Caribbean History and Reality

8/9/2019 Caribbean History and Reality

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Caribbean History

and Reality



RealityFor many Caribbean people Caribbean History is boring anduninteresting, the youth today see no relevance in studying it,since they find it to be to much reading and it cannot helpthem in the world of work. “What kind of ob will ! get withthat"

#any $chools have removed it as a sub%ect preferring todedicate time and resources to the $ciences. !n other areas itis incorporated into $ocial $tudies where it is lost.

&s a result the youth today do not know their history, moreand more errors are made in the media and past values and

beliefs are not transferred to the ne't generation. !n factthere has been a decline in tertiary enrolment in Historycourses.

Far to many untruths about our past are accepted as realityand “truth" since no one does research or check the history.



Contrary to popular belief, the history of the Caribbean did notbegin with the arrival of (uropeans in )*+. !t actually started

-, years ago with the infusion of &rchaic groups from $outh&merica and the successive migrations of other /eo0!ndiansfrom $outh &merica for about , years thereafter.

ust knowing about the Caribbean is %ust the tip of the iceberg.

1o understand the diversity of each island, their distinctivephysical, political and socioeconomic challenges must bee'amined as well as their geography, common historicale'periences, participation in the global community, notforgetting the diverse ethnic and racial groups and thecontinuing struggle for survival and sovereignty. 1his is why

Caribbean History is important.



1he history of the Caribbean reveals the significant role the regionplayed in the colonial struggles of the (uropean powers since the)2th century. !n the th century the Caribbean was againimportant during World War !!, in decoloni3ation wave in the post0

war period, and in the tension between Communist Cuba and the4nited $tates 54$6. 7enocide, slavery, immigration and rivalrybetween world powers have given Caribbean history an impactdisproportionate to the si3e of this small region.

1he Caribbean still in some ways lives under the show of its past.1o begin with, the true indigenous of the islands , /eo0!ndianssuch as the 1aino and 8alinago, were all but wiped by thecoloni3ation of the )9th and )-th century. 1heir oral culture didnot make for easy preservation and thus left barely a cultural mark

for the enslave societies of black &fricans and !ndentured to clingto. &lthough slavery ended in theory in the late ):s, theoppressive nature of Colonialism led many to believe that theliberation of the enslaved was only an illusion. For the maintainingof a powerful white plantocracy ensured that most blacks, thoughfree, would still be living in conditions of poverty with low wages

and little hope for advancement.



For most countries independence began to come about in thelate )+2s, as the foundation of the West !ndian Federation5including nations such as amaica, ;arbados, and $t. <ucia6

signalled a departure from the weight of ;ritish influence. ;utthis organi3ation dissolved in )+9, and while many countries5like 1rinidad and 1obago and amaica6 achieved independentstatus soon after, some 5including $t. <ucia, which did not gainfull independent status until )+-+6 remained trapped under thecolonial influence until =uite recently. 1hus, as these countries

still e'perience the growing pains of their initial years ofindependence and still strive to move out from the shadow oftheir only we must reali3e the realities of our past.

&nother reality is the fact that many (urocentric historical viewsand inaccurate historical writings, accepted for generations, areconstantly being revised by Caribbean Historians. Historians like(ric Williams to contemporary writers like, >r ;asil Reid, ?ro.;ridget ;rereton and >r ohn Campbell have all been revisingand producing radically up0to0date and accurate representationsof our Caribbean ?ast.



1he !mportance of

Caribbean History



Caribbean History Helps 4s 4nderstand @ur ?eople and$ocieties.

!n the first place, Caribbean history offers a storehouse ofinformation about how our people and societies behave.4nderstanding the operations of people and societies isdifficult, though a number of disciplines make the attempt.&n e'clusive reliance on current data would needlesslyhandicap our efforts. How can we evaluate war if the nation

is at peaceAunless we use historical materialsB How can weunderstand genius, the influence of technological innovation,or the role that beliefs play in shaping family life, if we dontuse what we know about e'periences in the pastB $omesocial scientists attempt to formulate laws or theories abouthuman behaviour. ;ut even these recourses depend on

historical information, e'cept for in limited, often artificialcases in which e'periments can be devised to determine howpeople act. #a%or aspects of a societys operation, like masselections, missionary activities, or military alliances, cannotbe set up as precise e'periments.



Caribbean History Helps 4s 4nderstand Change and How the $ocietyWe <ive in Came to ;e

1he second reason Caribbean history is inescapable as a sub%ect ofserious study follows closely on the first. 1he past causes the

present, and so the future. &ny time we try to know why somethinghappenedAwhether a shift in political party dominance in theCaribbean, a ma%or change in the teenage suicide rate, or adisagreement between islandsAwe have to look for factors that tookshape earlier. $ometimes fairly recent Caribbean history will sufficeto e'plain a ma%or development, but often we need to look further

back to identify the causes of change. @nly through studyingCaribbean history can we grasp how things changeD only throughCaribbean history can we begin to comprehend the factors that causechangeD and only through Caribbean history can we understand whatelements of an institution or a society persist despite change.

History, then, provides the only e'tensive materials available tostudy the human condition. !t also focuses attention on the comple'processes of social change, including the factors that are causingchange around us today



1he !mportance of Caribbean History in @ur @wn <ives

1hese two fundamental reasons for studying history underliemore specific and =uite diverse uses of Caribbean history in our

own lives. Caribbean History well told is beautiful. #any of thehistorians who most appeal to the general reading public knowthe importance of dramatic and skilful writingAas well as ofaccuracy. ;iography and military history appeal in part becauseof the tales they contain. Caribbean History as art andentertainment serves a real purpose, on aesthetic grounds but

also on the level of human understanding. $tories well done arestories that reveal how people and societies have actuallyfunctioned, and they prompt thoughts about the humane'perience in other times and places. 1he same aesthetic andhumanistic goals inspire people to immerse themselves inefforts to reconstruct =uite remote pasts, far removed from

immediate, present0day utility. ('ploring what historianssometimes call the Epastiness of the pastEAthe ways people indistant ages constructed their livesAinvolves a sense of beautyand e'citement, and ultimately another perspective on humanlife and society.



Caribbean History Contributes to #oral 4nderstanding

Caribbean History also provides a terrain for moralcontemplation. $tudying the stories of individuals andsituations in the past allows a student of Caribbean history totest his or her own moral sense, to hone it against some of thereal comple'ities individuals have faced in difficult settings.?eople who have weathered adversity not %ust in some workof fiction, but in real, historical circumstances can provideinspiration. EHistory teaching by e'ampleE is one phrase that

describes this use of a study of the pastAa study not only ofcertifiable heroes, the great men and women of Caribbeanhistory who successfully worked through moral dilemmas, butalso of more ordinary people who provide lessons in courage,diligence, or constructive protest.



Caribbean History ?rovides !dentity

Caribbean History also helps provide identity, and this isun=uestionably one of the reasons all modern nations encourage

its teaching in some form. Caribbean Historical data includeevidence about how families, groups, institutions and wholecountries were formed and about how they have evolved whileretaining cohesion. For many Caribbean people, studying thehistory of ones own family is the most obvious use of history, forit provides facts about genealogy and 5at a slightly more comple'

level6 a basis for understanding how the family has interactedwith larger historical change. Family identity is established andconfirmed. #any institutions, businesses, communities, and socialunits, such as ethnic groups in the 1rinidad, amaica and;arbados, use history for similar identity purposes. #erelydefining the group in the present pales against the possibility of

forming an identity based on a rich past. &nd of course Caribbeannations use identity history as wellAand sometimes abuse it.Caribbean Histories that tell the national story, emphasi3ingdistinctive features of the national e'perience, are meant to drivehome an understanding of national values and a commitment tonational loyalty.



$tudying Caribbean History !s (ssential for 7ood Citi3enship

& study of Caribbean history is essential for good citi3enship.1his is the most common %ustification for the place of history in

school curricula. $ometimes advocates of citi3enship historyhope merely to promote national identity and loyalty through ahistory spiced by vivid stories and lessons in individual successand morality. ;ut the importance of history for citi3enship goesbeyond this narrow goal and can even challenge it at somepoints.

History that lays the foundation for genuine citi3enship returns,in one sense, to the essential uses of the study of the past.History provides data about the emergence of nationalinstitutions, problems, and valuesAits the only significantstorehouse of such data available. !t offers evidence also about

how nations have interacted with other societies, providinginternational and comparative perspectives essential forresponsible citi3enship.



What $kills >oes a $tudent of Caribbean History >evelopB

What does a well0trained student of Caribbean history, schooledto work on past materials and on case studies in social change,learn how to doB 1he list is manageable, but it contains severaloverlapping categories

The Ability to Assess Evidence. 1he study of Caribbean historybuilds e'perience in dealing with and assessing various kinds ofevidenceAthe sorts of evidence historians use in shaping the

most accurate pictures of the past that they can.

The Ability to Assess Conflicting Interpretations. <earningCaribbean history means gaining some skill in sorting throughdiverse, often conflicting interpretations. 4nderstanding howsocieties workAthe central goal of historical studyAis inherently

imprecise, and the same certainly holds true for understandingwhat is going on in the present day. <earning how to identifyand evaluate conflicting interpretations is an essentialciti3enship skill for which history, as an often0contestedlaboratory of human e'perience, provides training.



Experience in Assessing Past Examples of Change. ('periencein assessing past e'amples of change is vital to understandingchange in society todayAits an essential skill in what we areregularly told is our Eever0changing world.E &nalysis of

change means developing some capacity for determining themagnitude and significance of change, for some changes aremore fundamental than others. Comparing particular changesto relevant e'amples from the past helps students ofCaribbean history develop this capacity.

Documents

Caribbean History and Reality