Some months ago I had a very informative discussion with Ronald “Boo” Hinkson, who has in my view a remarkable understanding of the issues facing Saint Lucia. “Boo” was saying that there is need to teach our young people their history and that if a people do not know their past they will not understand their present and be able to chart their future. This was music to my ears, more melodious than any music penned by my dear friend. What are we teaching our children in the secondary and primary schools as History? History at the primary school level is almost non-existent, they will be told something about Caribs and Arawaks and the irrelevancies of our changing hands 14 times. In the secondary school, if you do history up to CXC you may learn a bit more.
There is a part of our history in Saint Lucia, that we know very little about and one which has a profound impact in understanding the socio-economic issues of Saint Lucia. I refer to the entrance of the Liberated Africans into our society from 1841. These were Africans that came to Saint Lucia with no experience with slavery. I have done the research using the reference material found in “A History of Saint Lucia” written by Jolien Harmsen, Guy Ellis and Robert Devaux. I have found this book to be an excellent document on the history of Saint Lucia, although there is need for correction of how Saint Lucia got its name.
Britain abolished the slave trade in 1807 and slavery was altogether abolished in 1838, however other nations continued with the trading of slaves. British Forces however would intercept and liberated those found on the ships up to 1870. If the ship was intercepted on the eastern Atlantic those on board were carried to St Helena or Sierra Leone. The freed were housed and encouraged to migrate as contracted labourers to the British West Indies. If they were intercepted on the Caribbean side of the Atlantic they were brought to the British West Indies where they were settled as freed men and women.
Between 1841 to 1867, a total of 1298 were received in Saint Lucia. The contractual terms were as follows:
- Work for one year on an assigned estate
- Working hours were 9 hrs per day with an hour break and 5 to 6 days
- Lodging to be provided should be ‘ dry, wholesome and comfortable lodging’
- Half an acre of suitable garden land
- Free medical attention
- Rations ( salt fish, beef or pork, bread, rice yams, sweet potatoes, eddoes or plantain)
- Two pence per day for the first 6 months and 5 pence for the next six months with a reduction in rations
- Complete 5 yrs of industrial residence and the entitlement of a free passage back to their homeland or a piece or parcel of land.
The land ownership within Saint Lucia can thus be explained by where these liberated Africans settled. The comments of the then estate owners are quite interesting, they were described as; ‘the most efficient labourers, ‘we are satisfied with the cheerful and willing performance of their work’, ‘docile industrious and sober’, excellent agricultural labourers’.
Not long after their entrance into Saint Lucia, these liberated Africans were owners of cattle, pigs, poultry and land owners in Grande Anse, Marquis Estate, Dennery, Praslin, Micoud and Gros Islet/Dauphin. They became independent peasants. History records one of these Liberated Africans who stood out, one named Assor. Assor was from the Ekiti tribe of Nigeria and after working out his contract had bought large tracts of land in where we now call Fond Assau.
The element of independence and the willingness to forge our own future was part of the framework of the Liberated African. I recall my days at the then Ministry of Communications Works & Transport, that people would come desirous of getting a contract, and never wanted to be hired as a labourer with the potholing crew. They wanted the independence, to forge their own future as a petty contractor. A nation’s policies must thus support this high value cultural commodity, and thus there is that fear that our STEP programme may be a threat to this valuable historical cultural commodity introduced by our Liberated African forefathers.
JOHN PETERS