Mercantilism, Religion and colonialism have all led to the diversification of the Caribbean population. Mercantilism was an important aspect for Europe to maximise its efforts to obtain prosperity. Prosperity was measured by the amount of gold that a country had. This idea was known as bullionism.  Bullionism encouraged many governments make fewer import and export more to generate a “net inflow of foreign exchange and maximizing the country’s gold stocks” (www.economist.com). It was believed that there was a finite amount of bullion in the world thus many maritime countries ventured out to explore new lands to secure this gold before other nations had the opportunity. It was this undertaking that propelled diversification of all aspects even if it was unintentional.

Colonialism is the chief promoter that influenced the demographical structure of the region. It features “the political and legal domination” over a dependent country, territory, or people. Its primary objective is “to impose their dominance physical force through raids, expropriation of labor and resources, imprisonment, and objective murders; enslavement of both the indigenous people and their land” (The Anarchist Library). When colonists came to the region they imposed their way of life among the people.

Explorers of the Caribbean territories brought with them different crops. As these explorers settled, they cultivated and exported a variety of crops such as tobacco, cotton, cocoa and sugar that have enriched the history of the Caribbean and provided for the economies of the colonies. The number of workers who toiled these plantations grew as the demand for the respective crop increased. Workers came from Europe, West Africa, India and China. The influx of workers from these different countries contributed their cultural dynamics to the diversity of the population.

Religion has also played a major role in the diversification of the Caribbean. Religion is an “institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs and practices” (Merriam-Webster).  The various tribes within the Neo-Indian population would have had their own sacred beliefs and rituals. When the Spanish came to the region, they brought with them Christianity. As other people came from different continents, such as the Africans and East Indians, they also brought with them their beliefs like Voodoo, Pocomania, and Hinduism and Islam respectively which further deepened the demographics of the Caribbean population.

They all make us who we are!

The story is passed on to instill fear in its listeners about this murderous black beast-woman. But who is this devil woman and what does she symbolise? It is now lucid that the author(s) of this tale conceal(s) many underlying factors like the theme of white supremacy throughout it.  The La Diablesse is not a white woman but one of “Afro extract” as Mr.  Bissessarsingh relates in his article.  The black woman is constantly humiliated. Her mutilated body is evidence of her punishment for rebellion during her enslavement. Enslavement dehumanized.   Resistance against unfairness of society was known to not be taken lightly; one would be beaten, tortured and/or dismembered, yet the revolt persisted.

Furthermore, the author of the myth replaced the mutilated leg with a cow’s foot degrading the black woman as an animal who would no matter what be enslaved to the land. One that can be slaughtered. 

Another underlying issue is that of sexual predation. This concept as highlighted through the eyes of Lady Nugent in her diary entries, postulates that white men fell victim to “conniving African women” (184).  The black devil woman captures this concept when she entraps her victims. 

Throughout history the La Diablesse has been presented as a mockery of our ancestors and their efforts.  The tale has been presented so that we can pass this mimicry from generation to generation without realizing that our imprisoned minds contribute to the insult of our people.

The La Diablesse is not only the enslaved woman who gets stigmatized for revolting, she is the woman fighting against the ills of society and the one lobbying for equity among genders, just to name a few.  The La Diablesse should not be feared; she should be embraced.  She is representative of our strength, power, determination and resistance as a Caribbean people.  When we share the tale of the La Diablesse we should also share that she represents the strength of our ancestors fighting to make a positive difference.

The month of March commemorated 100^th anniversary of legislation for the abolition of East Indians Indentureship. There were many articles circulating in the press concerning the contributions of the East Indian people. There, I came about an interesting excerpt that gave me an answer to my question. 

During the indentureship period, East Indian girls were not permitted to attend school for the fear of religious conversion as the schools were predominantly Christians. Also, the girls played an integral role in assisting the family financially by working on the plantations.  There was an “unspoken dictate” that an Indian girl was trained to take care of the home and when married by a certain age she “would be a faithful wife and good mother”. 

East Indian parents needed to ensure that their daughters were ready to marry by the age of 14 or 15 years. There I realised that this “wife material” characteristic is one that has been passed on from generation to generation from early childhood. These parents cultivated girls to handle domestic chores so that they can in turn care for their husband and offspring in a subservient way. 

Though times have changed and more women are gainfully employed, this aspect of care giving is something that should be maintained.  It should be passed on between generations and between cultural groups so that my dear colleague may have a wider scope to select his bride.

The foundation course has embraced advance technology to enhance the learning experience.  Being able to engage in sessions in one classroom setting simultaneously with persons from other campuses was intriguing because it allowed me to see how similar and yet so different we are. Access to recorded lectures was quite advantageous as it permitted review of topics at one’s convenience.  
The plenaries of this course are mind opening as they have revealed how our education system continues to deceive the young minds of our nation. The education system for primary and secondary schoolers continue to teach ‘his-story’ and not ‘our story’.  We have been misled for many years and experience dissonance when we are faced with a different ‘truth’.  The plenaries have answered significantly less questions that have been raised; issues of identity were at the forefront.

Though Caribbean Civilisation brings many questions to mind, the course permits exploring and re-visioning. It allows you to dig deeper and not take things at face value. It allows you to question the past and change the pattern of the future.

March 2017 <https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/chris-kortright-colonization-and-identity>.

Caribbean Civilisation. n.d.

The Trinidad Guardian. 25 February 2017. 10 March 2017 <www.guardian.co.tt/lifestyle/2017-02-25/legend-la-diablesse>.

The Trinidad Guardian. 19 March 2017. 30 March 2017 <http://digital.guardian.co.tt/?iid=151803&startpage=page0000013#folio=12>.

www.economist.com. 23 August 2013. 7 March 2017.