Historical Process

• Five Waves

  • First Wave: The Migration and Settlement of the Indigenous People
  • Second Wave: The Europeans (1442 - 1600s)
  • Third Wave: White Indentured Servants (1652 – 1659)
  • Fourth Wave: Enslaved African Labor (1640s – 1838)
  • Fifth Wave: The Post – Emancipation Era (after 1838)
• First Wave: Migration and Settlement of Indigenous People

  • Came in Tribes from Siberia travelling on foot southward into the Americas following herds of animals which they needed for food and shelter.
  • Crossed the Bering Strait (narrow water body frozen at the time creating a bridge) connected the peninsula of Siberia (Russia) and peninsula of Alaska (USA.
  • Kalinago - Lesser Antilles - T & T, Barbados & St. Lucia
  • Taino - Greater Antilles - Hispaniola, Cuba & Puerto Rico
  • Both settled in Trinidad and Tobago and Puerto Rico
• First Wave Cont...

  • They had personalities of hunters, had knowledge on firewood and stone however they had none on agriculture.
  • They followed the herd of animals because it was their only source of food.
  • They weren't as advanced as the native Americans, but they later had a well - developed farming and political system, religion and culture.
  • They settled in the Caribbean - learnt how to farm and make pottery & transformed from being hunters to gathers.
• Second Wave: The Europeans (1442 - 1600s)

  • Developed a lucrative trade with the Far East (India & China) for silk, cotton, spices, jewelry and gold.
  • Route to get to the Far East was too risky, had bandit, high taxes and too costly so they had to find an alternative route.
  • Spain supported Columbus's first voyage to discover a new sea route which land him in the Caribbean in 1492 and landed in The Bahamas.
• Second Wave Cont...

  • Then went on to explore the Greater Antilles when one of his ship grounded forcing him to make his first European settlement in Hispaniola.
  • Columbus left several of his men and returned to Europe with some captured indigenous people because he believed he had reached the Far East.
  • Queen Isabella was pleased and ordered that none of the Indians were to be harmed as they are now subjects of the Spanish Colony.
• Second Wave Cont...

  • Columbus returned in 1493 in Hispaniola and found all of the Spanish men were killed by the Tainos.
  • From there they colonized and moved to central and south America.
  • The Spanish enslaved the indigenous people wherever they settled and used them for miming for gold, silver and diving for pearls.
  • making Spain quickly become the wealthiest European nation.
  • They used this wealth to fund wars in Europe as they tried to dominate and extend their empire.
• Columbus Had Four Voyages to The New World

  1. 1492 - landed in The Bahamas
  2. 1493 - explore the Lesser Antilles
  3. 1498 - Trinidad and the northern coast of South America
  4. 1502 - eastern coast of Central America
• Third Wave: White Indentured Servants (1652 - 1659)

  • Gold and silver resources began to decline so they turned to agriculture as an alternative product to send to their mother country.
  • Began to export tobacco which became popular in Europe and were sold for high prices also it soon became the dominant crop in the Caribbean.
  • Amerindians were already wiped out due to the genocide and a new labour force was needed.
• Third Wave Cont...

  • English and French had also pushed Spain out of the Caribbean and had permanent establishments in the Lesser Antilles.
  • Needed a new labour force so they brought white indentured servants from Irland, Holland and Wales.
  • However, they quickly died due to diseases, overwork and under nourishment so an alternative labour system had to be found again.
• Fourth Wave: Enslaved African Labour (1640s - 1838)

  • 1640 the Caribbean tobacco market was struggling due to the better quality and cheaper Virginian tobacco.
  • The Dutch in the 1640s introduced sugar cane in Barbados which began to fetch prices.
  • Next few decades sugar cane replaced tobacco as the dominant crop - sugar cane revolution.
• Fourth Wave Cont...

  • Africans from West Africa were used to replace the Amerindians and the white indentured laborers.
  • Portuguese were the first to buy and sell enslaved Africans and initially supplied the Spanish and Portugues colonies.
  • Then they started to supply the Caribbean leading the French, English and Dutch to set up their own slave ports in West Africa.
• Fourth Wave Cont...

  • Slaves were captured by Europeans where they were abused and seized.
  • African chiefs would raid rival villages and sell their captured enemies as slaves.
  • The enslaved were single filed marched to the cost in chained lines called coffles.
• Fourth Wave Cont...

  • Sail across the Atlantic Ocean to the new world which would take 6 - 8 weeks or 13 weeks.
  • They were packed tightly below the decks of the ship and often laid in their own filth.
  • Seasickness, sweat, heat and a lack of air caused a lot to die.
  • Reaching the Caribbean, they would exchange and sell the slaves then the ships would be loaded back with resources and sail to Europe.
  • Slavery was brutal and harsh and lasted for 200 years that caused 200 million Africans to be shipped.
• Migratory Movements Within and Outside the Region from 1838

  • Europeans and the Spanish continue to import the enslaved because the slave trade profited, and it was the basis of the economy and society.
  • After any years emancipation occurred and slavery was abolished in 1843, countries went through a compulsory transition which ended in 1838.
  • Europeans were yet again searching for a reliable source of cheap labour to continue their plantation and estate operations.
  • They offered incentives such as increasing wages to smaller islands that harbored the Africans to return.
• Diasporic Community

  • A diaspora is a group of migrants that are spread from their homeland to other foreign countries around the world.
  • Slaves that were brought to the Caribbean held their cultural backgrounds, beliefs and traditions creating a plural society.
  • London, Panama & Santo Domingo
• London 


  Britian needed help to rebuild industries and the capital. Caribbean were offered special terms of citizenship and settlement rights. they arrived in 100s and soon 1000s. They faced discrimination, accommodation costs and low wages. Using self-help strategies, they set up their own newspaper The Voice. They encouraged cultural gatherings that reminded them of the Caribbean.
• Panama


  Caribbean emigrants mainly from Barbados and Jamicia went to Panama to find work on the canal. They had regular work, but it was dangerous and it had the jungle disease. They were subjected to racist discrimination and abuse. Many workers sent money to enable them to join them in Pananma where a large diasporic community was found.
• Santo Domingo 


  Chinese migration to Santo Domingo began happening in the second half of the 19th century. Large influx of Chinese immigrants from the US partly as a result of the US military domination of the country. records show they were all men and by 1950s there was a definite Chinatown in Santo Domingo. Many had business, married local women and converted to Christianity.
• Development of Systems of Production

  1. Slash and Burn
  2. Encomienda System (1500s - 1720s)
  3. African Slavery (1500s - 1838)
  4. Indentureship (1845 - 1917)
  5. Plantation System (1640s)
• Slash and Burn

  • Main and oldest system of production used 12, 000 years ago.
  • Forest areas were burnt and cleared for growing food by peasant farmers after 1883 and is still practices among farmers who cultivate along traditional lines and have limited resources.
  • Layer of ash provides the newly cleared land with a nutrient rich deposit to help fertilize crops.
  • Cleared for a short time then left alone so vegetation can grow.
  • Allows farming were there is soil erosion, dense vegetation and low soil nutrient.
• Encomienda System (1500s - 1720s)

  • King and Queen of Spain order that they were not to be harmed.
  • Columbus was the first to suggest they would make a good labour force.
  • Encomienda system was not slavery (though in practice it was) and so they were put into the care of the Spanish.
  • They were to provide them with food, clothing, teachings of Christianity and shelter and in return they would provide the Spanish with gold, land and labour.
  • They killed the Indians for sport and by 1500s they were on the verge of decimation and soon after they imported Africans.
• African Slavery (1500s - 1838)

  • A system of forced labour in the 1500s - 1838
  • Forced to travel across the Middle Passage to the Americas up until the 1807 to provide labour.
  • Their characteristics were suitable for the tropical climates.
  • Enslavement was a dictatorship system which rendered the enslaved powerless as they were paid no wages and were chattel.
  • Slavery was a total institution and was passed through birth.
• Indentureship (1845 - 1917)

  • Brought to the Caribbean to provide a work force in replace of the Africans.
  • Contracts regulated this system to prevent from the enslavement and to ensure plantation owners got maximum benefits.
  • Some were overworked and in return received permission to live on plantations.
  • Conditions weren't as harsh as the Africans, but they still suffered through malnutrition, diseases, not able to move freely, were flogged, jailed & charged.
• Plantation System (1640s)

  • Large plots of land were used to grow crops on a large scale for exports and so a large labour force was required.
  • Profits were repatriated to the mother country.
  • Slaves were never compensated for their labour but some were able to buy or earn their freedom.
  • Earned money by planting provisional groups which was given by planters, so they won't be a burden to provide food for them.
• Plantation System Cont...

  • System developed a rigid hierarchical system based on race, colour, wealth and occupation in the Caribbean.
  • Caribbean was an exporter for raw materials since no manufacturing of goods were allowed but the exports supported European industries.
• Responses of the Caribbean to Oppression

  1. Tainos
  2. Kalinago
  3. Africans
  4. Cultural Resistance
  5. Arson
  6. Abolition
  7. Indentures
  8. Resistance After Emancipation
• Tainos 


  The fear of genocide eventually opened them for combat. 1493 Columbus men had abused the Taino women this was when the official conflict had started. Spanish had superior military power but still faced challenges in conquering the Greater Antilles. Tainos ressited by running (maroonage), commiting suicide and infanticide. they feircly resisted the spanish despite their inferiror weapons.
• Kalinago 


  responded with impeccable resistance, guerilla warfare and social organizations flexibility. high mobile and used dugout canoes to elude capture. they fought the British in a bloody war. Treaties were signed to ensure their survival however they were severely decimated.
• Africans

  Resistance took active and passive forms. Passive forms - damaging property, faking illness, misunderstanding instructions, suicide & infanticide (these acts were expensive to the planter). Maroonage also. Slave rebellions - Haitian Revolution (1804) and the Barbados Revolution (1816). Included sabotaging of equipment and engaging in pesantry.
• Cultural Resistance

  Striped the culture of the Africans and forced Christianity to make them more subservient. Responded by using African words, hybridism religions, telling Anasi stories and ridiculing the white men. Drumming was feared by the Europeans but was continued as a major tradition. Great efforts to protect and practice their cultural heritage. They also secreatly practiced their culture as it was prohibited by the Europeans.
• Arson


  Limited due to their lack of weapons and communication between plantations. Revolts and Rebellions made life unsafe for the Europeans. The threat of being poisoned and full-scale revolutions happened from time to time.
• Abolition 


  Violence in the colonies ad the high cost of maintaining the slave system contributed to the abolition of the slave trade and slavery. The opening of markets to free trade also played a part in the economic decline for sugar plantations.
• Indentured Labourers

  They protest ans unrest occured in Gyana and Trinidad and Tobago including a serious outbreak in 1869. Running away, refusing to work and the establishment of small businesses. They became independent and had other economic interests. Joint household structure played a significant role in their success and religious fulfilment.
• Resistance After Emancipation

  End of slavery did not mean the end of resistence. Africans struggle to establish viable system of production and political arrangements. Reparation movement continues this theme of resistance. Slavery is still apart of contemporary life. Religious revivals, labour riots and formation of political parties.
• Movement Towards Independence

  1. Political enfranchisement
  2. Adult suffrage
  3. Internal self-government
  4. Economic enfranchisement
  5. Entrepreneurial Activities
• Political Enfranchisement

  • Refers to the rights of the people of a nation to determine their own affairs.
  • After the abolition of slavery in 1838, they were still restricted in the post - emancipation period and the colonial government did not take any active steps.
  • Years after emancipation, Caribbean people migrated to different regional destinations for work and better wages (Panama, etc.)
• Political Enfranchisement Cont...

  • Labour riots in the 1860s in Jamicia, Barbados and St, Vincent further propelled constitutional decolonization - colonies achieved independence.
  • Returning soldiers who served Britian in world wars refused to return to their lowly status because they have been exposed to different ideas and political philosophers.
• Adult Suffrage

  • Right for citizens in a given society who are entitled to vote in an election to select a government to represent them.
  • Widespread unrest in the 1930s forced the colonial government to instate elected representation.
  • No restriction put on the population - except that of age in being eligible to vote.
• Adult Suffrage Cont...

  • The Moyne Commission also known as the West Indian Royal Commission recommended social and political reform and from 1944 onwards Caribbean territories under British colonial control were granted universal adult suffrage.
  • By 1944, Jamica was the first country to receive the right to vote regardless of race, sex, belief, sexual orientation, gender, wealth, social status and disability.
• Internal Self Government

  • The territories remained colonies, with Britain’s interests being overseen by the Governor General.
  • This limited self-government in the British Caribbean was a period of transition to full independence.