Developing Little England: Public Health, Popular Protest, and Colonial Policy in Barbados, 1918-1940
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University of South Florida Scholar Commons Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate School 3-19-2016 Developing Little nE gland: Public Health, Popular Protest, and Colonial Policy in Barbados, 1918-1940 Brittany J. Merritt Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd Part of the European History Commons, and the Other Languages, Societies, and Cultures Commons Scholar Commons Citation Merritt, Brittany J., "Developing Little nE gland: Public Health, Popular Protest, and Colonial Policy in Barbados, 1918-1940" (2016). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/6117 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Developing Little England: Public Health, Popular Protest, and Colonial Policy in Barbados, 1918-1940 by Brittany J. Merritt A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of History College of Arts and Sciences University of South Florida Major Professor: Fraser Ottanelli, Ph.D. Julia F. Irwin, Ph.D. Darcie Fontaine, Ph.D. Kevin Yelvington, Ph.D. Date of Approval: March 11, 2016 Keywords: Imperialism, Welfare, Race, Decolonization Copyright © 2016, Brittany J. Merritt Acknowledgements Dissertations take a village to produce, and this one is no exception. I must first thank my advisor, Fraser Ottanelli, for your guidance, pep talks, and comments on more drafts than I would like to remember. You were there from the beginning to the end, and for that I thank you. Julia Irwin, you inspired my interest in colonial medicine, and I appreciate your unfailing positivity and encouragement over the last six years. Darcie Fontaine, you taught me how to teach and have helped me in so many ways, whether it be navigating the job market or recommending the best places to eat in Paris. Kevin Yelvington, you not only have lent me your expertise about anthropology and Caribbean history, but also have been a wonderful friend. Thank you to all of you. To the other professors and staff at the University of South Florida who were so instrumental in my education, both past and present, thank you. Kathleen Paul, you first sparked my fascination with the British Empire when I was a young Master’s student. I couldn’t have asked for a better introduction to the field. Philip Levy, thank you for helping me learn how to get my head around theory. David Johnson, thank you for teaching me how to write. Giovanna Benadusi, thank you for your help with grant proposals, and the many delicious dinners over the years. Anne Koenig, Jennifer Dukes, Stephen Prince, Barbara Berglund, Jack Tunstall, Brian Connolly, Michael Decker, and Frances Ramos, thank you for your advice, encouragement, and help. Theresa Lewis, Tami Davis, and Judy Drawdy, you kept our department running and provided a steady supply of good cheer along the way. A dissertation is not possible without the help of wonderful archivists and librarians. To the staff at the National Archives in Kew, thank you for your stellar organization, efficiency, and advice. I would study British history just to work in this archive. To the Department of Archives in Barbados, thank you for your patience and help as I requested countless records during my stay on the island. The staff at the National Library Service in Bridgetown always cheerfully loaded microfilm reels for me, for which I will always be grateful. The staff at the Schomburg Center for Black Studies very kindly helped me navigate the process of archival work during my very first research trip. Thank you to the USF Department of History, Julian Newman, and the USF Student Government for helping to fund my research and conference travel, and the U.S. Department of State, which funded my Fulbright research in Barbados. At the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill, Tara Inniss, Pedro Welch, Rodney Worrell, and Henderson Carter provided invaluable advice and feedback on my work, and always patiently answered my many questions. To Elaine and Justin Cooper in Kingston Upon Thames, Velda and Anthony Bailey in Wanstead, and Brigitte and Ian Melville in Locust Hall, thank you for your generosity and hospitality. You helped me to navigate bus systems, explain customs foreign to me, and see parts of London and Barbados I never would have experienced otherwise. Living in a foreign country can be a daunting experience, but the people I met while doing research in Barbados made it truly special. Geoff Ward, Shane Diekman, Stacey Loy, Lynn Beckles, Sally Edwards, Gillaume Noel, and the countless other friends I made on the Rock, thank you for making my time in Barbados so much fun. To the Barbados Hash House Harriers, you provided much-needed exercise, comic relief, and rum every Saturday evening. On on! The Barbados Hiking Association, particularly my wonderful guides, Raffi and Leroy, helped me to see more of Barbados on foot than I ever saw by car. My friends have been instrumental to my grad school experience. Ashley Buchanan, your friendship is one of the best things grad school gave to me. To my other friends at USF, thank you for the paper comments, impromptu counseling sessions, and countless good times over the years. Jason Vickers, Sean Parrish, Keegan Shepherd, Alena Pirok, Derek Vandervelde, Adam Howerton, Dave Nauman, Jenica Ibarra, Ansev Demirhan, Catie Alderson, and so many others, thank you for your friendship. Russ Edwards, you not only brought a sense of adventure to my last year of grad school, but you also provided ready encouragement when I struggled. Thank you. My family has been a source of unflagging support for my education. Courtney Wagner, you are both my cousin and my friend, and you have been there for me in so many ways over the last few years. Shea Vosler, thank you for your encouragement and support as I started this project. Ron and Holly Wagner, thank you for being so enthusiastic about pursuing higher education. My nephews, Braun and Marcus, provided laughs, joy, and study breaks during their visits home. Lastly, to my parents, Mike and Jodi Merritt, I can never thank you enough for your help, your support, and your backing as I navigated grad school from start to finish. I am deeply grateful, to all of you. Table of Contents Abstract iii Chapter One – Introduction 1 Chapter Two – “We want the loyalty of the black man”: The Empire in Crisis 21 Introduction 21 The political, economic, and social order of Barbados 24 World War I and the Caribbean 37 The “Red Summer” 46 Focus on social conditions 52 Fears of “race war” from the Colonial Office 56 Continued pan-African activity 63 Conclusion 68 Chapter Three – The Development Cure: New Directions in Trusteeship 71 Introduction 71 History of Barbadian health 78 Commissions on West Indian health 88 John Hutson and parliamentary pressure 95 The CAMSC and clashing development models 100 Hutson’s visit to London 103 Devonshire’s dispatch 1923 105 Electoral shifts and radical organization 108 Conclusion 114 Chapter Four – Public Health and Elite Power in Barbados 117 Introduction 117 The 1925 commission 121 Conflicts over health policy 123 Malaria and popular backlash 132 The threat of constitutional crisis 140 Conclusion: Imperial retreat 152 Chapter Five – Warning from the West Indies 158 Introduction 158 British attitudes towards colonial welfare in 1929 161 Lord Olivier’s commission 163 Health in the 1930s 169 i Electoral changes 181 Continued radical activity 187 Ethiopia 191 Warning from the West Indies 197 Conclusion 200 Chapter Six – “A West Indian Nation is in process of birth”: Caribbean Riots and Policy Revolution 202 Introduction 202 The Deane Commission 207 Radical criticism 215 Jamaica disturbances 220 The West India Royal Commission 226 The Moyne Commission in the Caribbean 230 Welfare and middle-class politics 232 Effects of the Moyne Commission 239 Conclusion: The Colonial Development and Welfare Act 241 Chapter Seven – Conclusion: “A failure in Empire building” 246 The Colonial Development and Welfare Act in practice 246 Health after the CDWA 250 Development between Britain and Barbados 254 References 262 ii Abstract This dissertation analyzes struggles over the development of Barbadian health and sanitation during the period between the world wars. In doing so, it examines how the British Empire tried to use development policies to maintain its power overseas during the interwar years. During this period, British policymakers sought to improve health and sanitation to pacify restive Barbadian laborers influenced by transnational pan-African and socialist ideas following the First World War. However, white Barbadian elites, influenced by ideas of eugenics and population control, opposed metropolitan efforts to develop health and sanitation in the colony. Rather than repairing the colonial relationship, British development efforts instead resulted in a protracted legislative and public battle over health reform. White creole resistance to public health policies both destabilized British reform efforts and further undermined black Barbadian understandings of imperial identity. By the 1930s, Pan-African critiques of empire, which the British government had fought to suppress following the First World War, found renewed energy in the midst of British failures to provide basic welfare services to poor black subjects. The fractures in these bonds of empire ultimately resulted in serious labor disturbances that re- emphasized the tensions of British colonialism and redirected the course of imperial policy. By focusing on these conflicts, this project reveals how struggles over colonial reforms on the ground transformed ideas of emerging nationhood, imperial identities, and British strategies of rule in the years leading up to decolonization.