A History of Creole Trinidad, 1956–2010 Raymond Ramcharitar A History of Creole Trinidad, 1956–2010 Raymond Ramcharitar Port of Spain,

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This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG. The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland In memory of my Mother, Dhanmatee Ramcharitar and For my Daughter, Aurora Ramcharitar Preface

Anyone interested in Trinidad and Tobago might be bemused that a nation whose founding father was a historian, known for one of the foun- dational historical works of the twentieth century (Capitalism and Slavery), would not have its own national history. Eric Williams presented the nation with a history of itself till his arrival (History of the People of Trinidad and Tobago) on its assumption of Independence. But since then, only fragmented accounts of aspects of the society have appeared. The absence is strange, but not accidental. “History” is a major feld of contention in Trinidad and Tobago now, as ethnic groups roil in a zero-­ sum confict for the symbolic and material bounty of the state. The weap- ons are warped versions of historical facts, events, and personalities. As I write this in early 2021 a group of provocateurs, via the daily press, is trying to argue that the underperformance of Black children in examina- tions is due to other ethnic groups’ racism embodied in a sixty-year-old document called The Concordat. Other events routinely misrepresented for public amusement, and which affect public policy, include the popular accounts of the Canboulay riots of 1881, the labour riots of 1937, the Black Power disturbances of 1970, and the coup attempt of 1990, which distortions serve and exacerbate the exigencies of the present. This persistent confict has paralysed Trinidad and Tobago, leaving it caught in a recurring vicious cycle of economic boom and bust, social progress and atavism, euphoria and terror. I hope that a complete account, examining how historical periods are linked and how personalities, events, culture, and the economy are connected in a broad, dynamic reality, might sober the combatants in the battles that rive the nation.

vii viii PREFACE

To ensure a broad perspective I have used a variety of traditional and non-traditional sources to view the society from multiple angles to illumi- nate those troubling but opaque areas in which reside much meaning. The Trinidad newspapers have been invaluable in flling data gaps and provid- ing information which, given the state’s and the academe’s tendency to simply not record certain events and data, would be otherwise lost. Here the History Department and the Faculty of Humanities of the University of the West Indies (UWI), St Augustine, are particularly culpable, since their academics are paid to provide knowledge to clarify national issues. In practice, foreign academics do much of the necessary work, which situa- tion creates predictable epistemic issues and unpredictable consequences. Outside the academe, amidst offcial documents, journalism, novels, and ethnography, I would have liked to have used more calypso lyrics but locating many rights holders for permission was impossible, and when some were found, they were not accommodating. The Mighty Sparrow and David Rudder, consummate professionals that they are, replied to my requests within twenty-four hours. One composer actually refused and another, whose compositions have been consistently at the centre of social and political confict, evaded the request. Nonetheless, I believe I have fulflled my ambition in this study. It pro- vides answers to crucial questions and hopefully will serve as a catalyst for more work that explains, elucidates, and enlightens.

Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago Raymond Ramcharitar Acknowledgements

I must acknowledge the many people who contributed to this manuscript in direct and indirect ways. Bridget Brereton has been my advisor and guide for the last two decades in academic matters, and I remain in her debt. Brinsley Samaroo and Ken Ramchand have provided advice and sup- port when needed. I must also thank Prof Selwyn Ryan for his work. His books, from Race and Nationalism to the compendium No Time to Quit, and the monographs, reports, edited collections, and full-length studies in between are invaluable and irreplaceable artefacts of Trinidad and Tobago’s history and culture. Without those works we would be much poorer and this work would have been a much more arduous task. I am also grateful to Daniel Miller for his remarkable anthropological works on Trinidad in the late twentieth century which flled theoretical gaps that would have otherwise remained empty. The search clerks at the National Archives in Port of Spain were always helpful and accommodating, and the facility is a credit to the country. I also thank Lennox Grant for his help, and Ms Alicia Fox John at the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago Library. The fact that the parliamentary Hansard (from 1990 onwards) is now digitised is a blessing for which I am grateful—the Parliament website’s search engine freed me from several months of documentary research.

ix Contents

1 The Creole Republic: Past and Present 1

2 Sources, Methods, Theory 11

3 Tobago: Creole Society’s Doppelganger 31

4 Birth of a Creole Nation: 1783–1961 41

5 The Independence Decade 55

6 1970–1980: Black Power Recedes, Indian Power Surges 91

7 The 1980s: Money, Malaise, Modernity 141

8 Summing up the PNM Generation 179

9 A Decade of Revolution: 1986, 1990, 1995 189

10 The Creole Century Closes: 1996–2000 227

11 History Pauses: 2001–2002 257

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12 Rage, Revanchism, Revenge, 2002–2010 265

13 Conclusion: The End of a Decade and an Era 311

Bibliography 323

Index 335 Abbreviations

ACDC Action Committee for Democratic Citizens ATSGWTU All Trinidad Sugar and General Workers Trade Union CARICOM Caribbean Community CCN Caribbean Communications Network CDAP Chronic Disease Assistance Programme CEPEP Community Environmental Protection and Enhancement Programme CL Colonial Life [Financial] CLICO Colonial Life Insurance Company COLA Cost of Living Allowance CoP Congress of the People COSTAATT College of Science, Technology & Applied Arts of Trinidad and Tobago CPI (Stock Market) Composite Price Index DAC Democratic Action Congress DEWD Development and Environmental Works Division DLP Democratic Labour Party GATE Government Assistance for Tuition Expenses GOPIO Global Organisation of People of Indian Origin HCL Home Construction Limited HCU Hindu Credit Union HoR House of Representatives HYPE Helping Youth Prepare for Employment IC Integrity Commission IDC Industrial Development Corporation IMF International Monetary Fund ISA Industrial Stabilisation Act

xiii xiv ABBREVIATIONS

JCC Joint Consultative Committee MATT Media Association of Trinidad & Tobago McAL McEnearney Alstons MUST Multi-sector Skills Training NAEAP National Association for the Empowerment of African People NAR National Alliance for Reconstruction NCC National Carnival Commission NCIC National Council for Indian Culture NEDCO National Enterprise Development Company NESC National Energy Skills Centre NGO Non-governmental Organisation NJAC National Joint Action Committee NUFF National Union of Freedom Fighters ONR Organisation for National Reconstruction OPEC Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Companies OWTU Oilfelds Workers’ Trade Union PNM People’s National Movement POPPG Party of Progressive Political Groups PP People’s Partnership PSIP Public Sector Investment Programme SDLP Social Democratic Liberation Party SDMS Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha SOPO Summit of People’s Organisations THA TRINTOC Trinidad and Tobago Oil Company TSTT Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago TTIT Trinidad and Tobago Institute of Technology TTT Trinidad and Tobago Television TTW Trinidad Theatre Workshop TWA Trinidad Workingmen’s Association UCWI University College of the West Indies UDeCOTT Urban Development Corporation of Trinidad and Tobago ULF United Labour Front UNC UNIP United National Independence Party URO Union of Revolutionary Organisations URP Unemployment Relief Programme UTT University of Trinidad and Tobago UWI University of the West Indies WOLF Western United Liberation Front WWP Westwood Park List of Tables

Table 1.1 Percentage of population by ethnicity 1946–2010 5 Table 5.1 Crime statistics 1950–1970 88 Table 5.2 Selected economic statistics, 1961–1969 89 Table 6.1 Selected statistics, 1973–1983 113 Table 6.2 Changes in the size of the electorate, 1961–1981 122 Table 6.3 Changes in the size of the electorate 1986–2002 122 Table 8.1 Economic growth 1960–1990 180 Table 8.2 Share of national income accruing to different income groups 181 Table 9.1 Comparative economic indicators, 1986–1995 203 Table 9.2 Selected crime statistics 1990–1995 213 Table 10.1 Selected statistics 1995–2000 233 Table 12.1 Selected economic statistics 2001–2010 268 Table 12.2 Selected crime indicators 2001–2010 272

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