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Dictionary.com. “Religion.” Dictionary.com, Dictionary.com, www.dictionary.com/browse/religion. Accessed 20 Apr. 2017.

Dictionary.com. “Colonialism.” Dictionary.com, Dictionary.com, www.dictionary.com/browse/colonialism. Accessed 20 Apr. 2017.

Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Mercantilism.” Mercantilism: The Concise Encyclopaedia of Economics | Library of Economics and Liberty, www.econlib.org/library/Enc/Mercantilism.html. Accessed 20 Apr. 2017.

Equiano, Olaudah. “The Middle Passage.” Recovered Histories - The Middle Passage, www.recoveredhistories.org/storiesmiddle.php. Accessed 20 Apr. 2017.

Geology.com. “Leeward Islands Map - Windward Islands Map - Satellite Image.” Geology, geology.com/world/windward-islands-leeward-islands.shtml. Accessed 20 Apr. 2017.

Islands, Paradise. “Caribbean Leeward Islands.” Leeward Islands | The Caribbean Leeward Islands Map and Guide, www.paradise-islands.org/caribbean-leeward-islands.htm. Accessed 20 Apr. 2017.

Trotter, Thomas. “The Middle Passage.” The Middle Passage: The Abolition of Slavery Project, abolition.e2bn.org/slavery_44.html. Accessed 20 Apr. 2017.

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Outline  of Portfolio & Personal Reflection of Course

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Outline  of Portfolio & Personal Reflection of Course

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The Caribbean Civilization course had many impacts on me. It changed my way of thinking for many items regarding ‘what it is to be a Caribbean person’ and how many persons as well as myself ought to define ourselves. I learned many things from this course such as our history and it made me understand the many trials and tribulations which our ancestors went through to make us what we are today.

The first piece was based off of unit 2 “Defining a Caribbean Civilization”. This was informative as it helped me understand the indigenous persons which lived in the Caribbean as well as it made me appreciate what it means to be a person born within the Caribbean.

The second piece which was based off of unit 3 “The Diversified Caribbean in the 16th and 17th Centuries”; it helped me to understand how the Caribbean became such a diverse place even though it was not by choice and it was caused by many persons going through many hardships. It also showed the crops that were grown during that era and how many a time, they could be considered a monocrop culture which amused me since that can also be seen within current times with regards to Trinidad and Tobago being primarily dependent on the oil and gas industry. Many things were learnt within this module and it helped me understand more of what our ancestors went through.

The third piece was based off of unit 4 “Beyond the Rivers of Babylon: Enslavement and Freedom of West Africans in the Caribbean” and it presented me with the information based on how terrible the West Africans were treated. Many persons don’t fully understand the horrors that they went through; only when research was done could I have even attained a glimpse of what they went through. This unit impacted me a lot since it showed me what really went on during that era and that many were abused for a certain few to be wealthy. This can even be seen in recent times where many are abused at their workplace and taken advantage of whilst higher management simply collect all the money.

The final piece analysed was based on unit 6 entitled “Caribbean Identity: Defining a Caribbean Self”. This unit made me think differently about how persons in the Caribbean including myself live our everyday life. I did not noticed how much we copied based on the developed countries way of life. It makes me have a better sense of pride in what matter to us as Caribbean persons such us our musical instruments (the pan) along with our national birds.

This Caribbean Civilization course has helped me in many ways, it allowed me to understand what it means to live within the Caribbean and attain a greater sense of an identity. It gave me much information of what our ancestors went through to make the Caribbean what it is today and how even though time has progressed; there are still have many similarities between past eras and recent times.

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The Caribbean is an impressionable place, we have been following other larger countries for centuries. For example the indigenous people were influenced greatly by the Europeans when they took over. Though at that time it was forced; in recent times it became natural to follow the habits of the larger more developed nation. The Caribbean has been heavily influenced by the US in recent times; we have adapted to their forms of fashion, laws and music.
With regards to fashion; this can be easily seen within the Caribbean. Almost all persons own some form of clothing which was imported from the US. Or the places where the purchased their clothing imported it from US. Without even having to analyse it that way; you can simply look at the clothes brands which are US brands such as Nike, Adidas and Apple. With regards to laws; this can also be seen where many of the laws implemented within the Caribbean are similar or the same as the ones by the US. This stems back many decades where Caribbean islands use the laws which were put in place by the dominating countries such as Europe and the US. Finally, it can be seen the music in which Caribbean persons listens to which the majority are produced by persons within the US. For example Taylor Swift, Eminem and Michael Jackson. There are Caribbean artists which are listened to by Caribbean islanders but they are usually listened to seasonally such as soca music but for the majority of the year, most persons listen to foreign artists. A pictoral representation of US and Caribbean music can be found in Figures 6, 7 & 8

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The reason why the West Africans were brought to the Caribbean was for a form of cheap labour which could be easily exploited. The way in which they were brought was on a journey through the Middle Passage. According to Dr Thomas Trotter, the middle passage refers to where the slaves were packed densely in slave ships and travelled across the Atlantic to the West Indies. The journey took on average three to four months in which they were chained to floor with barely any room for them to even move. A pictoral representation of the slave ship and the West Africans can be found in Figures 4 & 5 According to Olaudah, the trip was so hazardous that almost half of the West Africans which were taken didn’t even make it alive. The slaves were forced to eat, sleep, excrete and do everything within the confines of the boat whilst being chained. Many went insane which lead to some of the deaths which occurred. Based on all the records, it can be seen that the West Africans went through much too even get to the Caribbean which was faced with no reward seeing as soon as they reached they were only faced with further mistreatment by the slave masters. However According to Olaudah, as a result of the hazardous journey; a strong African identity was created as they plotted to overthrow their captors. There was a will to survive which was created which lead to them learning to properly communicate with each other and every one put aside their differences to work together to survive.

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According to Encyclopaedia Britannica, mercantilism is an economic theory which promoted governmental regulations to make the country wealthy and powerful. A pictoral representation of mercantilism can be found in Figure 2.

According to Dictionary.com, Religion is the belief in a higher power which is agreed upon by many persons. A pictoral representation of Christianity can be found in Figure 3.

According to Dictionary.com, colonialism is the control or governing influence of a nation over a dependent country, territory, or people.

Religion and colonization were two of the many reasons which motivated the Europeans to make an expedition into the Caribbean. The Europeans were attempting to spread their religion of Christianity towards other parts of the world. They were also attempting to look for new resources to exploit such as raw materials and labour. This exploration lead to the diversification of the Caribbean people in many aspects such as culture, food and race. With regards to the diversification of the Caribbean population; this was done when the Europeans mated with the indigenous people of the islands. In many cases the Europeans simply saw the indigenous persons as tools and items; they did what they wanted with them and for men it was for sexual release. Over time it was simply done more and more thus further diversifying the Caribbean population.

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Figure 1 showing break down of Leeward and Windward Islands

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The Caribbean can be broken down into the Greater and the Lesser Antilles. The Leeward and Windward islands are terms used to differentiate between many islands situated within the Caribbean. Together, the Leeward and Windward islands form the Lesser Antilles. According to Paradise Islands; the term Leeward Islands was created as a result of the trade winds blowing from the north (i.e. the Lee of the wind). Likewise, according to geology.com, the term Westward was created as a result of the trade winds blowing to the west. A break-down of the Caribbean islands into the Leeward and Windward islands can be found in Figure 1.

‘Circum’ means around therefore the term circum Caribbean means the regions or islands around the Caribbean. There are many ways in which the Caribbean is defined and each definition includes and excludes certain islands. Some ways in which the Caribbean can be defined are geographically, geologically, historically, politically and diasporic. With regards to islands surrounding the Caribbean; if we are defining the Caribbean from a diasporic point of view then if there are Caribbean persons who have made homes within those countries and created communities then yes they should be considered as part of the Caribbean. However that is only based on a diasporic point of view, if we were to look at it from a geological or geographical point of view; they cannot be considered part of the Caribbean.