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The history of the Caribbean is a rich one. The region was initially colonised by various European groups, such as the Spanish, French, Dutch and British. Moreover, these groups brought persons of different ethnicities to work in the Caribbean, such as the Africans, Indians and Chinese. Consequently, Caribbean society is comprised of a diverse range of races and religions, making our culture wonderfully unique. With the extent of diversity that exists within the region, comes the problem of mistrust and intolerance. Hence, issues of mistrust and intolerance with respect to race, local content and religion within the region will be examined throughout this piece.

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Plantation society was structured around a pyramid of social stratification. This stratification was determined by race. Those with a lighter or fairer skin tone were placed higher in rank than those whose complexion was darker. As a result, the European planters occupied the highest rank in plantation society, followed by the mulattoes (those who had European and African parents) and at the bottom of the pyramid was the African people. The African people received the worst treatment on the plantation, being whipped, flogged and kept in unsanitary living and working conditions. However, those higher in rank, for instance, the mulattoes, received far better treatment. This is evident in the statement, “the brown (mixed race) slaves were positioned in privileged occupations in the hierarchy of the slave plantation economy, usually as slave artisans.” D. Robotham, Blackening the Jamaican Nation, Identities 7 (2000), 1–37.

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Moreover, the legal system implemented in the British colonies during the colonial period were dominated by Europeans. They imposed harsh laws upon Caribbean people. Some may argue it was an attempt to maintain social control and order. However, a pertinent point in this argument is that the punishments that were ruled for dealing with the African people were extremely harsh. It was said that “The planter class and the British authorities actively used the death penalty and corporal punishment to enforce the laws of their colonies. The most common forms were hanging and flogging. Plantation owners often exercised their own forms of brutal punishment over slave populations, but also had the option of allowing public authorities to try and punish their slaves.” Ezekiel Rediker, Courts of Appeal and Colonialism in the British Caribbean: A Case Courts of Appeal and Colonialism in the British Caribbean: A Case for the Caribbean Court of Justice (35 MICH. J. INT'L L. 213, 2013), 222.

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Furthermore, one of the strategies used by the European planters to control the Caribbean people was ‘divide and rule’. They created a division among the African population and the Indian population in the region. This was because the Africans and Indians combined, were much greater in number than the European population. Therefore, the aim of the colonizers was to create a psychological barrier between these two groups so that they could maintain their control over the them.

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As stated by Nakeba Stewart, “The planter elite rationalized the division of labour by claiming that Africans were poor workers, lazy, irresponsible and frivolous while East Indians were characterized as industrious, docile, obedient and manageable. Later, some East Indians also adopted this view of the enslaved Africans. Hence the perpetuation and institutionalization of hackneyed image of the oppressed by a group in a similar situation. East Indians were also stereotyped as stingy, prone to domestic violence, and a heathen for not adopting ‘Western ways’.” Nakeba Stewart, RACE AND COLOR IN TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO (Trinidad and Tobago News, 2004). Therefore, the division between the both groups was reinforced by the Europeans. This attitude instilled in the Caribbean people has remained a part of their mind set. Hence, mistrust with respect to race is still prevalent in the contemporary Caribbean. It is evident in Trinidad and Tobago’s political system, where members of one party are predominantly of African descent and members of the other are predominantly of Indian descent. This has created tension between these two racial groups in the country and as aforementioned, this attitude of racial mistrust has stemmed from plantation society.

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Mistrust and intolerance with respect to religion is still very much prevalent in the contemporary Caribbean. This problem is rooted in plantation society and has been engrained into the minds of Caribbean people by the colonisers.

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During the colonial era, intolerance was blatantly shown towards African religions by the planters. The enslaved Africans were not allowed to practice their religious rituals such as beating their drums or any other form of worship, on the plantation. For instance, “Fearing the use of loud instruments to communicate rebellions, Europeans created laws in the Americas to prohibit large numbers of enslaved people from gathering on their own time for funerals or other events.” Slavery and Remembrance (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization). Hence, the Europeans placed these restrictions upon the African slaves for fear that it would lead to insurrections.

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This would have caused great mental suffering to the enslaved since it was as though their identity was being stripped away from them. In an attempt to preserve aspects of their religious background, they created African syncretic religions where they intertwined some aspects of the African religions with aspects of Christianity, the religion of the slave masters. Thus came the evolution of religions such as Voodoo, Shango, Santeria and Shouter Baptist.

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While this could have been seen as a way of escaping the religious intolerance at that time, African syncretic religions still faced intolerance within the Caribbean.

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For example, the Shouter Prohibition Ordinance, which prohibited the Shouter Baptisits in Trinidad from practising their religion. “Draconian powers were vested in the hands of the Police in Trinidad and Tobago “… without a warrant to enter at any time of the day or night any house, any house, estate land or place…and to take the names and addresses of all persons present at such Shouters’ meetings or Shouters’ house” (Clause 7, Par 1)” Legal Aid and Advisory Authority, Shouter / Spiritual Baptist Liberation Day (2019). This statement places emphasis on the extent of religious prejudice, mistrust and intolerance that was experienced by the African group in the Caribbean.

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Moreover, during the colonial period, Muslim and Hindu marriages were not recognized by the legal system until the 1930s and 1940s, respectively. Only Catholic marriages were seen as legal at the time. Consequently, if the husband from a Muslim or Hindu marriage were to die, the wife would not be entitled to anything that was owned by the husband. This reflects grave religious intolerance in Caribbean history.

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There is no denying the fact that these issues are still very much alive within the contemporary Caribbean. For instance, “Persad-Bissessar was criticised by Maharaj after she defended OJT teacher Nafisah Nakhid, a Muslim, who was told she could not wear a hijab at Lakshmi Girls’ Hindu College where she was assigned.” Anna Ramdass, “'He Fought against Injustice'.” (Trinidad Express Newspapers, 2019). In this quite recent case, religious intolerance is very clearly expressed as an individual was denied an opportunity in her teaching career due to her religious beliefs. Moreover, even when Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar attempted to defend the teacher, she was condemned. This example signifies the depths of mistrust and intolerance that corrupts Caribbean society, today.

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Mistrust with respect to locally produced merchandise is very prominent throughout Caribbean society.

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Undoubtedly, this problem stems from the colonial era. The European colonisers never allowed Caribbean people to manufacture any products for fear that the Caribbean would become self-sufficient. Their agenda was to create economies of dependency throughout the region, to ensure that that Caribbean consumers would always be reliant on importing their goods. Hence, throughout colonization, the Europeans would take the raw materials from the Caribbean, use it in the production of their goods and resell these products to the region.

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Consequently, for a period of time after the colonial era, there were not many well established manufacturing companies within the region. This fostered the feeling of mistrust amongst Caribbean people towards locally produced goods as they felt that internationally produced goods were more reliable.

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Moreover, it created a taste for foreign goods among Caribbean society. This issue has remained very prominent throughout the contemporary Caribbean. For instance, many individuals would much rather purchase clothing from international brands such as Forever 21 and Areopostle as opposed to any local clothing line.

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This attitude is also encouraged through the kind of programs and advertisements that are aired on television. Without a doubt, the majority of channels that are available with cable are owned by the United States. The clothing worn by characters on shows as well as the products being advertised all lend to Caribbean people thinking that these goods are superior to local goods.

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Another pertinent point in this argument is that through globalization and free trade agreements, there is an influx of Multi-National Corporations into the region. Food places, clothing stores and many more international outlets such as Sketchers, Aldo, Bluegrass, KFC and Subway are operating in various islands throughout the Caribbean. This further encourages the attitude of mistrust and intolerance towards local outlets since these products are becoming so readily available to our consumers.

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Unfortunately, this mistrust and intolerance with respect to local products can have adverse effects on the Caribbean, such as economic failure and cultural erasure. Some may argue that the influx of Multi-National Corporations in the region will create economic stimulation and will therefore be benefitting the local economy.

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While this may be true to an extent, the money produced by the Multi-National Corporations is repatriated to their respective countries. Hence, we must rely on the money produced by local businesses. However Due to the taste for foreign goods, locals are ignoring domestic businesses and this results in the closure of many.

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For instance, “The effect of these provisions of ‘Free Trade Agreements’ is to further strengthen the position of U.S. and EU corporations in exploiting the markets, labour and natural resources of Caribbean countries; placing local firms at a considerable disadvantage.” Norman Girvan, Colonialism and Neo-Colonialism in the Caribbean: An Overview (The Integrationist, 2012), 11. Therefore, the suffering of domestic businesses in the Caribbean counteracts any economic stimulation that is created through globalization.

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Additionally, while neglecting locally produced items such as dress and food, this results in cultural erasure. Many locals have swapped out their native dress such as the dashiki and the saari for Western clothing and native meals such as akara and aloo tikki for fast foods like KFC and Subway. Even tools used in the home, such as a swizzle stick, tabla and mortar and pessel have been replaced by new technologies introduced by foreign companies such as a food processor. Hence, the mistrust of Caribbean people towards local products is quite relevant in Caribbean society and it is evident in the suffering of domestic businesses and cultural erasure.

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On the other hand, it should be noted that in some situations one can observe cultural retention. For instance, for religious festivals such as Eid and Divali as well as for other celebrations like Emancipation Day, locals opt for their native wear and even cook traditional foods from their respective cultures.

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Illustrated below is a group attired in tradtitional Islamic wear for Eid ul Fitr.

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A family dressed in Traditional Indian wear celebrating a Hindu festival.

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Antilles Episcopal Conference Youth Assembly 2018

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Antilles Episcopal Conference Youth Assembly 2018

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Illustrated below is a group of ladies beautifully dressed in traditional African wear for the AECYA held in Martinique.

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Weighing up the evidence, it can be concluded that issues of mistrust and intolerence do still exist in the contemporary Caribbean. However, upon further analysis, one would discover attitudes of tolerence and unity among the region's diverse population. Hence, while mistrust and intolerance is evident in the contemporary Caribbean, at all levels, it only exists to a certain extent.