Module 1

1. Module 1 Defining the Caribbean

2. What is a region? • A large, continuous segment of a surface of the earth • An area of significant uniformity of content • An area or division of a country or the world having definable characteristics but not always fixed boundaries • A specified administrative district or territory

3. Characteristics of regions • Location: often expressed in a regional name- Caribbean, Middle-East, Balkans etc. • Spatial extent recognized by territories around • Boundaries (though broad zones of transition exist as the dominance of the defining regional features diminishes outward from the core to the periphery) • May be formal(climate zones) or functional(a metropolitan area) • Are hierarchically arranged

4. What exactly comprises the Caribbean region? (geography) • Geography is the most popular defining characteristic: - 60˚to 90˚W long and 5˚to 25˚N lat. - islands bordering the Caribbean Sea - similar climate, flora and fauna

5. Geography cont’d • Greater Antilles: Cuba, Hispaniola (Haiti and Dominican Republic), Jamaica, Puerto Rico • Lesser Antilles: • Windward islands: Grenada, St. Vincent, St. Lucia, Guadeloupe, Dominica, Martinique • Leeward islands: Antigua and Barbuda, St. Kitts-Nevis, Montserrat, Anguilla, Virgin islands • Netherland Antilles: Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao (ABC"islands); Saint Marten, • Saba, St. Eustatius • Mainland Territories: Guyana, Belize, Suriname, Cayenne (French Guyana) • Others: Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago, Cayman Islands, Bahama Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands

6. Disadvantages of this definition • Bermuda , the Bahamas and Barbados lie outside of latitudinal boundaries and the Caribbean sea respectively. • Guyana does not experience a tropical marine climate but more of a continental climate with two wet seasons • Belize, Suriname, Guyana and French Guiana are not islands but continental countries • Moreover countries which fit the geographical description of “Caribbean” are not traditionally referred to as such: Mexico, Venezuela and even Cuba at times.

7. Defining the Caribbean region – geology • This definition has become more relevant in recent years due to an increase in seismic activity. • Most countries in the Caribbean are located on the Caribbean Plate. • In addition, several islands are volcanic in nature and have to treat with earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other phenomena caused by seismic activity.

8. The Caribbean plate

9. Disadvantages of this definition • Not all countries are located on this plate, for example, Bahamas, Guyana and part of Cuba • Not all countries located on this plate are identified as Caribbean, for example, Panama, Nicaragua and Colombia • The western edge of the plate terminates in the Pacific Ocean • Limestone islands such as Barbados, The Bahamas and Cayman islands have a completely different geology from volcanic islands.

10. Defining the Caribbean region - history • Occupation by indigenous people of a common/similar ethnic group • European exploration, settlement and resulting genocide against the indigenes • African slavery and Indian indentureship • Colonialism • Development of the plantation economy and society • History of varied legacies of Britain, France, Holland, Spain and Denmark resulting from territories changing hands.

11. Map of the historical caribbean • RED - ENGLISH, YELLOW - SPANISH, BLUE - FRENCH, GREEN - DUTCH

12. Disadvantages of this definition • Latin America, India and parts of Africa can also claim a similar history but the varied settlers in this small region can be the deciding factor that created our unique cultural milieu.

13. Defining the Caribbean region - language The region can be actually divided into • The French/ Francophone Caribbean • The English-speaking/Anglophone Caribbean • The Spanish/ Hispanophone Caribbean • The Dutch/ Netherlands Caribbean

14. Language cont’d… Each language region has connections with others of the same language: • British West Indies primarily make up CARICOM • Cuba is incorporated in MERCOSUR Territories also maintain their ties with their metropole countries • Martinicans may complete their education in France

15. Defining the Caribbean region - culture • The socio-cultural environment is plural. There is no one Caribbean culture due to historical, linguistic, geographic and ethnic differences that define the region’s inhabitants. • Many territories have developed their own patois from standard languages • One common phenomenon is the persistence of a stratified society where race, colour, wealth and education determine one’s relative importance in society.

16. Defining the Caribbean region - politics The Caribbean is the site of the largest number of non-independent /colonized states in the world. There are at least three kinds of government systems: • Independent states • Associated states • Colonial dependencies This contributes profoundly to the diversity of economic and political structures as well as the social and cultural development status of the different ‘states’

17. Map of the political Caribbeanbrown – independent red - associate blue - colonial

18. Politics cont’d • Independent states include Antigua Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago • Associated states include St Martin, Curaçao and Puerto Rico • Colonial dependencies include French Guiana(Cayenne), Guadeloupe and Martinique

19. Cirucum - Caribbean • Circum (meaning round) Caribbean is an all encompassing term which is used by some to define the sub region of the Western Hemisphere encompassed by Mexico, Central America, Venezuela, Colombia and the United States and the Caribbean Sea

20. The wider Caribbean In recent years there have been movements to demarcate a wider Caribbean region and this is reflected in the establishment of institutions such as • the Association of Caribbean States (ACS) which boasts of members such as France, Mexico and Nicaragua. • CARICOM have recently included Dutch-speaking Suriname and French/Creole speaking Haiti These have largely been economic responses to globalization.

21. Diasporic Caribbean • Literally the scattering of a population, was originally applied to the Jews following the Roman conquest of Palestine and the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. • The term is now applied widely to other ethnic groups that have been scattered such as the African diaspora. • The Caribbean diaspora would include nationals and their offspring who have settled in the US and UK especially but have retained a strong connection to the region. • Reading – Caribbean Diaspora pdf pgs 7 - 13

22. Diaspora… • The crux of this definition lies in the self identification of individuals as ‘Caribbean nationals’ or ‘West Indian’, even if they are second or third generation descendants who themselves have never lived in the region. • This connectedness is manifested in their cultural identification, remittances contributions to families back ‘home’, and even their political opinions. • Some famous people of the Caribbean diaspora include, Colin Powell, Eric Holder and Sidney Poitier.

23. Caribbean identity • Many still hold on to a national rather that regional identity. • Others still classify themselves according to a social/ethnic group: Rastafarians of Jamaica, Whites of Cuba, the Amerindians of Dominica or the Indians of Trinidad. • Through the processes of assimilation, syncretism and hybridization a new balance is struck between the old and the new even though some argue that the process is still ongoing.

24. what is a society? • A collection of people living in the same geographic area over a period of time, for example the Cuban community in Miami • Used to describe the lifestyles of the elite or ‘high society’, for example Country Club • A term used to indicate groups of people who share a common interest such as The National Geographic Society • A conceptual framework in which roles are assigned to members. This acts as a guide to behaviour. “Civil society” will not tolerate child labour

25. Society cont’d • Social institutions are the framework of a society and serve as the most overarching ways in which important aspects of life are organized. These are not tangible, for example, family, education, and religion • Social organizations refer to the tangible manifestations of the ideas and beliefs of our social institutions. For the institution of education, organizations will include primary and secondary schools, PTA’s and trade unions.

26. Society cont’d • Definitions often stress collectivity and interaction amongst members: a social system. • Society functions because of the roles assigned to institutions, organizations and persons and the adherence to these roles. • A role is a set of ideas/expectations associated with a certain status or position

27. Functionalist's view of society • Society is seen as a balance of the interaction between all social institutions to satisfy the ‘collective will’ of the people. • Undesirable behaviour is curbed by values, laws, norms and sanctions.

28. Society cont’d • Primary socialization begins in the home. This involves learning gender roles, respect for elders and the value of sharing. • Secondary socialization begins on entering school and continues throughout life. Attitudes and values are transmitted through the curriculum as well as also through informal/unplanned experiences (the hidden curriculum)

30. Marxist’s view of society • The society is dominated by one social institution- the economy • Capitalist societies enable the wealthy while oppressing the poor • Through the process of socialization, all the other institutions support this permanent structure which perpetuates these inequalities • Examples can be seen in the perceived difference in the delivery of justice for the rich versus the poor and even inequalities in opportunities for training and educational development for young people.

32. defining culture • That complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art law, morals and custom…(Tylor1871) • The way of life of a society’s members…(Linton 1945) • The accumulated store of symbols, ideas and material products…(Johnson 1995) • All forms of organization, ways of interacting, artifacts produced…values and norms…( Browne et al

33. Characteristics of culture • Culture is learnt - through socialization • Culture is shared – members agree to terms • Culture is transmitted – to each new generation • Culture is adaptive – as society changes • Culture is dynamic – varies over time and space • Culture is symbolic – e.g. A national flag

34. Cultural terminology • Material culture: artifacts, culinary skills, architecture, family rearing practices • Non-Material culture: values, beliefs, ideas, norms • Values: set of rankings conferred onto a myriad of social behaviour • Norms: standards of behaviour that are culturally accepted

35. United nations on ‘culture’ • Culture is not static but is in a constant flux, driven by internal and external forces. These forces may be voluntary and accommodating or involuntary and the result of violent conflict or domination. - United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)

36. Cultural erasure and cultural retention • Cultural erasure – refers to values, artifacts and practices that were once important to society but have died or are dying out (for example storytelling has been replaced by books, television, cinema and internet). • Cultural retention – deliberate practice of keeping traditions alive by a specific ethnic group when there is a concern for its survival( for example, Divali Nagar celebrations in Trinidad)

37. Cultural renewal • Cultural renewal – refers to efforts salvage parts our past by fashioning new practices based on the old. They often stem from a feeling that there is much of value in what we have allowed to be lost (for example, in recent years the Orisha faith has been embraced by several followers and they enjoyed more mainstream acceptance than in the past)

38. Other key cultural concepts • Subculture : subset of a larger cultural group • Counterculture: outright rejection of societal norms • Enculturation: process through which we learn culture • Interculturation: mutual exchange of cultural traits as a result of long term close contact • Transculturation: Culture changes drastically into something new

39. Concepts… • Assimilation: process of absorption by which an ethnic minority loses characteristics that distinguish them from the dominant group • Acculturation: modification of culture as a result of contact with another group, usually initiated by a dominant group • Multiculturalism: a body of thought in political philosophy about the proper way to respond to cultural and religious diversity • Pluralism: many cultures coexisting within a society while maintaining cultural differences

40. creolisation • According to Edward Kamau Braithwaite (1971), this process described the juxtaposition of master and slave relations in a society where a dialectic relationship was forged between metropole norms, values and expectations and that of the enslaved/the colonised people within the complex plantation society of the New world. What resulted was an autochthonous culture that was neither European or African but one that possessed elements of both along a socio-cultural continuum.

41. Cultural diversity Overall, our cultural milieu in the Caribbean region has had both positive and negative effects: • Unity →similar history, politics • Solidarity→ common socioeconomic struggles • Identity→ cultural commonalities • Division→ social and political tensions in territories such as Guyana and Trinidad • Ethnocentrism→ extreme response to assimilation and hybridization • Xenophobia→ in the face of globalization and regionalism

42. History and culture Each migrant group brought with them their culture, values and practices resulting in the diversity of culture in the region • Amerindians – smoking of tobacco, the use of cassava and maize in meals, pepper pot, words : hammock, place names: Kaieteur Falls in Guyana. • European – Christianity, western style of dress, diet, governance institutions, sport, ‘high’ culture, language and education systems.

43. History and culture… • African – Voodun, Islam, kente cloth, yam and coucou, expressions: ‘cunumunu’, folklore (Anansi), influences that are seen in music and dancing genres in the West, family forms(matriarchal), bush medicine • East Indian – a variety of delicacies including doubles, phulourie, cooking with curries, Hinduism, Islam, musical traditions: tassa, chutney; arhitecture (temples, mosques), language: chunkay, aloo etc.

44. … • Chinese – foods are among the most notable contributions including vegetables like pakchoy. • Syrians and Lebanese – a tradition of successful businesses as well as culinary treats are among the contributions of this group In addition, each group has added to the ethnic diversity as intermingling results in individuals of every shade and hair texture, making the Caribbean one of the melting pots of the world.

45. Impact of historical processes

46. MIGRATION • Waves of migration have affected fundamentally the shape and internal dynamics of the Caribbean. Any discussion on the evolution of Caribbean societies must be seen against the background of migration.

47. The Amerindians (Pre-Columbian era) • Over 10 000 years ago Asians travelled across the Bering Straits between Siberia and Alaska to settle in North, Central and South America. • The Tainos moved up from Venezuela to Trinidad while the Lucayos entered the region via Florida and Mexico. Later the Kalinagos chased and wiped out the Tainos, moving up the island chain from South America, interbreeding with the captured women.

48. Indigenous people • In the Central American region, the Maya occupied the highlands and lowlands • The Greater Antilles was occupied by the Tainos who preferred to settle near the coasts • The Lesser Antilles was controlled by the Kalinagos • Puerto Rico and Trinidad was shared by the Tainos and Kalinagos

49. The Europeans • Another wave of migration came from Europe with the advent of Columbus’s ‘discovery’ of the New World • The conquistadors, after participating in the genocide of the Aboriginals, they replaced that labour with white indentured workers • After about 100 years of Spanish domination, of the Americas, the British, French and Dutch began to encroach on the empire by pillaging small neglected islands and settling there. Note: the famous pirates, buccaneers, privateers, proprietors came from this ‘wave’.

50. Europeans… • After almost a century of domination of the New World, Spain began to be openly challenged by other European powers through litigations but more so, military force • Some notable privateers included Englishmen John Hawkins and Francis Drake • After the Treaty of London and the Truce of Antwerp Spain conceded that it could not maintain a monopoly in the Americas, thus the 17th century saw a dramatic change in the region with rapidly increasing colonization and mercantile efforts led by the English, Dutch and to a lesser extent the French