"West Indies." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2016.

by Michele Forteau Alleyne - Friday, 9 September 2016, 7:08 PM

 

Learning activity 1.4

According to dictionary.com preliterate means "relating to a society that has not developed a written language". Pre-history to me seems to imply that because there was no written historical archives then there was nothing, or no history. 

Based on the writing pre-literate instead of pre-history was used because man always had a history even though it was not a recorded one. While he moved around his footprint through time could be traced indicating that though his activities were not archived or recorded in some formal way he existed and when we exist we always have a story. Man's existence before writing should not or cannot be discounted because it was not written down. He moved around, he hunted and more therefore he created some kind of history that is viable.

Ref: www.dictionary.com/browse/preliterate 

 

 

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Re: Learning Activity 1.4: The emergence of Diverse Caribbean Civilisationsby Neil Edwards - Monday, 12 September 2016, 4:54 PM Michele, good points and you are correct, thanks for sharing

by Michele Forteau Alleyne - Saturday, 1 October 2016, 12:42 AM

 

Michele Forteau-Alleyne

Mr. Neil Edwards

FOUN 1101 Caribbean Civilization

30 September 2016

In John Campbell’s book Beyond Massa, Chapter 2 gives us a clear insight into the daily operations of a sugar plantation in 18th Century Jamaica. Therefore, to further discussion, it was necessary to pull some key points on the use of jobbing gangs, labour demands and the slave list from my fellow student’s essay.

            In response to Ms. Cindy Small contribution dated Saturday 24 September 2016 on the factors which influenced the acquisition and allocation of enslaved Africans on the plantation and pens during 18th Century chattel slavery in Jamaica, Ms. Small mentioned that “management had to find cost effective ways to obtain workers” and went on to state that “hence they hired rented slaves from other plantations.” On the contrary, “jobbing” slaves (as John Campbell mentioned in chapter 2) were cost effective but only in the short term and were introduced only because of the limited number of enslaved on the plantations. Moreover, the purchasing of slaves was always the better choice for management. The plantation incurred more expense when jobbing gangs were hired for long periods. Thus, HR’s strategic allocation of the already enslaved is what gave them greater returns. (Campbell 44)

Additionally, in Ms. Small’s essay she made mention of “a labour exchange boom which limited the need to purchase new slaves”. Be that as it may, according to Chapter 2 there was always a demand for slave labour, in fact; Campbell mentioned this over 25 times in the chapter. He also stated that “for the entire period of slave grown sugar in Jamaica circa (1660- 1838) there was always a shortage of labour available to the sugar plantation” (Campbell 43). This shortage lead to the “doubling up” of the labour force as Ms Small rightfully mentioned. Slave were expected to do more than one job especially after unexpected disasters that brought with them more work for the already limited labour force. (Campbell 52). Equally notable, there was also scarcity of slaves at the time, issues like infertility of the enslaved women due to the rigors of the work, coupled with sickness and the poor quality of replacement slaves and slave resistance were some of the reasons behind the limited numbers. Hence, the real hindrance to purchasing more or new slaves was a cost factor. In fact, according to Campbell “slave purchase, while initially the cheapest form of labour procurement, had by the latter part of the eighteenth century become increasingly expensive.” (Campbell 45)

 Ms. Small made some salient points concerning the slave list when she referred to the fact that it showed the purchase of slaves, their names, ages and the duties they performed on the plantation as stated on page 62 of Beyond Massa. She also alluded to the fact that plantation managers “falsely documented” their slave lists she stated that if a slave died another one would take the name of the deceased” this practice did account for inaccuracies.

In essence Ms. Small did capture the mood and gave some keen observation of what took place on a Jamaican sugar plantation in the 18th century.

 

Work Cited

John Campbell, Beyond Massa. Chapter 2

Ms. Cindy Small Essay Assessment 1 on the acquisition and allocation of enslaved Africans on the plantation and pens during 18th century chattel slavery in Jamaica.

www.dictionary.com/browse/preliterate. 2016. 7 September 2016 <http://www.dictionary.com/browse/preliterate>.

www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prehistory. 2016. 7 September 2016 <http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prehistory>.

In an article in the Jamaican Observer the writer wrote that women who are involved in this practice did it because they believe that men tend to favour a woman of a lighter complexion. The author also stated that though the practice is considered very dangerous to their health (because the creams used can be very toxic) people continue to indulge in lightening their skin. (AP: Skin bleaching. April 2011)

This phenomenon makes you wonder why this taking place is and what makes people disregard their health in order to achieve lighter skin? In this course Caribbean Civilization we have been learning about our Caribbean identity, who we are as a people and where we came from. I believe that slavery was one of the most heinous things that ever happened on this planet and we are still in recovery mode, though most of us would like to believe we are over it, but when I see people ashamed of or hating the skin they were born in I know that we are not as over it as we would like to be. Campbell 2012 wrote about the enslaved people being divided along the lines of colour and class on the plantations. The lighter skinned slaves were preferred to work in the great house on the plantation they were also considered elite and given certain privileges. (p. 79). I believe that within the psyche of the enslaved that it was better to be lighter it made you closer to the master thus you would be treated better. Even today that still hold true. It is difficult to say to someone that they are beautiful when all the images that are labelled beautiful looks nothing like them.

I believe that we as a Caribbean people are still building our identity and one might ask when we will be done but as we learned in FOUN 1101 it is a constant thing always changing. Maybe we will learn how to throw off the mental constructs surrounding skin colour and learn to love who we are.

 

Work cited:

Campbell J. Beyond Massa Sugar Management in the British Caribbean 1770-1834. Calaloux 

  Publications.Wellesly, Massachusetts 02482. Print 2012

"AP: Skin Bleaching a Growing Problem in Jamaica - News ..." Jamaica Observer, 11 Apr. 2011. 

  Web. 21 Nov. 2016

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      Outbreak of diseases on the enslaved Africans, With this out break a lot of enslaved Africans began to get sick leading them to death or just being too weak to work as they would originally do the outbreak would shorten the number of laborers which would give less production leaving the estate on a slow pace.

     The infestation on the fields and plantations also required them to get more enslaved Africans to work, with all the storing of cane trash around the fields and plantation made rats, insects and blights accounted for some crop damage. This had meant that slaves would now have to look after sick plants and try exterminating the rodents. There was also an outbreak of caterpillars and worms which affected the young canes and once affected them couldn't be recovered to produce their full potential.

     The weather conditions play a vital part in getting more slaves, once they have had a bad weather condition like, hurricanes, storms and drought would set back the estate production causing a problem for the owner. Now the slaves would have to work over time to boast back up production, with slaves not getting adequate food and not being so healthy the owner would turn to Jobbing Gangs to help boast the working speed.

  Planting and harvesting of the canes took a great amount of slaves also. Before planting slaves would need to clear the fields and make sure all the necessary steps are taken to have the field ready for planting, after  they were required to dig the holes for planting a specific way also plant a specific amount to a hole. The crop required a lot of attention so that i could grow to its best potential. When it comes to harvesting time more laborers are needed to make this process move as swiftly as possible, seeing as the crop once cut has to be worked with or they will have a loss, they would have to cut, pack up and take it to be extracted which was rather dangerous but each slave had a specific position that they had to take in the boiler.

     Age had a part to play in the acquiring of slaves the older the slaves got the less work they would produce. The owners would go out and buy fresh young slaves who were more able to take on the tasks given and more efficiently.

    The owners needed to acquire and allocate more slaves due to the different situations like the weather conditions, outbreak of diseases, infestation, planting and harvesting and even ageing of older slaves. This change would help with the production of their crops and also help boast there business, while allocating slaves was just  a step they use every now and then to help out when the have a setback, they would normally get slaves from neighboring plantations to help out.

References:

“Beyond Massa” By Dr John F Campbell

by Donna St Marthe - Tuesday, 6 September 2016, 8:43 PM

 

Based on the revised unit reading that was provided on the course page it is safe to say, that it is established that there is no real meaning to the term "Pre-history". As a result a defined word such as "Pre-literate" was used. According to the online Merriam-Webster dictionary Pre-literate is lacking the use of writing.

By using the word Pre-literate a better understanding of the "period of time" Caribbean society was "replanted" was convey.

 

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Re: Learning Activity 1.4: The emergence of Diverse Caribbean Civilisationsby Neil Edwards - Monday, 12 September 2016, 12:23 PM Donna, from your post I believe you have understood that preliterate is the correct  term that should be used. Show parent | Reply

By Alisa Stanislaus

Hereunder are my views on the relationship between Religion and Education in Grenada together with two individuals who have distinguished themselves in either field

On the island of Grenada there is certainly a relationship that exists between Religion and Education which is visible in the education system where most schools are religious based and operated. Schools such as St. Joseph’s Convent, an all girls Catholic Secondary School operated by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Cluny an order of nuns is affiliated with the Catholic Church, a Christian denomination.  The Anglican High School, another all girls Anglican Secondary School, controlled by the Anglican Church, another faith based Christian order.  Amongst these are Schools managed by The Seventh Day Adventist Church and Presbyterian Church of Grenada.  While it is evident that Religion and Education are closely associated and are generally of the same tendencies.   It is important for relationships between the both to exist since they are necessary when dealing with spiritual, material and physical urges.  Educations create values in life and helps modify certain behaviours.  Religions give or meaning to life through the cultivation of mores and spiritual values that fosters truth.

Two well know individuals who have distinguished themselves in these fields synonymously are Sister Gabrielle Mason, a Grenadian nun who is currently the Provincial Superior of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Cluny in the English Speaking OECS (Dominica, St. Vincent, St. Lucia, and Grenada) and Trinidad and Tobago (Trinidad and Tobago Newsday).  She was the principal of the St. Joseph’s convent one of the top schools on the island for many years and responsible for shaping the lives of many through her own life and through her work.  Mrs. Ursula Antoine a mother of seventeen (17) children, past principal of the St. George’s Anglican Senior School and Pastor of one of Grenada Bible Holiness Church, Grenada and is currently the administrator of education in the island prison system have certainly differentiated herself as a force to be reckoned with.

Reference

Thenewtoday.gd. November 2016 <http://thenewtoday.gd/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Ursula-Antoine.jpg>.

Trinidad and Tobago Newsday. November 2016 <http://www.newsday.co.tt/people/0,27802.html>. ������5'&.�

Browse the internet and locate one reading for each of the topics

 Cannibals and Civilization

This article of Cannibals and Civilization attempts to demonstrate how cannibalism has transformed from eating one’s flesh in earlier settlement times to “Financial Cannibalism” in modern civilization. I personally find this approach to the subject very interesting because it gave me a new perspective of the topic at hand. According to the writer, person's livelihood are being sucked from them for the sole purpose of another’s wealth and greed. In my opinion this the same as been eaten….

Caribbean Civilization 

Caribbean Civilization refers to the people who live in the caribbean and they way of life which includes but not limited to their cultures, religion and society. (my personal understand after reading the units and listening to BBC)

Reference: Wordpress.com.Civilization and Cannibalism.Wordpress.com, n.d.web.June 26,20011.

The Windward island include the southeastern islands of the Caribbean. They are called the Windward Islands because they are exposed to the wind (Windward) of the northeast trade winds (the norheaterlies) from the Atlantic Ocean example, St Lucia and Dominica.

The Leeward Islands are between the islands of the Greater Antilles and those of the Windward Islands are the Leeward Islands. They are called Leewards Islands because they are away from the Wind (lee) example St Martin and Anguilla.

 

2.  Do you think the term Cirum Caribbean should be part of the Caribbean?

Circum-Caribbean is used to describe the countries that surround the Caribbean sea, Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. North of the Atlantic Ocean is the Bahamas, USA toward the (west) of Gulf of Mexico, southward Trinidad and Tobago and towards the western side Jamaica

Based on the location I do not think the countries that are located near the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic ocean should be considered part of the caribbean.

  

The Leeward Islands are to the north of the Windward islands.    

References:

Wikipedia.Windward and Leeward Islands.Chrisholm, Huge, n.d.web.11.July.2016

One World- Nation Online.Political Map of Central America and the Caribbean (West Indies).Nation Project Online, n.d.web.2016.

Conduct a search using UWI OC Library sources, to find out the meaning of the following terms, religion and colonialism;

Write a paragraph showing how you think at least two of these terms led to the diversification of the Caribbean. 

Christianity dominates the caribbean and it was introduced by the Europeans in times of slavery. There was also the enslaved and indentured workers who were brought to the caribbean along with their different religious beliefs such as Hinduism. These facts contributed to the contributed to the Caribbean diversity. Also the different mainland countries such as Spanish, French and British which conquered the islands implemented their policies, political control basically a new way of life on the caribbean islands. This fact has left a lasting effect on the caribbean contributing to its diversification.

The word Caribbean Civilization brought Caribbean History to mind, I thought this was an extension of the History I did for CXC. I was prepared to learn the same topics with a hint of more information added. For the first two weeks it did started off that way but by the time the fifth week came around, being introduce to Rivers of Babylon I realize it was nothing like the history I did at school. One new term I was introduce to was “chattle slavery”, which refers to the type of enslavement practice in the Caribbean, enslaves where viewed as “property”. I found this interesting and I was eager to learn more new things but with the book report being introduction I started to feel overwhelm. How can I do all this reading and follow through with my weekly reading? There were many times I wanted to give up but through determine I stuck with this course and in the end and I tried to do my best in all my assignments. I believe this course is a sample of my many semesters to come and the fact that I was able to complete it, I know I will be able to get through the others. Overall I am happy I did not drop out when I felt the pressure because I have gain a wealth of knowledge and I have a longing to know more. Now I am left to wonder if we as Caribbean people have a true identity.

What would my life have been like if the Europeans didn’t invade the Caribbean?

Are they actions actually a blessing or a curse?

 >�

by Donna St Marthe - Thursday, 22 September 2016, 10:43 PM

 

Slavery, the enslave individuals that was taken from West Africa seem to become an asset to the Europeans due to the great demands for sugar. By the eighteenth century the Caribbean had already been dominated by the Europeans hence this was the perfect opportunity for them to make a business of producing sugar cane. The Caribbean had perfect weather and soil to facilitate such a great venture and the West African individuals was a great source of cheap labor.

With such a great venture to pursue the work on the plantation and pens prove to be burdensome.  As slaves began to work the plantation many issues arise resulting in the acquisition of more slaves. In May a great flood hit the plantation resulting in sickly slaves and a further need to acquire labor power.  As a direct result of unforeseen circumstances the purchasing of slaves was necessary. However it became more difficult to capture the West African slaves, subsequently the slaves that was captured and brought to be sold proved to be unhealthy. The overseer of the plantation then derived a strategy to fulfill the demands on the plantation. According to John Campbell, Beyond Massa, Chapter 2, pg  1, jobbing slaves would be the best solution, A jobbing slaves was enslaved Africans either wholly owned or rented for work on the estate. In spite of the jobbing gang effort the unplanned demands of the estate prove their work inadequate. According to John Campbell, Beyond Massa, Chapter 2 pg 3, as the overseer realize that the slaves was capable of doing more than one task  they now came up with a strategy such as double job allocation in an effort to meet the unplanned demands. Resulting in a specialist slave now required to assist in another field of work in an attempt to get the work on the plantation accomplished.

According to John Campbell, Beyond Massa, Chapter 2 pg 17 as the eighteenth progressed and after World War an increase in labor force had to be allocated to locally grown provisions and rum. Due to lower sugar prices that had reduced the plantation revenue and cheap imports were no longer available. Not forgetting that a number of slaves was already allocated to roles such as nurses, child rears, cooks, waterways management just to name a few thus causing a strain on the labor force.

It became obvious because of the great deal of task the plantation required there will never be enough West Africans Slave. According to John Campbell, Beyond Massa,  Chapter 2 pg 2 to add to this notion many of the enslaved was not fit enough for the mainstream sugar production, resulting in slaves being overworked this affected the women drastically, due to this there was a low fertility rate on the planation.

In conclusion the purchasing and the different strategies use by the overseers deem to be insufficient and ineffective in the effort to meet the demands of the sugar plantation. 

 

 

 

493 words

Assessment 1 Part 2

by Donna St Marthe - Friday, 30 September 2016, 11:35 PM

 

In response to Cindy Smalls assignment, Miss Smalls has risen a valuable point as to one of the reasons for the acquisition of more slaves on the plantation. Miss Smalls noted that many female slaves chose not to reproduce by killing their offspring and blaming it on “lockjaw”. According to Oxford online dictionary lockjaw is a spasm of the jaw muscles causing the mouth to remain tightly close, typically a symptom of tetanus. This was done in an effort to save their children from growing up into slavery and having to deal with inhumane treatment for the rest of their life, resulting in more slaves having to be bought because birth rates was extremely low on the plantation.

Another valuable point brought forth by Miss Smalls was that a manager sexual favors with a slave influence that slave allocation. According to Dr John Campbell, Beyond Massa, Chapter 2 pg 33 this was called labor allocation by “fancy” and this was normally facilitated at short notice. For example a field slave may be fancy by a manager and the manager decide to have sexual relation with her if she is favored by him at short notice she could be relieved from the harder field work duties to which she was previously assigned and place in the house to perform lighter duties. These short notice allocations also cause pressure and animosity between slaves because now same slaves may end up doing twice the work they previously did in an effort to meet the demands of the planation.

Miss Smalls also view labor exchange on the farm as a “bonus” because the slaves did not have to be taught the task that is required of them based on their pervious knowledge. I agree with this view in my opinion I believed that it also saved the overseers time and this time that was saved was used to create higher level of productivity. To add to Miss Smalls point the labor exchange was an avenue to overwork the exchanged slaves, whiles preserving their own slave strength for the demanding needs of the plantation.

 

After reading Lisa Brereton I realized she touch on a valuable point but did not elaborate on it. She said that “planters tried breeding their own slaves”. According to Dr John Campbell, Beyond Massa, Chapter 2 pg 59 the breeding of slaves was a purchasing scheme done by Simons Taylor in an affect to acquire more slaves. According to Dr John Campbell, Beyond Massa, Chapter 2, Taylor unveiled a new strategy, he wrote I have bot (bought) 20 young Ebo Women………..& I keep them at the place where they have always been and where the houses are……… These women also function as “jobbers” but they were not ordinary jobbers, clearly he wanted them separated from the normal estate labor because of his breeding plans. They were to be the backbone of the plantation labor resources and in an effort to maintain their good health they were given light duties on the estate.

 

 

References:

 

“Beyond Massa” By Dr John F Campbell

Oxford Dictonary

511 words

"Sugar Mills." Sugar Mills - International Slavery Museum, Liverpool Museums. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2016.

 

References: 

Campbell, J.F. (2016). Beyond the Massa: Sugar Management in the English Caribbean 1770 – 1834.  22 Belair Rd - Wellesley, Massachusetts: Calaloux Publications.  

The University of the West Indies. (2016) Caribbean Civilisation: Unit 4. 

 

 

Application of learning in Caribbean Civilization to students’ understanding of their SOCIAL or geographical environment.  

In the region environment it is essential that students are able to correlate their Caribbean civilization with modern society festivals and events.   In Dominica, one major event that most residents look froward to is Carnival.   In addition to carnival as an island, the promotion and preservation of the Creole language is essential.  In that regard, the island is known for the World Creole Music Festival and the Jazz and Creole festival which should not be confused with the St Lucia Jazz Festival.   The World Creole Music Festival was given special focus to musical genres with roots in various forms of musical fusion from various countries from the Creole speaking world while the Jazz Festival is a fusion of jazz music and Creole music.   In the other Caribbean islands although we share similarities in festivals like carnival and jazz and music festival they are still differentiating factors.  According to gocaribbean.about.com “Carnival in the Caribbean has a complicated birth right, tied as it is to colonialism, religious conversion, and ultimately freedom and celebration.” 

For instance, Dominica and Trinidad and Tobago celebrate carnival at the same time it is two different experiences.    In Trinidad and Tobago, the island’s carnival is known as the biggest street party on Earth.    According to the Caribbean Civilization FOUN 1101 Trinidad and Tobago carnival brings people together of diverse backgrounds.  The island’s carnival is a mixture of cultural expressions which reflect African, European and Asian influences for instance the calypso and soca music and the use of the steel pan.  The tradition of Trinidad’s carnival dates back to 1785 when it was introduced by the French settlers. However, for the African people, carnival became a way to express their power as individuals, as well as their rich cultural traditions. Following the abolishing of slavery the freed Africans began to host their own carnival celebrations in the streets that grew more and more elaborate, and soon became more popular.  

 
References

 

"CARNIVAL IN TRINIDAD: CELEBRATE THE CARIBBEAN WAY." Carnival in Trinidad - Trinidad & Tobago - The True Caribbean - Trinidad & Tobago - The True Caribbean. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2016. 

 

"A Brief History of Carnival in the Caribbean." About.com Travel. N.p., 2016. Web. 26 Nov. 2016.

"History of Carnival." History of Carnival. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Nov. 2016.

"'Indian Arrival Part of T&T History', It's More than a Celebration-Kumar Mahabir." The Trinidad Guardian Newspaper. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2016.

"St. Lucia Vacation Deals | JetBlue." JetBlue Getaways. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2016

“Beyond Massa” By Dr John F Campbell

. 

How many foreign nations are mentioned as coming into the Caribbean:

·         Dutch

·         French

·         British

Which islands are mentioned as being reliant on agriculture?  

·         St Vincent and the Grenadines 

What other economic activity seems dominate? 

·         Tourism

What two islands that can be included to the list are: 

·         Cuba and Haiti because of their culture and geographical make up.

 

Select four reasons and explain how you think they give you a different identity. Provide examples of your points if possible.

·         My parent’s daughter: By my name I am identified by being part of a particular family, which is the St Mathe.

·         National identification card: my ID card identifies me as a citizen of St Lucia

·         Race: My race identifies me as a black woman with possible ancestors from the West African coast.

·         Language: Identifies me as an English speaking woman who is more than likely from English speaking country, my accent represents the country I am from.

  

Select four reasons and explain how you think they give you a different identity. Provide examples of your points if possible.

·         My parent’s daughter: By my name I am identified by being part of a particular family, which is the St Mathe.

·         National identification card: my ID card identifies me as a citizen of St Lucia

·         Race: My race identifies me as a black woman with possible ancestors from the West African coast.

·         Language: Identifies me as an English speaking woman who is more than likely from English speaking country, my accent represents the country I am from.