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St.Vincent
History
Known
by the Caribs as Hairoun (“Land of the Blessed”),
St. Vincent was first inhabited by the Ciboney, a grouping
of Meso-Indians. The economy of these hunter-gatherers depended
heavily on marine resources as well as the land. They used
basic tools and weapons and built rock shelters and semi permanent
villages.
Another
indigenous group, the Arawak, who entered the West Indies
from Venezuela and moved gradually north and west along the
islands, gradually displaced the Ciboney. They practiced a
highly productive form of agriculture and had a more advanced
social structure and material culture. The peace-loving Arawak
fished and collectively formed plots of land. The bountiful
harvests and abundant fish, combined with the compact and
stable island population, permitted the development of an
elaborate political and social structure.
The Caribs,
arriving in St. Vincent perhaps no more than 100 years before
the Europeans, conquered the Arawak and began a new chapter
in Vincentian history. More warlike than their predecessors,
the Caribs were extremely efficient at keeping unwanted settlers
from their shores. While it is doubtful that Christopher Columbus
ever set foot on the island, he may have sighted it on his
third voyage to the New World (1498-1500). Heavy Carib resistance
prevented St. Vincent from being colonized long after most
other Caribbean islands had well-established European settlements.
In 1627 Charles I of England granted the island to Lord Carlisle
and then, in 1672 Charles II granted it to Lord Willoughby.
While the British, French and Spanish disputed possession,
the Caribs resisted all these claims.
The first
permanent settlers arrived on the shores of St. Vincent in
1635. These new inhabitants were African slaves who survived
the sinking of the Dutch slave ship on which they were being
transported. The escaped Africans merged with the Caribs and
gradually adopted their language. Referred to as Black Caribs,”
to differentiate them from the original. “Yellow Caribs,”
the progeny of this group became the foundation of the Garifuna
(which means“cassava eating people”) who today
populate Belize and Honduras. After several skirmishes both
groups had agreed in 1700 to subdivide the island between
themselves, the Yellow Caribsoccupying the Leeward and the
Black Caribs the Windward.
The British, who
claimed Carib land by royal grants, were more despised by
the Caribs than the French who were permitted to set up settlements
in the early 1700’s. The 1748 TreatyofAix -la-Chapelle
officially ended the War of the Austrian Succession. This
treaty included the proviso that St. Vincent remain officially
“neutral.” The 1763 Treaty of Paris ceded St.
Vincent to the British. During the period 1772-1773 (referred
to as the First Carib War), the Caribs engaged in guerrilla
warfare and destroyed plantations by setting them on fire.
With Carib aid, the French forcibly seized the island in1779,
but restored itto Britain in 1783, underthe Treaty of Versailles.
In 1795, with the
country under the governership of James Seton, the Caribs
began the two years of attack known as the Second Carib War.
With the aid of French rebels from Martinique, the Caribs
plotted the removal of the British. Chatoyer and DuValle (the
two main Carib chiefs) planned that Chatoyer would lead the
rebellion on the Leeward side and DuValle would lead on the
Windward side. News came to Kingstown on March 8th thatwar
had broken out.
Chatoyer directed
his fury at the settlers themselves rather than destroying
their property. His belief was that the land would be extremely
useful to the Caribs after the removal of the British. He
worked his way along the Leeward, joined in battle by the
French at Chateaublair, to unite with DuValle at Dorsetshire
Hill. The amalgamated forces then set their sights on Kingstown.
A battalion of
British soldiers from recently arrived warships marched towards
Dorsetshire Hill on March 14th. On this night, Chatoyerwas
killed by Major Alexander Leith. Considered a hero to the
nation, a monument in Chatoyer’s honour is placed at
Dorsetshire Hill. Battles raged throughout St. Vincent overthe
nextyear with both sides bearing heavy losses. The final battle
took place at Vigie on June 10th, 1796. After a night of arduous
fighting the Caribs approach the British with a truce flag.
Submission terms
were negotiatead and during the next four months over 5,000
Caribs surrendered. The Caribs were exiled to the neighbouring
island of Balliceaux and in February 1797, the defeated Caribs
were loaded onto a convoy of eight vessels and transported
to the coast of Honduras. The few remaining Caribs scattered
to the north of the island nearSandy Bay where their descendants
can still be found.
The plantation
economy, based on slave labour, flourished and St. Vincent
produced sugar, cotton, coffee and cocoa. In 1812 La Soufiiére
erupted and devastated much of the island. After the emancipation
of slaves in 1833, indentured labour from Portugal and the
East Indies was brought in to rectify the Labour shortage.
St. Vincent became a part of the British colony of the Windward
Islands in 1871. In the latter half of the 19th century sugar
slumped and a depression lasted until the end of the century.
In 1902 La Soufrière erupted again, devastating the
northern half of the island and killing 2,000 people.
In 1925 a Legislative
Council was inaugurated but it was not until 1951 that universal
adult suffrage was introduced. St.Vincent and the Grenadines
belonged to the Windward Islands Federation until 1959 and
the West Indies Federation between 1958 and 1962. Britain
granted internal self-government to the isLand in 1969 and
as a British Assodated State, Vincentians were responsible
for their internal affairs while Great Britain handled foreign
affairs and defense.
In 1972 james Mitchell
(an independent) formed a coalition government with the People’s
Political Party (PPP) which collapsed in 1974. Followingthe
1974 elections MiLton Cato formed a coalition government with
the PPP and the St. Vincent LabourParty (SVLP). On Oct. 27,
1979 St. Vincent gained full independence within the Commonwealth
from Britain. The New Democratic Party (NDP) formed a majority
government with Mitchell as Prime Minister in1984.
Politically, the
island remained under the leadership of Sir james Mitchell
until March 2001 when the Unity Labour Party (ULP), led by
Dr. RalpGonsalves, won 12 of the 15 parliamentary seats. St.
Vincent and the Grenadines continue to be a stable democratic
society welcoming visitors from around the world.
THE RECONNECTION
OF THE GARIFUNA PEOPLES ( by Dr. Adrian Fraser)
In February 2001 a Belizean arrived in St. Vincent as part
of a University of the West Indies sponsored ‘Artiste
in Residence’ programme. The gentleman, Pen Cayetano,
entered the taxi that was taking him to his temporary place
of abode beating his drum furiously and passionately, much
to the constermation of the taxi driver. Cayetano had grown
up in a community where there were constant references to
St. Vincent as their motherland. He had, for a longtime, yearned
to visit this country and was finally given the opportunity
to do so. His drum became a vent for his pent-up emotions.
He had finally reached home.
Mr. Cayetano hails from the Garifuna community of Belize,
a people who have traced their roots to 18th century St. Vincent.
They are the descendants of the Black Caribs who were exiled
trom St. Vincent in March 1797. These people are the product
of the inter marriage between the Caribs (Kallinagoes) of
St. Vincent and African slaves who took refuge among them.
For centuries they had resisted European attempts to take
control of St. Vincent and to deprive them of their lands,
until finally surrendering to the British in 1796. After having
been kept on Balliceaux, a tiny island of the St. Vincent
and the Grenadines, for about seven months, some 2,248 of
them who remained from a captive population of 4,338, were
put on board a convoy of eight vessels and sent into exile
to Roatan, an island off Honduras. From Roatan they moved
to mainland Honduras and then to other countries in Central
America. Today the Garifuna people form distinct parts of
the population of Belize, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.
Following the pattern of migration from the mid-twentieth
century, Garifuna communities now also exist in the United
States of America, with an estimated population of between
75,000 and 100,000. Efforts are being made to build a monument
at Balliceaux in honour of those who were forced to leave
these shores and the thousands who died there. Belizean visitors
to Balliceaux have often been overcome with emotion as they
landed on this tiny island where so many of their ancestors
were kept and died.
The connection
between the descendants of the Belizean Garifuna people and
the Black Caribs of St. Vincent had fora longtime been a well-kept
secret, until the indigenous people used the 500th anniversary
of the coming of Columbus to reflect on their past and present
Life, and the Garifuna took the opportunity to strengthen
the reconnection process.
While the Central American Garifuna communities made efforts
to preserve aspects of their culture and their uniqueness
as a group, in St. Vincent their customs and way of life became
fused with the post emancipation Afro -Vincentian culture.
Some of the traditional foods and customs, such as the making
of cassava bread, boat-building and basket making became essential
elements of Vincentian culture without their origin being
fully recognized. It is ironic that in the homeland even the
language has been lost. This should in fact not be surprising
since the main culture bearers were among those exiled in
1797 and those remaining had to adapt themselves for survival.
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The most
recent development in this quest for reclaiming identity and
reconstructing their history took place on March 14, 2002
when the Great Carib (Garifuna) Chief, Chatoyer, was declared
first National Hero of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and
the day made a national holiday. Chatoyer, who is also revered
bythe Garifuna people in Central America, was Paramount Chief
at a very critical period in the struggle to retain the independence
of St. Vincent and to preserve the lands on which his people
lived. He died in 1795 during the battle that led to the final
defeat of the Caribs. The recognition of the importance of
the Carib Chief to the life and struggles of his people has
long been recognized. The British have established a monument
in a prominent place in the Anglican Cathedral to their Major
Leith who, it was alleged, had killed Chatoyer in a duel.
The account of his death given by the British has been disputed,
and is believed to have been part of efforts at psychological
warfare.
Chatoyer was also
immortalized in a play, the “Drama of King Shotaway”
, that was performed in NewYork in 1823, twenty-eight years
after his death. The play was written by Mr. Browne, whose
first name is unknown. It is believed that he was a Garifuna
member who had experienced the battle of 1795 in which Chatoyer
was killed. Mr. Browne is regarded as the Father of BlackTheatre
in the United States of America and this play is said to be
the first about a black person.
The recognition
given on March 14 to this leading figure in the history of
the Garifuna/Black Carib people will undoubtedly focus attention
on his and his people’s contribution to the history
of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. They had held the might
of Europe at bay for centuries, St. Vincent being among the
last of the Caribbean countries to be colonized. It will also
contribute to restoring the confidence and reconstructing
the identity of a people who had been victims of a colonial
past and who have had over the years to face the accusation
of being cannibals that had been widely propagated in colonial
history.
The Black Carib/Garifuna
population in St. Vincentthat remained following the exile,
had for long lived on the margin of society, many of them
in communities that had been devastated by volcanic eruptions
in 1812 and 1902 and had, to all intents and purposes, been
cut off from mainstream Vincentian life. A lot has changed
over the years, a result of political developments and the
growing consciousness of the people. The reconnection of the
people, among other things, will help in the reclaiming of
their history, identity and pride; and in reconstructing and
restoring their central place in the eady history and development
of St. Vincent, or Yuremi as it is known in Garifuna language.
The history, artifacts
and other symbols of the Black Caribs (Garifuna people) are
essential parts of the history and culture of St. Vincent
and the Grenadines. Many of the forts and places where the
different encounters took place, remain and tell their own
story, among them the cannons at Fort Charlotte that point
inland. Beside the information they provide to the Vincentian
people, they also add to the rich heritage and cultural-tourism
infrastructure. Sections of the Central American Garifuna
community are developing a case for reparations and are seeking
‘symbolic’ citizenship of this country. The story
of the Garifuna people is a unique one that needs to be told,
since among other things, it is pivotal to understanding their
position in Central America and also the history of St. Vincent
and the Grenadines; and indeed the rest of the Caribbean region
in which St. Vincent was one of the last outposts of Carib
resistance.
http://www.argonlimited.com/stvincenthistory.htm
http://www.svgtourism.com
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/caribbean/saint_vincent_and_the_grenadines/history.htm
http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/43/index-gcf.html
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107935.html
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/vc.html
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