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The course, Caribbean Civilisation, tells the history of the Caribbean through a refreshed perspective that is not taught in primary or secondary schools. It allows the student to understand historical events that shaped the Caribbean beyond what any history textbook can achieve. Caribbean Civilisation shows history through the eyes of both sides.
This course encouraged and simulated awareness on how century old events still impact people and societies today. It allowed me to feel unified with others in my class as being part of the Caribbean and allowed me to realize that we, as Caribbean people, are part of a bigger picture.

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Indian Investments; A Tale of East Indian Indentureship

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Indian Investments; A Tale of East Indian Indentureship

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Works Cited
Fenelon, James V.  Genocide, Race, Capitalism: Synopsis of Formation within the Modern World-system. Vol. 22 Issue 1 Page 23-30. University Library System, University of Pittsburgh. 2016.

Williams, Eric. Capitalism and Slavery. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1994. Print.

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Indian Investments; A Tale of East Indian Indentureship 

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Indian Investments; A Tale of East Indian Indentureship 

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The post emancipation era gave rise to the introduction of indentured labour. Agriculture was a main industry in India which meant the East Indians would not need special instruction to work on the fields of the Western British colonies. Since the British had an ease of access to India and Indian labour, they took advantage of this and decided to being Indentured Labour. The East Indians were promised many material riches in exchange for signing contracts to work on the fields of the western colonies. Because of the strong presence of the Caste System, many poorer Indians believed that there was no other way to escape poverty and support their families than leaving India and becoming Indentured Labourers.

Even though slavery was abolished, the Indentured Labourers were not treated any better than the enslaved were. They were subjected to physical and emotional stress, harsh working conditions and nasty treatment by the plantation owners. Suicide rates among the labourers were also very high. For the labourers who survived to see the end of their contract, they were either paid or given land. The land distributed was very near to the plantations, therefore some still continued to work on the plantations even though their contract was completed and the British were still able to extract cheap labour from the indentured labourers.

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Works Cited
Fenelon, James V.  Genocide, Race, Capitalism: Synopsis of Formation within the Modern World-system. Vol. 22 Issue 1 Page 23-30. University Library System, University of Pittsburgh. 2016.

Williams, Eric. Capitalism and Slavery. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1994. Print

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Breaking the Shackles; Extracting the last of it

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Breaking the Shackles; Extracting the last of it

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When slavery was abolished within the British Colonies, the complete abolition took four years, 1834 to 1838. This four-year period was referred to as the Apprenticeship Period. The British claimed that this four-year period was necessary to help the enslaved readjust to having freedom and allowed for a better transition from an enslaved life to a free life. They claimed that the period was also necessary to give planters the opportunity to develop labour structures and equipment.
his Apprenticeship Period was also a way of getting as much free labour remaining as possible before slavery became totally abolished. The enslaved were still worked under terrible conditions and were not treated any better. The British did not see the need to treat the enslaved any differently than before, because they believed that the enslaved were without souls and believed their lives were meaningless.

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Breaking the Shackles; Emancipation of the Enslaved

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Breaking the Shackles; Emancipation of the Enslaved

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It can be said that the British abolished slavery for humanitarian reasons, due to feeling guilty of the horrific treatment and harsh conditions endured by the enslaved Africans.  Similarly, it may seem that slavery was abolished largely as a result of the humanitarian actions of Abolitionists who worked constantly to highlight the inhumane conditions that faced the enslaved.

Although these may have been minor contributing factors, Dr. Eric Williams, in his book Capitalism and Slavery, provided a thesis that slavery was abolished simply because it was no longer profitable to the mother country. He states that the fall of slavery was not an act of guilt or religious control, but was driven by economics.  “Here, then, is the origin of Negro slavery. The reason was economic, not racial; it had to do not with the color of the laborer, but the cheapness of the labor.”
(Dr. Eric Williams, Capitalism and Slavery)
There was increased competition from beet sugar plantations in Asia, Cuba, Brazil and Puerto Rico. Beet sugar was also less expensive and easier to produce than sugar cane sugar. The demand for the sugar cane industry was declining, plantations started to go into debt and the cost of producing sugar was becoming too expensive. Therefore, with the fall of the sugar cane industry, there was no longer a need for enslaved sugar cane industry workers.

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Works Cited
Fenelon, James V.  Genocide, Race, Capitalism: Synopsis of Formation within the Modern World-system. Vol. 22 Issue 1 Page 23-30. University Library System, University of Pittsburgh. 2016.

The Triangular Trade: The Abolition of Slavery Project. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2017.

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The Plight of the Africans; A Story of Enslavement 

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The Plight of the Africans; A Story of Enslavement 

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As the indigenous peoples suffered and their numbers began to dwindle, the Encomienda System was no longer profitable to the European mother-countries. They turned to the next available form of cheap labour, African Enslavement. At the same time, however, in Africa, there did exist slavery, however this was domestic slavery and was not nearly as torrential as the work awaiting in the Caribbean.
The enslaved Africans were treated inhumanely, they were crammed onto over crowded ships and were given little to eat whilst living in horrendously unsanitary conditions. Some of them died aboard  the ships and several contracted diseases.

Enslaved Africans were seen as property rather than human workers. They were oppressed and were not allowed to practise their own culture or religion. Family life among the enslaved was not encouraged. They were punished and tortured severely, they had no rights.
Slave trading was by itself a market, as some Europeans saw a business in buying slaves from Africa or from plantations on Caribbean Islands and selling these slaves on other islands, whilst making a profit.
Even though some would run away from the plantations, the plantation owners claimed such an event as a death and would collect compensation for 'loss of property', emphasizing the fact that the enslaved were not seen as humans.

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Works Cited
Fenelon, James V.  Genocide, Race, Capitalism: Synopsis of Formation within the Modern World-system. Vol. 22 Issue 1 Page 23-30. University Library System, University of Pittsburgh. 2016.

Hofman, Corrine et al. Stage of encounters: migration, mobility and interaction in the pre-colonial and early colonial Caribbean. World Archaeology Vol, 46 Issue 4. Routledge & Kegan Paul. 2014

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The history of the Caribbean is rich with blended cultures and natural diversity. Although, engraved in all territories are stories of colonies struggling to boost the economies of their respective mother-countries...stories of genocide, slavery, indentureship and emancipation. The impact of them all on the Caribbean's development and its people can still be seen in many of the island cultures today.

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Woes of the Indigenous; The Encomienda System

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Woes of the Indigenous; The Encomienda System

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The word 'Encomienda,' has a Spanish origin, meaning 'commission.' It refers to a system used by Spanish colonizers to reward explorers who voyaged to the New World and found 'unclaimed' land which would then be a colony of the mother-country.
However, these voyagers only rediscovered the lands, because many territories in the New World were already home to many tribes such as the Tainos (Arawaks) and the Kalinagos (Caribs). As such, the Encomienda System turned into a way of making these natives into 'encomendados' or 'the commended'.
Under the system, the native people were now expected to work in the fields or mines for the mother-country's explorers as tribute to the mother-country.

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Woes of the Indigenous; Injustice to the 'Encomendados' 

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Woes of the Indigenous; Injustice to the 'Encomendados' 

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The Encomienda system did not seek the fair or humane treatment of the natives, who were now called the encomendados. It was disastrous to the natives. The Spanish claimed that the system delivered much needed civilization and Roman Catholicism to the encomendados in return for their labour.
In 1503, Queen Isabella issued the declaration:
…if such Cannibals continue to resist and do not wish to admit and receive my Captains and men who may be on such voyages by my orders nor hear to them in order to be taught our Sacred Catholic Faith and to be in my service and obedience, they may be captured and are to be taken to these my Kingdoms and Domain and to other parts and places and be sold.
(quoted in Sauer, 1966 : 162)
In reality, they were severely mistreated and tortured. Not only were they over worked by the Spanish, but they were exposed to new illnesses brought to the New World from Europe by the voyagers. These illnesses (such as measles and smallpox) spread throughout the native population and claimed the lives of many.
The Encomienda System aimed to extract as much free labour as possible from the colony islands with little regard for the encomendados; the indigenous peoples.