British Government from Colombus to Independence Part 1

Proprietary Government  Monarch chose LP  Lord Proprietor appointed governors(Could be in charge of more than one colony)  Governors appointed  others Money had to be paid over to the British treasury

The Old Representative Government (1663) o Grenada o Jamaica The ORS consisted of three parts: o Governor o Britian chose governor . The governor chose council (nominated) o Landowners/wealthy planters/merchants chose assembly . Assembly (elected Lower House), no voting by blacks or poor whites Over time 1830’s the emerging black and coloured professionals coloured who owned property could:  vote  sit in legislative  serve as jurors This system existed after the abolition of slavery EXCEPT:  Trinidad  St. Lucia  Barbados

The ORS was unworkable system in which the Governor had power and no authority, and the House of Assembly had authority but no power: it was a formula for stalemate.

Crown Colony Dissatisfaction by the masses  Pressed for a larger voice in government o Imperial official (Henry Taylor) . education and experience needed by a society emerging out of slavery Britain in a memorandum1839 recommended the creation of a Crown Colony government

Morant Bay Rebellion1865 o 1 in every Jamaican could vote o Whites who owned property could vote o Little access to land o Effects of the American civil war

Crown Colony 1866

1 British Government from Colombus to Independence Part 1

 Crown chose governor o Governor elected . Executive council (elite council men) . Legislative council Crown could override all domestic opposition Most administrative posts were held by British men No public input Unsuccessful attempts to petition colonial office Pay tax and provide labour (the masses) Masses had no say in political matters Imperial government was afraid that Black majority meant chaos in the colonies

Crown Colony Modified Wood Commission In 1922, the Wood Commission visited the Windward and Leeward Islands with terms of reference “to ascertain if the people were ready for some form of political development”. So the modified Crown Colony came about o Crown nominate Governor o Governor nominate executive council o People elect some members of the legislative council o Masses had a say o Some elected members to the legislative council eg. In Grenada 5 out of the 15 members were elected by 4% of the population (the masses)

Socioeconomic factors which led to the protests 1. sugar had an unfavourable world market aggravated by the Great Depression of 1929-1932 in the United States.  Prices were low  Planters abandoned their farms small farmers could not compete with agricultural methods used on large estates  production cost was, therefore, high. Peasant farmers copecould not  numerous tropical plant diseases  unfavourable weather conditions.

2. higher wages in some territories like in Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Panama wanted higher wages when they returned home.

For those people who continued to work on estates, wages were low. In Barbados, wages averaged 2/3 a day; in Jamaica 2/6 to 3/6 a day in St Kitts 10d a day and in Trinidad 5/6 to 12/6 a week. Added to this, the hours of work were long, the methods of discipline were harsh and seasonal unemployment and underemployment was common

3. Social services such as education

 only at the elementary level  did not the need of the student  Teachers were few and ill-trained  classes overcrowded  accommodation was inadequate  secondary schools  Only a small percentage of students went health facilities were very inadequate.  sanitation was poor  Yaws,  Hookworm  malaria were prevalent.  Houses were dilapidated and constituted a health hazard 4. Land ownership was unfairly divided. Best land owned by  absentee planters  local plantocracy. Worthless land was given  to peasants. 5. Jobs  overpopulation  unemployment  underemployment.  emigration opportunities were removed after 1918. (by The United States and Central American)

Political factors that led to the protests

1. The 1920s and 1930s was a period of rising Caribbean nationalism with an emphasis on black consciousness. The National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP)  Marcus Garvey, who had lived in the United States. He was the founder of the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) which advocated o for social reform of blacks, o pride of race and of African past and the rejection of white values. There was also the philosophy of 'negritude' which exalted o the dignity o and vitality of black people. These movements increased Caribbean resentment against their unjust social condition.

Caribbean governments under the Crown Colony system were inefficient. They were incapable of devising measures for economic developments and improvements of social services.

Many riots broke out and trade unions were formed Examples of Trade Unions

1. British Guiana Labour Union - 21st July, 1922 2. Trinidad Oilfield Workers Trade Union - 15th September, 1937 3. Jamaica Hotel Employees Association - 1st December, 1937 4. Bustamante Industrial Trade Union (BITU) - 23rd January, 1939 5. Barbados Workers' Union - 4th October, 1941 6. Dominica Trade And Caribbean people benefited from them :  Sick leave  Pension schemes  Minimum wage law  Workmen's compensation  Holidays with pay  Redundancy pay Union - 31st December, 1945

The Moyne Commission c) The uprisings of the 1930s were a concern of the colonial office in Britain. This led to another Royal Commission (1938). The commission headed by Lord Moyne was responsible for investigating social and economic conditions that occurred during the 1930s. Popularly called Moyne Commission, it was also to make recommendations. For a period of 15 months from September 1938 to June 1939, the commission took formal evidence, oral and written, made on-the-spot investigations of conditions in housing, agriculture, hospital, schools, prisons, factories, lunatic and leper asylum, orphanages and land settlement. Commission Findings  Too much attention was being paid to how things were done in Britain and not enough to how things would be done in the Caribbean.  The ordinary people, especially ordinary black people, lacked health, wealth and proper elementary education.  There was too much gap between the 'haves' and the 'have nots'. Recommendations of the Moyne Commission  The establishment of West Indian Welfare fund, a sum of 20,000,000. The objective of this fund was to finance schemes for the general improvement of education, health services, housing, slum clearance, creation of labour departments and provision of social welfare facilities.  Gradual progress to self-government through gradual participation of people in the decision- making process*1  Propose compulsory registration of trade unions and government audit of their funds.  Agriculture to be diversified further. *1 in 1nov 1937 an elected member suggest to the governor to widen the franchise-nothing was done In dec 1938 another elected JAG Smith suggested to widen the franchise endorsing Adult Suffrage (12 to 1) Political Parties Jamaica PNP 1938 Norman Manley

JLP 1943 Bustamante Universal Adult Suffrage 1944 Everybody over 21 could now vote Federation