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From the end of slavery in 1834, plantation owners had to look for additional sources of labour since the then ex-slaves decided to leave the plantations. This is where the labour schemes began, from the Chinese, to Portuguese, and even Indians. Hence the beginning of democratic diversity in the Caribbean. When the Chinese came, they did not particularly like the labour that they had to go through, and decided to become their own shopkeepers. When the Indians came, however, they came with their own religion, customs, dress, and even food.
In countries like Trinidad and British Guiana, there is a high population of Indian persons, as these two countries are where the majority of Indians migrated to when they were brought in for labour purposes. There would have already been the presence of African persons in several of the Caribbean countries.

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One can assume that diversity began upon the arrival of Christopher Columbus and his crew from Spain. Their maritime explorations had begun a new era of democratic diversity within the Caribbean. After making several trips and settling in some Spanish territories, other European nations adhered to the policy of effective occupation where they would claim any unclaimed land in the Caribbean. From then on, there was an influx of Spanish, French, British and Dutch into the Caribbean who began their reign over these Caribbean countries. From then on, slavery existed and ended and other persons were brought into the Caribbean such as the Africans, Chinese, Portuguese and Indians, and eventually there would have been mixtures of groups, some more prominent than others but still a presence of each group in most, if not all the Caribbean territories. As a result of this multitude of diasporas in the Caribbean, we have a diverse agriculture, culture, dress and food. There is farming of animals and crops which allows for the sustainability of our Caribbean territories, and the rearing of animals yields produce such as milk, beef, eggs and so on. Native wear from each diaspora into the Caribbean has remained with us as well as unique foods that has gained their own “Caribbean” touch such as pelau, oil down, coo-coo and even callaloo. However, it is important to note that although these meals may have been native to a diasporic group, it is common today for persons of a particular group to enjoy food native to another race.

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Placing a focus in Trinidad it can be noted that the current dispersion of ethnicities in Trinidad of African, Indian and Mixed are approximately, 38%, 37% and 24%. In the past, a child born with a parent of African descent and another descent was looking down upon and termed a dougla. The then derogatory term is used very commonly today to identify a ‘mixed’ person of predominantly both African and Indian features. This difference, however, is especially prominent during election times as there are two major political groups which comprise mainly of two supporters from the two main ethnic groups. In the People’s National Movement (PMN) the supporters are mainly of African descent and in the United National Congress (UNC) the supporters are mainly of Indian descent. Racist comments about each group can be heard and seen during this time, completely different to during carnival for example, where everyone partakes in the revelry regardless of race or ethnicity. Despite being nationals of Trinidad, it is unlikely in my opinion that we would ever be unified, as one people, as Trinidadians. Despite how much we try to make ourselves seem to be a unified nation, there would always be that one person who looks at someone of a different race, or even their own race, and looks at them in disgust or scorn. There are those who will want to and try to make a difference and they are entitled to their own opinion, but to what cause? Who knows.

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On another note, both ethnic groups unify when they come together to celebrate festivals native to a particular ethnic group. For example, curry is made for Divali by both Africans and Indians, even though the festival itself is native to Hindus, those of which are mainly Indian. You can also witness persons of African descent wearing the clothes that an Indian person would normally wear around that time and for Indian persons to wear clothes native to Africans. The same can also be said for the food native to both ethnic groups where Africans make curry something native to Indians, and Indians make pelau, or provision, something native to Africans. This is form of breaking barriers between both ethnic groups that has been carved since slavery days. This acceptance of each other’s race can also be seen when the religious norms of a particular race is acknowledged or respected by someone outside of that particular race. For example, when the season of Lent occurs, person in the food industry provide alternative means for persons who decided to fast from mean and other certain foods. This is also seen where other religions are fasting and do not eat certain foods. It shows that despite religious and ethnic differences, we still portray a sense of comradery.

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From the video, it can be observed that there is more racial diversity in the windward islands. In St. Kitts, there is not much diversity and the population is mainly black, which indicates that they did not have much need for additional labour after slavery ended. In Barbados Grenada, and Trinidad, you can find persons of African, Indian, and even Caucasian and Asian descent. This can be so because Trinidad, Barbados, and Grenada are near to each other and there was need for additional labour, so the Portuguese, Indians, Africans, Chinese and other immigrants who were brought to the Caribbean would have not only be brought to Trinidad and British Guiana but the other surrounding Caribbean territories. This diversity can be seen in many places, whether with each race, or a mixture of races.

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For this course, my initial expectations were low, because I thought that this course would have been just another history course, a subject that I disliked a lot. However, since the first lecture with Dr Campbell, I found the course to be interesting and captivating, making an effort to understand what was being taught and appreciate this newfound information. Being able to share what I learned, and interact with my other peers through our WhatsApp group chat, Caribbean Civilisation. With the goal of being a unified Caribbean, we sought to achieve that in a social context, and interacted with each other, learning things about other Caribbean countries that we didn’t know previously. I do not regret one second of doing this course, even with the stress of university life and keeping my academics on track. FOUN 1101, Caribbean Civilisation, is a true eye-opener, and a welcome life lesson that helps me understand my Caribbean people more.

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2011 Census Data. Central Statistical Office. Web. 19th April 2017.
Unit 3: The Diversified Caribbean in the 16th and 17th centuries, . University of the West Indies. Web. 20 Feb. 2017.
Unit 5: The Caribbean in Demographic Motion: Emancipation, migration and Intendureship. University of the West Indies. Web. 6 Mar. 2017.