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The Magnificent Seven houses are seven mansions located around the Queens Park Savannah built between 1902-1910.

1. Stollmeyer's Castle

2. Whitehall

3. The Archbishop's House

4. Ambard's House

5. Mille Fleurs

6. Hayes Court

7. Queen's Royal College

In the early 20th century these seven buildings were the homes of the most elite, white families in Trinidad and only one family occupied each mansion.  This shows the classist aspect of civilization which was a common theme throughout the Caribbean. The whites were rich and everybody else fell into the lower class of society just as the colonizers had left it.

The intricate architectural structure of the buildings was modelled after countries that colonized the Caribbean. Hayes Court has a French colonial architectural style representing the influence that the Europeans had on the Caribbean. It demonstrates a xenocentric mindset and shows that the best houses were modelled after the colonizers because their culture was viewed as better.

The present day purpose of these seven buildings reflects other important impacts of colonial systems left over in the historical definition of the Caribbean. Queen's Royal College depicts the education system of the English. This was the first non-denominational secondary school in Trinidad and Tobago. To this day, it holds the prestige rank of a Grammar school of similar status in England. Most Caribbean countries follow this school system even though they are not governed by England anymore. Both Hayes Court and The Arch Bishop's House symbolize the religious beliefs left by the Spanish rulers. Christianity is viewed by some as the superior religion and is still the biggest religious group in the Caribbean. White Hall reflects the political trademark the English Colonizers left. Some of the Caribbean still follows the English judicial system and in Trinidad and Tobago the Court of Appeal in England remains the highest court.

Back in the day, the Magnificent Seven were esteemed buildings. Today, they are becoming white elephants because they are too expensive for the government to maintain. Their poor condition can be used as a metaphor to compare some of the problematic systems that remain in the Caribbean which do not fit with the culture of the 21st century society cohesively. In conclusion if the buildings or the cultures are not properly reviewed and renovated, they will collapse.

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In the picture below, Kurt Vonnegurt expresses a statement about North America in 1492 however, it is very relevant to the Caribbean in the same time period. It is often thought that “Columbus discovered the Caribbean" but discover is not an accurate word to describe Columbus’ actions because people were inhabiting the land before he came. Evidence shows that the neo-Indians better known as the Arawaks and Caribs lived in the Caribbean for an estimated 20 000 years before the Spanish came. Therefore a more appropriate term to use is "re-discovered" because he evidently was not the first person to explore the land.

In addition, Christopher Columbus' historic journal describes the earliest inhabitants as primitive. The Amerindians left no written evidence, however, there are artifacts and physical evidence that prove that this statement is false. The Neo-Indians lived a dynamic life. They had a social structure with a leader, the head chief, who made most important decisions. The men hunted and provided food for the family and women cleaned the household and nurtured the children much like today. They had a mode of transport mainly canoes, and for recreation they made complex but beautiful pottery. Hence, the first settlers showed characteristics of a developed society contradicting Columbus' reports. This also proves that there was settlement in Caribbean prior to Columbus.

Furthermore, in Columbus' journal he represented the Neo-Indians as primitive, barbaric people with no real culture. His ethnocentric mindset made it difficult for him to recognize them as a civilized settlement. They lived a very rural life compared to what he was accustomed to in Spain. Therefore, he did not see a problem with justifying the killing of the majority of the population and did not think he was creating genocide or cultural erasure. In my opinion he believed that he brought civilization to the Caribbean because he did not view the inhabitants before him as civilized. This may explain why his journal seemed inaccurate to Caribbean historians because it was written from his perspective, which was subjective based on his experience and motive, and not about facts.

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Caribbean chattel slavery, which occurred in the 18th century, refers to a period of time where slave owners regarded their slaves as objects or property and not as humans. I think the song “Sexy Employers” (1987) by Sandra “Singing Sandra” Des Vignes is a clear metaphor for how women were treated and felt in this period.  The male slave master often treated the women as objects by raping and flogging them, "Using the power of the kazan position, waiting to abuse and exploit any woman"(1987).

Some women felt as though they needed to allow abuse to happen in order to be favored or treated better than the rest. They settled for abuse or became "a slave second wife and deputy" in order to benefit from special privileges.

On the other hand, other women in slavery refused to be objectified anymore. This directly relates to the line, "I tell them they can keep their money, I go keep my honey and die with my dignity!!" The chattel slaves avoided ill treatment using very drastic measures like committing suicide or running away.

Interestingly, this song can also apply to women in the 21st century but from a more emotional than physical stand point. In the Caribbean today, women hold high positions in society like Portia Simpson-Miller past president of Jamaica. They also have choice and can make their own decisions.  However, many women still feel oppressed by glass ceilings. An example of this is when women have to work twice as hard in the work place to get the same job as a man yet "still you ain't know if these scamps will hire you."

The situation is further complicated by society's views on what a woman should be. " But when the man let down the condition, nothing else but humiliation," symbolizes that society depicts how a woman should act and what women should do and women are frustrated that men still decide their actions. In conclusion, the song represents both eras but differently.

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The apprenticeship is a system set in place by the colonizers after The Emancipation Act (1933) to prepare the 'freed' slaves to be functional members of society. Field slaves were apprentices for seven years and house slaves for four years. Apprentices were required to work for forty five hours a week before being paid a small stipend for any additional hours.

Initially, the planters needed to find a way to continue utilizing the Caribbean for their economic gains. Therefore they came up with an excuse that the slaves were 'wild animals' and needed to be taught how to live independently and implemented the Apprenticeship program. This allowed the planters a legal way to keep free or very cheap labour and not give up the wealth. Magistrates were put in place to ensure that the system was fair and the slaves were not being abused. However, the magistrates were corrupt which made the apprenticeship period uncivil.

“Neither freedom nor enslavement” is seen as a fitting phrase to describe the apprenticeship period. However, I believe the period still leaned more towards enslavement than freedom. After the Emancipation Act, technically slaves were supposed to be free and treated as apprentices with rights by being paid with no abuse/punishment. In contrast, they were only paid after they worked regular hours and were not made aware of their new rights. Even though punishments such as flogging, rape and physical torture were banned, the planters still found ways to torture them. If slaves disobeyed they were not paid and many laws were created to restrict slaves from becoming independent. In smaller islands such as Guyana, slaves would still secretly be physically abused if they showed resistance. Running on the treadmill while being whipped, as shown in the picture below, was one of these methods. Even though punishment and working conditions were definitely not as harsh as slavery, the apprenticeship system does not represent freedom and was more of a scheme to make slavery last longer. Thus, my opinion holds that the apprenticeship period was a total institution that portrayed little freedom and more enslavement.

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bencult. “G.B.T.V. CultureShare ARCHIVES 1999: SINGING SANDRA "Die with my dignity".” YouTube, YouTube, 31 Mar. 2011, www.youtube.com/watch?v=WH-UUCvVab8.

Boa, Sheena. “The         Apprenticeship Period.” The Apprenticeship Period, www.georgetownsvgrevisited.co.uk/the-apprenticeship-period.php.

Iiwinc. “Arawak and Taino.” Arawak and Taino in Jamaica | Caribya!, caribya.com/jamaica/history/arawak.taino/.

46. THE APPRENTICESHIP PERIOD, www.guyana.org/features/guyanastory/chapter46.html.