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April 2017
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It was the end of Indian indentureship in Trinidad. After over 70 years and thousands of East Indian migrants coming to local shores, calls to end their sub-human living conditions were finally heeded. It was also a year of turmoil for the Shouter Baptist community as intolerant members of society tried to squash their form of worship. These diverse historical milestones have a common significance. “They entailed some sort of fight, for liberation or religious persecution, inequality and so forth,” explains Dr. Sherry-Ann Singh, Head of the Department of History at the St. Augustine Campus. The struggles of these three groups in the turbulent milieu of 1917 Trinidad was the focus of His-tory Fest 2017 held in March. Former department head Dr. Claudius Fergus conceived the idea of History Fest in 2015 to make history more accessible. “The Department thought it was a very good way of highlighting the discipline of history to the larger public with special emphasis on students – CAPE and CSEC students,” explains Dr. Singh. This year the History Fest committee, led by current Chair Dr. Gelien Matthews, was particularly struck by the significance and conflict which characterised these events of a century ago. Through activities, lectures and presentations, the Department worked to bring these landmark events to life. The several events expanded on the themes and included “Causes and Consequences of World War I” facilitated by Dr. Karen Eccles, Divisional Librarian in the West Indiana and Special Col-lections Division. Professor Hazel Gibbs Depeza and Dr. Claudius Fergus highlighted the Shouter Prohibition Ordinance with presentations on the “Growth of the Baptist Faith in T&T" and “The Shouters Prohibition Ordinance of 1917: Constitutional Issues in Enactment and Re-peal”. Professor Brinsley Samaroo presented on “Experiences of Indian Indentured Labourers”. The well-received presentations drew an audience of secondary school students and members of the public. Dr. Singh observed that some of the students were surprised at how much more they learned about indentured labour, a topic which is only lightly covered in their syllabi. Professor Samaroo vividly brought to life the struggles of ancestors who dealt with deplorable conditions, harsh penalties for minor infractions and language barriers that made it harder for them to fight for their rights. Dr. Eccles discussed many issues which resonate today, including the lead up to imperialism and colonialism. She observed that several students were particularly interested in the Balkans and the terrorist activities that led up to the war. She was blown away by their insightful questions. Some West Indians joined the British Army because of their economic situation and out of loy-alty to the British. Some women even joined the war effort. Dr. Eccles cited the examples of Leonide Cipriani who served as a clerk in the London War Office, and her sister Jules who worked in a government munitions factory. Black men who joined often received laborious tasks. They worked on canal defences, barbed wire entanglements and bombs. They also endured ra-cism and poor living conditions. The presentations on the Shouter Baptists highlighted the group’s struggles to practice their relig-ion against strong opposition from established faiths and the middle class who often reported on their activities to the authorities. According to Dr. Matthews, “They were seen as inferior and closely linked to slavery days and the degradation of people of African descent.” The group resisted. “They ran to the hills and forests,” she said, explaining how they took their worship under-ground. “They also fought back when the police arrested them and from the 1920s right up to the 1950s, they fought a campaign to have the ordinance repealed.” Trade union hero Uriah Butler was the first to lead this campaign. Legislative Council Member, Albert Gomes, called for a committee to investigate the ordinance. The passion and knowledge of the speakers were complemented by images provided by the Na-tional Archives and films like “The Shouters and the Control Freak Empire” by Oyetayo Ray-mond Ojoade. There were even mannequins dressed in the uniform of the typical World War I soldier and models dressed in saris to depict the dress of the indentured labourers. On March 16, UWI students going about their business might have been surprised to see a Shouter Baptist Spiritual service going on. The Shouter Baptist attendants who came to the workshop were starting that day’s forum. A crowd gathered to observe the proceedings. The week of events provided many opportunities for participants to be actively engaged. There was a poster competition and an essay competition for primary school students. During a post graduate history panel, Arti Ramsaroop discussed “Pan-Africanism: An Attempt to Break the Si-lence of Women in the Movement During the First Half of the Twentieth Century.” Joseph O’Neil presented on “History of the Social, Cultural and Labour Experiences of Women in To-bago 1763–1963. Anne'el Bain spoke on “Supportive Networks amongst Selected Socialist Car-ibbean and Latin American Countries in the Cold War and Post-Cold War Era” while Tricia Shah explored “Public Health in Trinidad and Tobago in the Post Emancipation Period.” The final night of activities included a debate between The UWI and the University of the Southern Caribbean (USC) students on the topic “Be it Resolved that Studying History is Worth the While.” USC won the debate, skilfully arguing against. It is probably safe to assume that many members of the Department were not in agreement with their stance though all were im-pressed by their excellent debating skills! The growing attitude that studying History is not essential is a cause for concern for the Depart-ment. In fact, changing this mindset is a driving force behind History Fest. In recent years, the number of students joining the Department has dropped considerably. The reasons are manifold. Dr. Singh notes that some schools are no longer teaching the subject, focusing instead on science subjects and the scholarships attached to them. Many potential students wonder how marketable they can be with a History degree. Each of the Faculty members interviewed observed that some don’t realise that studying history opens many career doors. Dr. Singh points out that History majors can go on to be analysts, work in the archives or work for the Government. Dr. Matthews thinks that studying History can be valuable to people interested in law enforce-ment. She explains that the intellectual training – wide reading, synthesis, corroboration and formulation – provides a scope for employment which is significant. “I think if we have more of our police officers... with some kind of grounding in history, we would be better able to put the crime situation together – to puzzle and solve and resolve some of the issues with crime.”
Each Faculty member emphasised that studying History is invaluable to a person’s identity and to the development of the nation. “History is something that lives inside of you,” said Dr. Eccles. “Whatever you do, you have that foundation. You have that Trinidadian foundation. You have that Caribbean foundation. You have a world foundation to know where you fit in...Wherever you go you have some sense of identity.” According to Dr. Singh,“In order to deal with our present successfully, we need to engage with our past in a very, very aware, pronounced manner.” Dr. Matthews noted that while History might not exactly repeat itself, it is a useful guide for the path of world events. “It’s a past that walks into the present, and it will certainly walk into the future,” she affirms. As this year’s festival closed, the Department was already making plans for next year. They are hoping that their efforts will draw more students into the field. “We want History Fest to be a stepping stone, a feeder to whet the appetite of younger students, so that when they are consider-ing programmes for tertiary level education, they will at least give some consideration to His-tory,” said Dr. Matthews. Dr. Eccles hopes that more faculty members, the stalwarts of the profession, will get the oppor-tunity to guest lecture in schools so that students “can find some kind of personal image of the History Department” that would motivate more of them to pursue this field of study. Dr. Singh is hoping that the festival can be extended to the new South campus. The faculty expressed their need for more financial support as well as moral support from other departments as well as the Office of the Principal. The combined effort of the various entities could make a change not only in the local study of history, but in our society as a whole. Dixie-Ann Belle is a freelance writer, editor and proofreader. Search for Belleworks on Facebook or e-mail her at belleworks@gmail.com. |
As 1917 dawned, it heralded a period of great change in world events. It was the beginning of the end of World War I, one of the bloodiest conflicts in human history – a war where even West Indians served, though they were rarely honoured for their contributions. 