Impact of historical process

IMPACT OF HISTORICAL PROCESS

Timeline of Caribbean History1300’s - Migration of the indigenous people1200’s

1492 The arrival of Christopher Columbus to the new world

1498 Discovery of Trinidad and Tobago

1610 African Slaves

1783 Arrival of the French

1797 British Colony

1838 Europeans Came

1845 East Indians

1848 Chinese

1300’s – 1200’s Before Christopher Columbus re-discovered the West Indies the land

was occupied by the indigenous people which comprised of the Tainos and the Kalinagos. The Tainos occupied the Greater Antilles while the Kalinagos occupied the Lesser Antilles.

Kalinagos: They dyed their body with a red dye called roucou Caribs families lived in rounded dwellings called marouina, made of two

rooms which often had an additional recess for jewels, tools and/or weapons. The Ajupa, was a shelter in the field used temporarily during the harvest. The Carbets were huge oval-shaped community houses used for social events

Caribs made very good baskets and basket-type objects They made Hammocks Since cassava and fish were the foundation of their diet they fished in the

rivers wit their hands, with nets, or wit herb that anesthetized the fish. They also fished in the ocean, where they showed great courage in their pirogues or in their "kanoahs" which were very large boats that could carry up to fifty men. The square sail they used is identical to the on used on today's gomiers.

The Caribs fought with boutous, (heavy, sharp-edged-clubs), and bows and arrows 

They played the flute and board games

Tainos: They temporarily settled at the top of hills, along rivers and coast They had mud and thatch houses Their leader was known as the cacique They had large areas under agricultural production Manioc (cassava) was the main crop, they also planted yam and sweet potatoes They hunted for turtles, iguanas agouti The cacique wore coat of feathers and strings of beads from jade and jasper Their clothing was limited to a short skirt for women; it cut, color and way of

wrapping indicating their social class and age. Men and women wore ornaments, usually composed of strips of cotton tied up above their knees and around their upper arms. They painted there bodies

Hair was long and straight The Arawaks were "animists", which means that they believed in the inner connection

of the two worlds (the visible and the invisible one) and in the existence and survival of the soul in the environment (tree, rivers, etc.). They adored the sun, the moon, the stars and the springs, and the Butuous, their respected priests and medicine men are, according to Metraux, the ancestors of present-day Haiti's "docteurs-papier' or ('Docteur-Feuilles')." The Arawaks believed in eternal life for the virtuous. In Hispaniola they situated their "heaven" in a remote part of the island, where the elected would go to rest and eat the delicious Haitian "apricot." Very little is known abut their political organization. Substantial kingdoms existed and their Kings - the Caciques- exerted absolute power on their subjects.

They hunted little mammals or lizards with sticks, and birds with stones. They had domesticated a breed of dog, which they used for hunting and occasionally as food. Since the sea providing them with a great bounty, they had therefore developed much more efficient ways of fishing and navigating. The proximity of the island favoring sight navigation they did not embark in long sea faring expeditions as Polynesians will in the Pacific Ocean. If they lived in round dwellings, there also existed rectangular houses, with porches, reserved for dignitaries. Their art of weaving was highly developed and the cotton hammock in which they slept was one of the few long lasting contributions they made to European culture. They made good baskets and agricultural tools; and sometimes sculpted wooden seats. Their pottery was extremely refined and of real artistic value; even though they ignored the potter's wheel, like all pre-Columbian American Indians

TainosKalinagos

Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus is an Italian explorer who developed the hypothesis that the world was round. In an attempt to prove this theory of his Christopher Columbus approached Portugal as well as England where he was turned down by the government. After many attempts he then went to Spain to ask for an audience with King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. After his conversation with them, the Spanish Crown granted him funds for the sake of occupying lands in the Orient as part of the Spanish colonies. Christopher Columbus re-discovered the West Indies in four voyages where he met with the Amerindians who at that time had settled within the Caribbean.

Christopher Columbus’s 4 Voyages

African In the 17th century, as a result of the increasing competition from the Virginia

, the Dutch introduced the cultivation of the Sugar Cane Plantation. As a result

of this the slave trade secured a contract to supply 50,000 African Slaves to

plantation owners in Trinidad in the next ten years. These slaves, already

disoriented, were now forced into a brutal life of labor and surveillance. Day

after day, the Africans cultivated crops, tended to animals, and served their

"owners" in any way possible. Sixteen to eighteen hours of work was the norm

on most West Indian plantations, and during the season of sugarcane harvest,

most slaves only got four hours of sleep. The punishment for disobeying an

order was far worse than just accepting what was asked. This treatment of the

slaves created anger and hatred towards the white plantation owners, feelings

that the slaves could vent in only one way: resistance. They often had

experience of agriculture and keeping cattle, they were used to a tropical

climate, resistant to many tropical diseases, and they could be "worked very

hard" on plantations or in mines.

French

For almost three hundred years; Trinidad remained a colony

neglected by the Spanish. Few Spanish settlers were attracted to

that colony. Spanish traders did not see it profitable to visit the

island regularly. This patterns of neglect changed in 1783 with the

introduction of the Cedula of population. The Cedula provided a

draft land to Roman Catholics from another Caribbean islands who

were willing to settle in Trinidad. Many of the French settlers from

Grenada, Martinique and St. Lucia Migrated to Trinidad with their

African slaves to start a new life. Over the next fourteen years,

Trinidad received approximately 2,000 French settlers and 10,000

African slaves. Sugar cane and cocoa production, in Trinidad,

expanded significantly with the coming of the French.

British

The French and the British were envious of the expansion of the

Spanish empire in the Caribbean. They therefore decided to use all

means possible to capture some of the Spanish territories. In 1797,

Sir Ralph Abercromby seized the opportunity to capture. Trinidad

and made it a British colony.

Trinidad was then ruled under a system known as Crown Colony

Government.

This System consisted of:

A Governor, representing the Crown

A council, chosen by the government to advise him

Europeans

The emancipation of slavery in 1838 created a labour

problem for the plantation owners. The Africans’ dislike of

slavery and plantation work led to them moving away from

sugar cane cultivation. The planters, therefore, needed an

alternative source of labour. The planters approached the

government to implement an immigration scheme to ease

their plight. European bonded labour saw the arrival of

Irish, German and Portuguese laborers'. These immigrants

comprised the poor, the destitute, the homeless and

convicts , all seizing a new start in a new country. The first

group of European immigrants came in 1839.

East Indians With the failure of the immigration schemes identified above, the British

then turned their attention to the Far East in search of laborers. The first

group of East Indians immigrants arrived on the 39th may, 1845, aboard

the Fatal Rozack. This day is now celebrated as a national holiday- Indian

Arrival Day. East Indians successfully solved the labor problems because

the laborers were:

Available in large numbers

Accustomed to the rigors of agricultural work

The indentured Indians immigrants were contracted to work for a term

of five years. After completion of this term, the immigrants were back to

be given the opportunity to take a parcel inplace of a return trip to India

Chinese

In 1848, the Indian government stopped the

immigration scheme to the West Indies. The British

then turned their attention to China . The Chinese

were accustomed to hard work, as some had

previously migrated to work on sugar estates in the

Philippines and Java, The Chinese scheme did not

include the offer of a free return trip to china. In fact

after there Indentureship they moved away from the

estates to open businesses such as laundries and

shops.

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