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How the racial issues of colonialism impacted the political culture and structure of the postcolonial Caribbean.

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How the racial issues of colonialism impacted the political culture and structure of the postcolonial Caribbean.

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Racism can be dated back to the era of European Colonialism. During colonialism a people of several races were brought into the Caribbean as slaves and indentured workers, namely the Africans, Indians and Chinese. These immigrants, along with the indigenous people and the Europeans themselves, contributed to the multiracial society of the Caribbean today. The diversity of the slaves were used by the Europeans for the organisation of the hierarchy of the plantation system. In that, the skin colour of the races determined the rank that they would be given. The lighter skinned and white servants were treated less brutally than their ‘black’ counterparts, were given more privileges and were awarded higher social ranking (hierarchy structure 2017) – an act that the Chilean sociologist, Alejandro Lipshutz, described as pigmentocracy.

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Pigmentocracy, during colonialism, resulted in the rise of social issues associated with the race of a particular person. As the Europeans claimed that the whites and the light-skinned population were best in education, earnings and the socio-economic status, while the blacks fell behind on the social ladder (Lynn 25). This developed a Caribbean where to be ‘white’; that is being of lighter skin complexion, having straight hair, a slim-bridged nose among many other Caucasian phenotypical features, was connoted as high class. As of such they had a certain measure of material comforts, privilege, power and general social approval (Allahar 26). Lower down the social ladder the skin complexions of the people became darker and the social privileges became less. This development resulted in the ‘whites’ believing that they were of more prestige and of more worth, as they were given more opportunities and were treated better than the rest. In other words they felt that they were superior to the black population. This sense of highness caused them to ridicule, discriminate and oppress the darker race. In early colonial times the lower class started to believe that they were in fact of less worth and were indeed not deserving of the rights and privileges, that were ‘so called’ put in place for the whites. However, through education as the colonial societies became more liberalised and democratised, the people, especially the black or darker population, experienced an empowerment that caused them to buy into a liberal-individualist ideology. This empowerment brought them to the point where they embraced liberal democratic politics and race inequality, among many others, as the natural characteristics of social life and social development.

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Politics, as described by Andrew Haywood, “…is the activity through which people make, preserve and amend the general rules under which they live,” (Haywood 2) The ways in which this was carried out in the Caribbean (its political behaviours) were strongly influenced by the convergence of elite control or middle-class domination, authoritarian governance and the resistance by the masses in conjunction with the progressive sections of the middle classes. (Hinds 352) David Hinds also believed that the features of the postcolonial Caribbean politics has been an attempt to instill a political culture that would seek to reflect the expressed desires of the new political elites that would eventually evolve a new course that stands radically different from the former colonial orders. With this in mind the elites established common grounds with the masses, who held independence as an opportunity to create new political, social and economic ideas and spaces, in which their condition as a whole would be improved. Having this power the political elites proceeded to dictate, manage and rule the form and content of the now developing political culture or structure of the Caribbean. A political structure where the masses would associate with the political heads who demonstrated favour of their beliefs and values. Most of the times these values and beliefs were based on the historical processes experienced by the people.

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Race has been the most influential factor in the development of the political structure of Caribbean nations, especially those that are part of a “multiracial creole complex”. Described by anthropologist M.G. Smith as a “hybrid of cultures that did not become fully fused at all the various national levels…” (Allahar 24). Some islands have experienced internal division and segregation among its own people, because of this issue. The issue of race being the backbone of the Caribbean’s political structure occurred during the postcolonial times and is still evident in the contemporary (modern) Caribbean society; and as such the political disputes continued to increase as the masses became more focused on the ethno-racial cultures of the Caribbean and within the various nations. The specific races and ethnic groups continued to fight for themselves and compete against each other. They sought differences among the groups and amplified the cause rather than try to resolve the matter and fuse together as one unified body. They fought for a power to become in control of the next, to prove that they are strong, powerful and independent. Hence, what would have been one nation, has become many nations within the same space.

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Guyana, having a high diversity of ethnicity and race within their population is an ample example of racial-political division. Approximately 50% of Guyana’s population is made up of East Indian immigrants, about 35% is of African descent and the remaining 15% is divided among the Amerindians, Europeans, Chinese and Portuguese. This being the case, Guyana has become divided into two major groups, that being the Indo-Guyanese and the Afro-Guyanese. The fight between these two groups to obtain leadership of the country’s government caused the country to divide more and more. The racially-aligned politics between the two main divisions that are well rooted in their colonial policies caused the development of a racial voting system where the Indo-Guyanese would vote for the Indo-Guyanese leaders and Afro-Guyanese would vote for Afro-Guyanese leaders. Violence ranging from riots to assassinations would be displayed by these groups during the ever heated electoral season (Chaubey, Mawson, & Kuris 2013). During this time the various ethno-racial groups would ridicule and discriminate each other. The dispute among them would go as far as revisiting the colonial era where the superiority of one group over the next was clearly defined by the Europeans. In other words the ‘so called’ inferior groups were reminded of where they belonged. The Indians would use the fact that they were given more privileges, more ownership of land and being the wealthier group, to prove that they ought to be the rulers of the country. It can therefore be deduced that the effects of pigmentocracy on the people of Guyana still persist today. The “whites” wanting to remain at the top and the “blacks” making powerful strides to get there.

Another prime example of division within a multi-racial society is that of The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. Trinidad and Tobago has chains of tension that would have derived from the country’s multi-ethnic population that is made up four ethno-racial groups. These being the Africans, the East or Asian Indians, the Europeans and the Chinese. These groups have co-existed on the lands of Trinidad and Tobago, but have failed to evolve a consensus of share values so as to embark upon a common citizenship and share identity (Ralph R. 2010). Just as Guyana, two main divisions exist. That being the Indo-Trinidadians and the Afro-Trinidadians, with the former having the greater percentage of the two. At one time “some Indo-Trinidadians claimed racial persecution at the hands of the Afro-Trinidadian populations and requested that the country be partitioned to create a separate state” (Allahar 25). The conflict between the groups, just as their fellow neighbours, has been influenced by their colonial history and in turn has influenced the political structure of the nation. In modern times the racial tension among the different ethnic groups was keenly evident in the 2010 elections, where Mrs. Kamla Persad-Bissessar, fought against the late Patrick Manning to obtain leadership of the nation. They represented the Indo-Trinidadians and the Afro-Trinidadians respectively. The political leaders fought for their rightful votes from the masses by whatever means necessary; while the masses fought among themselves in aim to prove which race was worthy enough to be seated on the throne. Pigmentocracy, again, comes to play in this situation and as such the same ideas as for any other multi-racial society took effect.

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The thought of dividing into separate nations only remained as ideas in Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago; and the people learnt to coexist with one another as the years went by, even though common views and theories were not shared. However, in Hispaniola, the thought became a reality. Hispaniola was last ruled by the French during the colonial era. On the island existed a population of African and Spanish descent who had rivals between them that stemmed from eurocentrism, ethnocentrism and the great pigmentocracy. The empowerment of the “blacks”, those of African descent, led them to rebel against the French rule, form a republic and fight against the Spanish, the “whites”. As a result in 1844 the island was divided into two separate states – the Dominican Republic and Haiti (Lynn 29); predominantly of the ‘white’ (Spanish) population and the ‘black’ (African) population respectively. This racial division still exists today as the two states do not interact efficiently with one another. The idea of superiority remained with the Spanish population and the effect of being racially and socially evicted, discriminated and demoralised by the ‘white’ population lived on with the Haitians. Hence the political structure of Hispaniola is highly corrupted by the conflicts and disputes between the ethno-racial societies. The two states uphold separate lives, in that the government relations are completely independent of the other. They have become two islands that are not separated by water.

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The Caribbean society experienced phases of war, genocide, colonialism, slavery and racism. (Allahar 22) The effects of these historical processes, being the divisions and conflicts among the people, have persisted throughout the years and have become the stem cell of the Caribbean’s political cultures or structure so to speak. This report aims to answer the question, “How have the racial issues of colonialism, impacted the political culture and structure of the postcolonial Caribbean?” It will explore the formation of the modern (post colonialism) Caribbean’s political structure and focus on the impact of colonialism on its formation. The political structure, where the issue of race is concerned, of Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago and Hispaniola, three Caribbean Countries, would also be observed

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“Colonisation, slavery, sugar plantations and racism are some of the essential ingredients that went into the construction of the modern Caribbean and that have served to fashion today’s political realities in various Caribbean countries.” (Allahar 24) Political cultures or structures where ones race and ethnic background determined his stand on a political level. As the years go by, the hope is to see the Caribbean nation, through education and empowerment, eradicate all racial barriers that were built during the colonial times and were strengthen during the postcolonial era. It is only until the Caribbean is of one common goal and vision themselves as one people and when prejudice and ethnocentrism cease to exist, the people of the Caribbean can be termed as have been truly liberated.