THE ACCUMULATION OF CAPITAL AND THE SHIFTING CONSTRUCTION OF DIFFERENCE: EXAMINING THE RELATIONS OF COLONIALISM, POST-COLONIALISM AND NEO- COLONIALISM IN TRINIDAD By Dylan Brian Rum Kerrigan Submitted to the Faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences of American University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy In Anthropology Chair: William Leap ~-~ ~~vi/~ David Vine Dean of College ~{\\ Ill~\;) Date 2010 American University Washington, D. C. 20016 A~'?ER!CAN UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 199 UMI Number: 3405935 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. ___..Dissertation Publishing --..._ UMI 3405935 Copyright 2010 by ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This edition of the work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. Pro uesf ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 This work is licensed under the Creative Commons 'Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States' License. (To view a copy of this license visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3 .O/us/legalcode) Dylan Brian Rum Kerrigan 2010 DEDICATION For my parents and their parents. THE ACCUMULATION OF CAPITAL AND THE SHIFTING CONSTRUCTION OF DIFFERENCE: EXAMINING THE RELATIONS OF COLONIALISM, POST­ COLONIALISM AND NEO-COLONIALISM IN TRINIDAD BY Dylan Brian Rum Kerrigan ABSTRACT How were social groups made in the colonial encounter? Do they persist into the present? Are social groups remade by post-colonialism? How are social groups produced in the neo-colonial moment? What is the relationship between socio-cultural mixture in Trinidad, group formation and the accumulation of capital? To illustrate how the economic structure and socio-cultural foundations of colonialism in Trinidad relate to the inequality of capitalism today this dissertation provides a social history of the shifting construction of difference in Woodbrook, Trinidad. This history highlights various forms of difference making and links them to the maintenance and negotiation of the interests of capital accumulation. These forms of difference making include the production of racial hierarchy, the generative contradiction of cultural assimilation and cultural resistance, the stratification of Carnival, the role of Afro-Saxon "organic intellectuals," and, today, the production of fear. To provide a narrative for this history the project examines the motion of capital in the island and its ii consistent triumph over labour across the cultural, economic and political movements identified as colonialism, post-colonialism and neo-colonialism. The dissertation concludes in present day Woodbrook, an urban district of Port of Spain, Trinidad's capital, to illustrate how the colonial logic of divide and conquer intersects with contemporary class politics to exacerbate social stratification, economic division and the continued exclusion of the "masses" from the "people." iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I want to thank all my family, friends and colleagues who gave me the self-belief, strength and patience to find sanity and happiness in my work. To Professor Bill Leap I want to say thank you for your gamble on me and for your consistent support throughout my time in Washington, DC both personally and professionally. To Professor Brett Williams I want to say thank you for your patience and determination. I remember fighting against your insights into the importance and relevance of class politics. What I first swept away I now see as central part of any and all politics. To Professor David Vine, could there be a nicer and more encouraging scholar? If there is I have not met them yet. To my dad thanks for all the reading and great advice. To my mum thank you for everything. I also want to say thank you to all the people in Trinidad and elsewhere who helped me to talk through my ideas. These include Jason A, Eamon, Derek, Marc, Akemi, Scotty Rah, James, Gillian, Skye, Nicholas, Parveen, Sandy, Kelly, Tiffany, Sheldon, Dave, Lyle, Krystal, Carrie, Dunstan, Ben, Veronica, Yesenia, Jose, Eskay, Che, Sarah, Shreen, Caroline, Stuart, Sammy, Rima, Sherisse, Jason R, Ralph, Larry, Chris, Richard, Tom, Michael, Alex, Aunty Cathy, Uncle Des, Aunty Pat, Uncle Willan, Lesley Gill, Scott Lash, Laura Bear, Salvador Vidal-Ortiz, Daphne Philips, Kanaan Nambiar, Sue Taylor, Rachel Watkins, Sabiyha Prince and others. What I have written is synthesized through all your great ideas, insights and questions. IV To all the students I have taught across three different universities I want to say thank you for teaching me about what I most enjoy and in the process helping me to work through a lot of this dissertation. To the Anthropology department at AU, and not least Jacki Daddona and Stacey Terrell, who have always made me feel at home a long way from home, your warmth and familiarity was much appreciated. Also thank you to Harjant, Sarah, Nell, Naomi, Jennifer, Elijah, Jennie, Rodolfo and all my AU pals. To my family in Spain, Trinidad, Tobago, the UK and the US, you have given me such endless supplies of love, support and encouragement I am truly blessed and privileged. To Lani for being the best friend I could ever have. And to Charissa, who fifteen years ago one J' ouvert morning - covered from head to toe in mud and paint - first introduced me to Wood brook, and who sadly left us well ahead of her time. Thank you. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... .ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... iv LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS .............................................................................................. x LIST OF MAPS ................................................................................................................. xi Chapter ONE: INTRODUCTION: THE ACCUMULATION OF CAPITAL AND THE SHIFTING CONSTRUCTION OF DIFFERENCE ................. 1 Approach ..................................................................................................... 6 Defining Colonialism, Post-Colonialism and Neo-Colonialism ................................................................................. 12 Summary of Chapters................................................................................ 18 TWO: FIELDWORK EXPERIENCE AND METHODOLOGY ........................ 22 Trinidad and Tobago ................................................................................. 34 Woodbrook ................................................................................................ 36 THREE: THE COLONIAL ENCOUNTER AND ITS LEGACY: RACIAL HIERARCHY .................................................. 43 The Cedula of 1783 ................................................................................... 57 British Colonial Rule ................................................................................. 64 Pre-Emancipation "African" Labour ......................................................... 68 Vl "White" Labour ......................................................................................... 73 "East Indian" Labour ................................................................................. 77 Colonialism, Automatic Solidarity and the Making of Social Groups in Trinidad ........................................................ 82 FOUR: LITERATURE REVIEW: TRINIDAD CARNIVAL AS AN "INDIGENOUS INTELLECTUAL DEVICE" ........................... 85 19th Century Trinidad Carnival: What's Behind a Masque? ......................................................................... 97 Pierrots and Pierrot Grenades ......................................................... :.......... 97 Negue Jadin ............................................................................................. 100 The Burrokeet and Soumary .................................................................... 102 The Dame Lorraine.................................................................................. 104 Early 20th Century Dragons and Changes in Carnival ................................................................................ 105 Summary ................................................................................................. 106 FIVE: SOLIDARITY, ASSIMILATION AND THE FOUNDATIONS OF "TRINIDADIAN" IDENTITY .............................................................................................. 108 Trinidad and Crown Colony Rule ........................................................... 108 Emancipation and Residential Mixture in Port of Spain .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 120 Jamette Carnival and Barrack Life .......................................................... 124 East Indian Arrival and Further Examples of Transculturation .................................................................. 129 The 1880s -1900s and the Emerging "Trinidadian" Identity ............................................................................. 136 The "Masses" and the "People" .............................................................. 146 Postscript: Solidarity and Assimilation ................................................... 151