BY DESMOND BOLLERS

A wise person once said, “The most effective way to destroy a people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history.”

This quotation is frequently erroneously attributed to George Orwell, but regardless of who first penned, or uttered these words, this represents the approach that was utilized by the European colonialists in the Caribbean against the Native American and African-descendant peoples with great success. In fact, they were so successful that even today there are people in the Caribbean who are unwilling to learn about or are ashamed of their history.

When it comes to the history of their colonial possessions, including the Caribbean, the colonial masters have practiced and perfected what I refer to as ‘The Three Ds’ – Deny, Diminish, Distort. They deny our ancestors’ achievements when they can. When they are unable to deny those accomplishments, they diminish them and when they can’t diminish them, they resort to distortion causing us to feel embarrassed about our history and to question whether enslaved Africans who revolted were heroes or villains.

The history textbooks would have us believe that when the Spaniards arrived, the ‘peaceful’ Tainos of the Greater Antilles simply wilted and allowed themselves to be dispossessed of their lands, subjugated, enslaved, sexually exploited and finally wiped out without putting out a fight. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The Tainos fought valiantly, but their weapons were no match for the superior Spanish military weaponry. I am sure you are familiar with the saying ‘Don’t bring a knife to a gunfight. Well, the Tainos brought bows and arrows, spears and wooden clubs to a fight against men covered in metal armour and armed with cannon and muskets, so the eventual outcome was inevitable.

Among the many other examples of denying in the Caribbean is the 1831 Christmas Rebellion in western Jamaica led by Sam Sharpe. Despite this being the largest revolt by enslaved Africans anywhere in the Americas, for almost a century and a half it was never mentioned in history textbooks that were used in schools in the Caribbean. Similarly, the 1816 rebellion in Barbados led by Bussa, which was the second largest revolt by enslaved Africans anywhere in the Americas, was left off the pages of West Indian history texts. In the USA the 1811 German Coast uprising in Louisiana led by Charles Deslondes which was the largest rebellion by enslaved Africans in North America, was largely unknown by Americans until quite recently as it was never mentioned in textbooks.

When it comes to diminishing, the colonials were equally adept. The impact that the Haitian Revolution had on the history of the Americas is consistently downplayed and almost never mentioned. US history books generally don’t mention that it was the Haitian defeat of the French in St. Domingue that convinced Napoleon to sell the much less valuable Louisiana Territory to the fledgling United States, in effect doubling its size and paving the way for ‘manifest destiny,’ enabling the US to extend ‘From sea to shining sea.’

The 1823 rebellion by enslaved Africans in British Guiana led by Quamina and Jack Gladstone was the third largest revolt by enslaved Africans anywhere in the Americas, yet their leading role was diminished, and the focus was placed on an English minister of religion named John Smith. In fact, his only role was to try and persuade the freedom fighters not to rebel. The Great Berbice Uprising of 1763 led by Kofi was the first attempt to establish an independent republic anywhere in the Americas preceding the formation of the USA by thirteen years, yet this fact is excluded from history texts.

Next edition, we are going to dive a little deeper into the 3 D’s

BY DESMOND BOLLERS

History is commonly defined as the chronological record of events (as affecting a nation or people) and usually presenting an explanation of their causes.

Controlling the narrative enables one group to exercise mind control over another group by influencing the way they see the world around them and the way they perceive their place in the world. The profound importance of a people being in control of the narrative regarding their history was understood by the character Winston Smith in George Orwell’s novel “Nineteen Eighty-Four” when he came to the realization that “Who controls the past, controls the future: who controls the present, controls the past.”

It is clear that this realization is at the forefront of the thinking of the governors of the two most populous southern states in the USA who are working diligently to rewrite the history of race relations in the USA with particular reference to slavery, Jim Crow and race riots including ‘La Matanza’. In this regard, the Roman Catholic Church was ahead of the game by trying to rewrite the history of the church’s involvement in slavery.

In the movie “Trumbo,” which was about Martin Dies Jr. of the House of Representatives who was that chamber’s equivalent of McCarthy in the Senate, targeting and persecuting movie makers in Hollywood as being “Communists” and “Un-American” one of the colleagues of Chairman Dies commented, “It’s just a movie.” Dies’ response was “A movie isn’t just a movie. It’s about perception.” This is a really profound statement that deserves to be discussed fully, because the same can be said of books and all other media, which influence not only how others see us but also how we see ourselves. Children in the developed world grow up on stories of their heroic ancestors and this shapes their perception of whom they are. We owe it to the children of the Caribbean to also shape their self – perception by introducing them to the heroism of their ancestors.

In the late 1970s to early 1980s there was an effort in the Caribbean to publish adventure novels based on actual events in Caribbean history targeting the 11-14 age group. By the 1990s, this effort had petered out and books such as “The Young Warriors” and “Sixty-five” both written by V.S. Reid had disappeared from the shelves of bookstores in the Caribbean. I can personally attest to this, because in the 1990s, I visited the main bookstores in the capitals of: The Bahamas, Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and Trinidad trying to purchase these two books for my son. I inquired of each store owner/manager why they were not carrying these books, and, in every instance, they explained that they used to carry the books, but eventually stopped because nobody would buy them.

We in the Caribbean need to understand and appreciate the importance of introducing our children to their history so that they can grow up with an awareness of our heroic ancestors. Adventure novels based on actual events and the lives of real people are an excellent way to do this. In Caribbean history, there is a superabundance of individuals and events that provide suitable material for adventure novels. Be it the valiant struggles of the Tainos and Kalinago to retain possession of, and to survive on the lands of their ancestors, the determined efforts of the maroons to maintain their hard-won freedom, or the courageous uprisings of the enslaved Africans seeking to end their servitude.

BY DESMOND BOLLERS

The narrative appears to suggest that the Tainos and Kalinago simply wilted and capitulated without a fight. The names of their leaders are not well known, and the details of their courageous struggles are not fully described in the history books. The same holds true for the leaders of the enslaved Africans. Instead, we are regaled with tales of the exploits of: Henry Morgan, Walter Raleigh, Ponce De Leon, Juan Esquivel, D’Esnambuc or various French and Dutch pirates, privateers or administrators. The contemporary history of the Caribbean treats Native Americans and Africans almost akin to inanimate objects that are acted upon rather than actors in their own right.

As such, what is presented as ‘Caribbean History’ could more appropriately be titled ‘History of Europeans in the Caribbean.’

We must correct this regrettable state of affairs by bringing the peoples of the Caribbean to centre stage of the region’s history instead of depicting them as bit players on the sidelines of their own story as has been the case so far, thereby installing them into their rightful place in history.

Whereas in the Spanish-speaking and French-speaking Caribbean, Native Americans, maroons and enslaved Africans who led revolts against European oppression are sometimes honoured with statues, which is rarely the case in the English-speaking countries. For example, in Puerto Rico there are statues of Native American freedom fighters, in Cuba and the Dominican Republic there are statues of both Native American and African freedom fighters, and in Guadeloupe and the (formerly Danish) Virgin Islands there are statues of African freedom fighters.

Students in the Caribbean could benefit from being more informed about the persons who fought for their freedom as individuals, or who sought to obtain freedom for entire groups of the oppressed, or enslaved and who so often gave their very lives to bring this abominable institution to an end. Learning of their resolute bravery is a first step towards granting them the recognition they deserve as Caribbean heroes.

So, when studying our history, we need to break out of the mental silos imposed on us by our colonial past and appreciate that regardless of language we, the peoples of the Caribbean, all share the same history of resistance to oppression and exploitation. Arriving at this conclusion will enable us to transcend the barriers that currently separate us from each other.