved Africans worked on the sugar cane plantations for free from
their arrival in the Caribbean to their death.
6) They were not allowed to leave the plantations without their masters’
permission.
THE TRIANGULAR TRADE
The Triangular
Trade
Europe to West Africa to
Americas back to Europe
 The Transatlantic Trade

1) The voyage from Europe to West Africa took 2 to 6 months. They traded pots,
pans, cotton, woollen items, mirrors, cheap jewellery firearms and alcohol.
2) Captives were obtained in raids, prisoners of war , debt and criminals. They
were collected from the forts/ factories after being transported in coffles.
3) The Africans were washed, branded and kept in barracoons until the ships
were ready.
4) The Middle Passage was a 6 to 8 week journey from West Africa to the
Americas.
5) Conditions were deplorable and inhumane.
 At the
Caribbean Port
The captives were washed and
prepared for sale. After purchase they
were transported to the estates and
went through a “ seasoning” period.
 EFFECTS OF THE SLAVE TRADE

SOCIAL EFFECTS

1) Decline in the Population

2) Creation of Single Parent Families
3) Many orphans were left behind
4) More women than men now in the society
5) Many villagers died as a result of the tribal warfare
6) Disunity in the African society
7) An atmosphere of fear and instability was created
 EFFECTS OF THE SLAVE TRADE

ECONOMIC EFFECTS

1) Traditional crafts such as iron working and weaving died.

2) Importation of cheap and inferior European goods flooded the market
3) Loss of workers due to skilled craftsmen being seized as slaves
4) Villagers were left without their strongest workers
5) Some villages were able to increase their output of food for sales to slave
ships
6) Other villagers were left without farmers so the farmlands were abandoned
7) The Gold Coast lost skilled gold miners to Brazil.
 EFFECTS OF THE SLAVE TRADE
POLITICAL EFFECTS

1) Justice system became corrupt as people were sentenced to slavery for minor crimes
2) Tribal warfare increased and their was disunity among Africans
3) Rise of professional armies came about with the arrival of firearms
4) Military skills became more important than traditional political systems
5) States like Benin, Oyo and Dahomey acquired the strength to expand and conquer their
neighbours from money acquired from the slave trade.
6) The power of the chiefs were built up from a representational character into an autocratic
one.
7) The decay of the political fabric of the states, the welfare of the people became secondary
to the lust for power and wealth which slave raiding would bring.
 THE SLAVE TRADE AND THE CARIBBEAN

SOCIAL EFFECTS

1) Increase in the number of Blacks present in society

2) Change of the composition of the population from dominant whites to more
blacks than whites

POLITICAL

3) Introduction of repressive laws to control the enslaved Africans

ECONOMIC

4) Production of goods for trade such as rum, molasses, cotton, indigo and sugar
Resistance and Revolt
The Haitian
Revolution
1791- 1804
The Main Events
of the Haitian
Revolution
From The French Revolution to
the declaration of Independence
in 1804.
SEE TIMELINE OF MAIN EVENTS
MAIN PERSONALITIES OF THE HAITIAN REVOLUTION

1) Vincent Oge
2) Boukman Dutty
3) Toussaint L’Ouverture
4) Dessalines
 EFFECTS OF THE HAITIAN REVOLUTION

POLITICAL

1) Lack of rulers without vision

2) Civil wars abounded as rulers sought to overthrow each other
3) The republic was split between Christophe ruling the North and the mulatto
Petion ruling the South.
4) France demanded that Haiti pay a heavy compensation for the loss of
investment caused by the Revolution
5) Haiti's independence was not recognized by European countries and the
United States
 EFFECTS OF THE HAITIAN REVOLUTION

SOCIAL

1) Loss of thousands of lives

2) Basic needs - healthcare, education, public buildings, roads, could not be met
effectively
3) Mass migration of mulattoes from the country
4) Ending of centuries of oppression and the blacks united in freedom
5) Racial animosity continued and there was rivalry between the mulattoes and
the blacks.
 EFFECTS OF THE HAITIAN REVOLUTION

ECONOMIC

1) The collapse of St. Domingue’s sugar industry and export economy was
totally destroyed
2) No proper land management system allowed people to settle anywhere even
on steep mountainsides
3) Peasant farmers cut down large numbers of trees for fuel which caused an
environmental disaster
4) European countries and America refused to trade with Haiti
5) Blacks had greater access to land
HOW THE REVOLUTION AFFECTED OTHERS?

1) It showed slaves elsewhere that the whites were NOT unbeatable

2) Emigration of the mulattos led to an increased French Creole population in
other Caribbean territories such as Cuba, Trinidad, puerto Rico and Venezuela
3) Increase in the price of sugar on the world market
4) Cuba replaced Haiti as the dominant sugar producer in the Caribbean
5) Slave control was tightened in other territories
6) The argument for abolition was strengthened
The Demerara Revolt - 1823
 THE DEMERARA REVOLT

CAUSES

1) Slaves wanted freedom

2) Misinterpretation of the Amelioration Proposals
3) House slaves overheard the masters debating the matter and so they believed
freedom was granted
4) Sailors spoke to the slaves about what was being done for them in England
5) Some slaves who could read got hold of newspapers and publications of the
ANTI- SLAVERY SOCIETY.
EFFECTS OF THE DEMERARA REVOLT

1) 47 slaves were hung others flogged and imprisoned

2) Rev. John Smith was arrested and blamed for stirring up the rebellion he was
found guilty and died in prison before his pardon came from England
3) The rebellion aroused humanitarian feelings in England and encouraged the
campaign for freedom
4) The events were so widely publicized that they had a profound effect on
public opinion
5) The slaves were defeated by better organized armies
6) Led to fear among the whites
Emancipation
Movements to Emancipation
The Steps to Abolition
 Legal Reasons

Mansfield Judgement The end of the Slave Trade

The Economic Causes

Support for the abolition of slavery was received from the

merchants and Industrialists who wanted protectionism to
be replaced with free trade.
The Social Causes

The Emancipation revolts - Barbados 1816

Demerara - 1823
Jamaica - 1831
The slaves themselves fought to be free.
The Political Causes

The constant lobbying of Wilberforce in Parliament to end

the slave trade and then slavery itself..
The failure of the Amelioration Acts in 1823.
The Reform Act of 1832
 The role of the Humanitarians

The Clapham Sect

The Baptists
The Quakers
The Methodists
 THE EMANCIPATION ACT OF 1833

1) Children under 6 years were to be freed immediately

2) All children 6 years and over were to serve as apprentices
3) 100 stipendiary magistrates were allocated to supervise the operations of the
Apprenticeship system
4) Planters were paid 20 mil pounds compensation for their loss of property
5) Field slaves had to serve 401/2 hours each week until August 1, 1840
6) House slaves had to serve full time but only until August 1, 1838

NB- Emancipation was a gradual process

Question: How did the slaves and planters benefit from the Act?
Apprenticeship
 FEATURES OF APPRENTICESHIP

1) Children under 6 whose mother could not care for them had to remain on the
plantation until they turned 21
2) All apprentices were classified either praedial or non- praedials
3) Employers would continue to provide clothing, food, allowances and shelter
and were responsible for the sick and aged
4) Apprentices were to be paid for additional labour they provided
 PROBLEMS

1) Apprentices were sometimes threatened with demotion to the field for offences
like acts of insubordination
2) Provision grounds that were provided were far away from the plantations and
usually infertile
3) Some planters refused to provide the basic allowances of rum and saltfish and
allow their animals to graze on estate land
4) Stipendiary Magistrates were too few and overworked and underpaid
5) Magistrates did not get sick leave or a return passage to England
6) Both Planters and Apprentices mistrusted the Magistrates
7) Local legislators and assemblies obstructed the Magistrates from doing their work
 SUMMARY OF APPRENTICESHIP

1) Apprenticeship was a part of the compensation package for planters

2) Apprenticeship was declared to be a time to prepare the enslaved and their
masters for freedom under the supervision of the Stipendiary Magistrates
3) The colonial assemblies still had law making powers during Apprenticeship
4) The system was conflict ridden and did not work smoothly
5) It was terminated to prevent rebellion and disorder
PUERTO RICO
 THE US INTEREST IN PUERTO RICO
THE UNITED STATES ACQUIRED PUERTO RICO AFTER THE SPANISH AMERICAN WAR
ENDED IN 1898

1) Defense - strategic location , naval base to protect the Canal

2) Investments - millions of dollars and capital were invested in sugar and tobacco,
banking, manufacturing and public utilities
3) Market Outlet - She would become one of the sure markets for American manufactured
goods while at the same time providing her with raw materials to feed her industries
4) Ideological - Puerto Rico was a PROTECTORATE of the US , and subjected to military
rule from 1898-1900.Thereafter an American governor and a council whose members
were nominated by Americans formed the government.
 The Foraker Act or First Organic Act

As of 1900 the Foraker Act governed Puerto Rico’s political systems and
operations

It established a civilian government and defined Puerto Rico as an

INCORPORATED TERRITORY

The new government was made up of a governor , 11 member Executive Council,

4 Puerto Ricans appointed by the US president ( Senate)

The Lower House comprised 35 members elected every 2 years

Puerto Ricans could not travel freely to America and were not US citizens
 THE JONES ACT OF 1917

1) American citizenship was extended to all Puerto Ricans

2) A greater measure of self government was extended to Puerto Rico , the
President could still appoint the Governor but Puerto Ricans could now elect
their own 19 member Senate and 39 member lower house
3) Puerto Rico was not a state in the US and so Puerto Ricans could not vote in
federal elections unless they were resident on the mainland at the time of the
elections.
 BENEFITS OF BEING A US PROTECTORATE

1) Religious freedom
2) Disinfecting slums and street cleaning introduced
3) Mass vaccination was done
4) Old schools were improved and new ones built
5) Employment increased
6) Labour laws were passed introducing an 8 hour workday
7) A forest conservation program was started
 GOVERNOR LUIS MUNOZ MARIN

Leader of the Popular Democratic Party and became President of the Senate in 1940

He wanted to make the following reforms in Puerto Rico:

1) Land reform
2) Better public housing
3) More equal social insurance

Governor Rexford Guy Tugwell appointed by President Roosevelt and Munoz Marin
set about remaking Puerto Rico with an industrialization programme called
OPERATION BOOTSTRAP
 OPERATION BOOTSTRAP
A INDUSTRIALIZATION PROGRAMME

1) Sugar - expropriate lands more than 243 hectares , no one person should own more than 243
hectares of land
2) Alternative Crops - Pineapples, farms for beef and dairy cattle, pigs and chickens were set up
3) Industry - Local factories were built to use the island’s resources such as limestone, silica .
Fruit processing plants and leather goods were also made along with a clay pottery factory to
utilise the island’s clay deposits
4) Private Enterprises - Forign companies were invited to open factories in Puerto Rico and
would be exempted from paying taxes for 25 years - most of the new factories made clothes,
food processing, electrical goods assembly, footwear manufacture, metal production,
machine assembly and chemical production.
 OPERATION BOOTSTRAP

Land Programmes

1) Rural electrification and housing projects - 400 dollar house scheme was
set up , farmers paid $15 down and the rest on interest free installments
each month , by 1948, 90,000 farmer tenants lived in their own houses
2) Land - New land was provided by swamp draining
3) On government lands labourers were granted quarter hectares plots of
land on a lifetime lease.
4) Areas not needed for sugar were often divided into family sized farms
and sold to the poorest farmers on a long term payment basis
THE INVASION OF GRENADA
 ERIC GAIRY’S GRENADA
Eric Gairy became PM in 1967, he was eccentric because he believed in UFOs.

1) His regime was corrupt, he wasted public funds on personal items while the hospitals in
Grenada was poorly equipped.
2) When the nurses went on strike to protest the deplorable conditions , they were tear gassed on
the orders of the PM and 22 of the nurses were imprisoned and transferred to other islands
3) Gairy owned 30 estates while the poor owned little land
4) In primary school , each class had 80 children
5) He used terrorists called the Mongoose Gang to kill those who opposed him
6) He had 6 members of the Opposition beaten
7) There was no freedom of speech - in 1975 he passed the NEWSPAPER ACT
8) In order to get a place in the newspaper you had to pay $20000 up from $900
 GRENADA AFTER 1979
Maurice Bishop became PM in 1979 after his party THE NEW JEWEL MOVEMENT seized
power when Gairy was off the island

The Ruling party was the People’s Revolutionary Government

Changes made include:

1) Free secondary education

2) Preventative medicine campaign
3) Health clinics built
4) Housing scheme built for the masses
5) An international airport was built
6) Unemployment decreased from 30% to 15%
 WHY DID THE GOVERNMENT FAIL?

1) Some party members were dishonest

2) Citizens became frustrated at the pace of reforms , some had to be cancelled
due to lack of international funding
3) The new government received little support from other Caribbean islands
because of their Communist leanings
4) Grenada and the PRG were alienated from the international market and had
only Cuba to partner with
5) There was a division within the party as some felt that Bishop was not radical
enough
Operation
Urgent Fury
1983
 WHY DID THE US INVADE GRENADA?
On October 19, 1983 Bishop and his Cabinet She was concerned about the safety of several
members were brutally murdered in a coup by hundred US citizens who were students at ST.
some of his former friends. George’s Medical University in Grenada

They called themselves the REVOLUTIONARY As with Cuba she was concerned about the
MILITARY COUNCIL spread of COMMUNISM in her backyard

The October revolution represented CHRONIC She intervened to stop the extremists and
WRONGDOING radicals from taking over the country

The US applied the ROOSEVELT COROLLARY TO

THE MONROE DOCTRINE
HOW DID THE CARIBBEAN REACT TO THE COUP?

Caribbean leaders from the OECS met in

Barbados

Other Caribbean countries such as

The leaders took the decision to join the Jamaica sent a contingent to Grenada
United States armed forces that would to help crush the revolution.
invade Grenada
 EFFECTS OF THE US INVASION OF GRENADA

1) Law and order was restored

2) 800 US soldiers stayed behind for one year to oversee the provisional
government and the elections held in December 1984
3) Communism and socialist ideologies ceased on the island
4) The New National Party came to power led by Herbert Blaize was a
democratic party that was in favor of American influence
5) America used the opportunity to capture and deport 800 Cuban workers that
were assigned to help in Grenada’s development program
6) The US soldiers were involved in undesirable activities such as gambling and
prostitution
SEE SAMPLE ESSAY ON GRENADA