Historical Processes

Question 1

What is a society?

Answer 1

A group of people living in a specific geographic space over a period of time interacting based on a shared purpose. They develop a sense of citizenship or belongingness over time.

Question 2

What is culture?

Answer 2

The way of life of a people.

Question 3

Define the Caribbean historically.

Answer 3

The Caribbean is a region in which all territories have experienced similar historical processes and continue to experience the impact of these historical processes which include: European Colonization, Plantation Society, African Slavery and Systems of Indentureship.

Question 4

What is migration?

Answer 4

Migration is the movement of a group from one place to another. Specifically, human migration is the movement of people from one place in the world to another for the purpose of taking semi or permanent residence.

Question 5

Describe the Amerindian Migration and Settlement. (Why did they come to the Caribbean and what they contributed to society and culture?)

Answer 5

• **The Amerindians migrated from Eurasia to the Western Hemisphere (including North, Central, South America and the Caribbean) via the Bering Strait during the fourth Ice Age. The Ice Age led to shortages of vegetation for animals, and thereby shortages of meat for these nomadic hunters and gatherers. Thus, in search of food, they migrated eastwards.
• While the Amerindians migrated eastwards it was not one mass migration of all people that faced hardship during the Ice Age. Different groups separated by race and culture crossed over into the west at different periods and thereafter, developed cultural practices based on the resources available to further differentiate each group. Some of these cultural practices still permeate our society today.
• The Amerindians have left a cultural legacy in the Caribbean. For example, Tanios ‘barbecue’ cooked meats on a grill made of green sticks. Today, Jamaican jerk chicken and pork are a direct product of Amerindian meal preparation. Moreover, cacao cultivation and chocolate making originated from them where presently, the cultivation of cocoa is still an important industry in the Caribbean in countries like Cuba.
• As well as many of the words like canoe and hammock and place names like Arima and Tunapuna have an Amerindian origin, which shows that despite thousands of years since these words have been incorporated into our language.**

Question 6

What is the Encomienda System?

Answer 6

A system introduced by the Spanish where the Amerindians were expected to labour in the fields and mines in exchange for ‘protection’ and instruction in Christianity (namely Roman Catholicism). This overly harsh implementation of the system is one of the leading factors in the decline of the Amerindian population.

Question 7

Describe European Migration and Settlement.

Answer 7

• **European embarked on voyages from the late 15th and early 16th centuries. They migrated due to political, economic, cultural, technical and religious in Europe. In addition, there were in search of conquest and spreading Christianity throughout the world.
• Consequently, during these expeditions, Europe left substantial effects which some linger which include: cultural effects (the Treaty of Tordesillas: granted Spain unrestricted control of the Caribbean for over a century.), the decline of the indigenous population due to mass genocide and brutality and European diseases, arguably the most influential the establishment of new systems of production and economic control (plantations - large scale agriculture, factors of production were controlled by Europeans), political influences and legal systems and introduction of slavery.
• The Europeans imparted many features and characteristics of modern Caribbean society in the form of socio-culture features where European superiority led to social stratification based on race and colour. The introduction of different people led to cultural diversity/pluralism which the Caribbean is famously known as a ‘melting pot of people.’ Many of the Caribbean’s official languages are European (French, English, Spanish) of origin due to colonization. Religion in the form of Christianity is also a product of colonization and our education systems where we have to learn to speak and write Standard English and why school uniforms are a standard policy.**

Question 8

What is the Plantation System?

Answer 8

• **A method of production implemented by the Europeans in the Caribbean whereby large plots of land were used to grow cash crops such as sugar and tobacco for the main purpose of export.
• It was the largest system of production in Caribbean History where it lasted from since arrival of the Spanish to post-slavery.**

Question 9

Describe the forced migration of Africans.

Answer 9

The majority of enslaved African people were forced to migrate via the Triangular Trade - a long and arduous voyage. Following European voyages of conquest and the genocide of the Amerindians, there was the need for a reliable and cheap source of labour to work on plantations - this, unfortunately, came in the form of Africans.
-With that came the effects of this forced migration such as the growth of the plantation systems and increased sugar production, the introduction of new cultural practices and influences where Africans were stripped from their culture and thus, acculturated and assimilated into the dominant European one and syncretism of European and African customs an example is religion. the establishment of new social norms as a result of ‘plantation culture’- where the institution of the extended family was the African tradition most affected by European restrictions where marriage was prohibited between slaves and white only allowed copulation among black for breeding purposes and the racial stratification which still propagates and causes division today it would also explain why the occurrence of absentee fathers and common law relations among the African diaspora in the Caribbean and demographic change - due to the influx of the African population in territories change and miscegenation occurred mainly between occurred white planters and enslaved African women. These effects still persist and mould Caribbean society today.

Question 10

What is chattel slavery?

Answer 10

A form of slavery where persons were legally treated as ‘chattel’ property. They were bought, sold and exchanged like any commodity.

Question 11

Describe Asian Migration

Answer 11

• **The abolishment of slavery in 1834 led the British to a frantic search for cheap and readily available labour to work on the plantations. Hence, the British turned to recruiting labourers in poverty-stricken regions in Asia in particular China and India.
• -The British created systems of indentureship where these labourers would work in colonies for set periods of time and then be compensated with land or passages back home. The governments of these countries endorsed these systems and encouraged the poor to partake in them. After many reports of abuse, kidnapping and illegal tactics both the Indian and Chinese governments withdrew from the system.
• Like, the other periods of migration Asian migration had effects to it such as demographic impact, more than 400,000 East Indians and 20,000 Chinese immigrants came as a result of indentureship, new cultural input - east Indians brought religions such as Hinduism and Islam and languages where their impact has been felt in the cultural diversity in countries such as Trinidad and Guyana through holidays and customs, economic effects - the arrival of the Asian indentured workers helped boost the sugar industry and social impact- racial tensions increased in the regions that received the most Asian immigrants which could still be felt in the form of racialized political parties primarily in Trinidad. With that, we could see how the Asian Migration helped to shape modern Caribbean society.**

Question 12

What is an Indentureship?

Answer 12

It is the state or period of being a servant bound to a service (contract) for a specified time in return for passage to a colony.