A History Of Afro-Trinidadians

What up African world, it's Holmesy Mir and welcome back to another video of A Closer Look, a series where I take a closer look at African peoples and the diaspora around the world. Today, we're going to be taking a closer look at Afro-Trinidadians. By supporting this channel on Patreon, you're helping in the creation of these videos and contributing to this content. The link to Patreon is in the description box below. Also, stay tuned with a word from my sponsors. Olive leaf extract, this is how the bottle comes in. And within the first probably week and a half, two weeks, I checked my blood pressure and it was back down to normal. It was like 120 over 80. My cholesterol went down to 125. You know, I definitely believe that olive leaf extract from Herbal Results saved my life and that's real. I mean, I recommend it to everyone in my family, my friends, and we've seen a lot of results in that manner as well. Purchase now at herbalresults.net. To begin, this video is intended to be a general outline of Afro-Trinidadian history. Please keep in mind that one video cannot encapsulate the full scope of their history. I think it's important to acknowledge that there is a little discrepancy with the title of this video. Most people in Trinidad, despite their ancestral origins, would identify themselves simply as Trinidadians. However, since this channel focuses on the African diaspora, I needed to delineate who would be the focus. Also, the elephant in the room is the question of Tobago, as Trinidad and Tobago are largely viewed as similar or twin islands. For this video, however, our focus will primarily be on the history of Afro-descended people on the island of Trinidad. With videos like these, I try my best to use the most updated sources. However, outdated data or statistics is a possibility as demographics or societal shifts occur over time. So, if any Trinidadian is privy to new or local information, please feel free to correct in the comment section below. Trinidad is a rather popular island in the Caribbean that covers 5,128 square kilometers and contains around 1.3 million people. One of its closest neighbors is Venezuela, which is only 7 miles away. Although Trinidad today has a large Afro-descended population, they are not the original inhabitants. The indigenous people were said to be the Caribs and Arawaks. Afro-Trinidadians and Tobagonians are descended from enslaved Africans brought to the country by various colonists, including the Spanish, French, and British. Trinidad was a Spanish colony from 1498 to 1797. In the latter half of Spanish rule on the island, enslaved Africans began to arrive as the Spanish crown sought plantation development. Many French people, along with their enslaved Africans, came to the island during this period. The history of Trinidad becoming a Spanish colony, being influenced later by the French, and then taken over by the British, has created a unique set of Trinidadian Creole languages. Early in its history, Trinidad was inundated with French refugees and their Creole-French speaking slaves during the turbulence between 1763 and 1797, when England took the island. At this time, most of Trinidad's 20,000 slaves spoke Creole-French, as it overhalf the free population of 8,000. The British found French the de facto language of law and commerce, which it remained throughout much of the century. The language situation was further complicated from 1810 to 1820, when the disturbances on the South American mainland caused by the wars of independence against Spain led to the immigration of some 4,000 Spanish-speaking peasants of African and Mestizo descent, whose language survives among a small number of bilinguals to this day. Trinidad is not just linguistically diverse, but various people groups with ancestral origins from around the world make up Trinidadian identity. Afro-Trinidadians make up the second-largest ethnic group, around 34% of its overall population. Despite being the second-largest ethnic group, they have strongly influenced Trinidadian culture and its Creole language. Although English is the official language of the country, a Trinidadian Creole language is widely spoken, and upon speaking with a Trinidadian, the differences will become abundantly clear. The version of Creole English spoken in Trinidad and Tobago has evolved from the interaction of languages spoken by the various peoples who came to this island. Thus, although essentially English in syntax and vocabulary, the Creole English has distinct African retentions, along with French, and, to a lesser degree, Spanish and Hindi. The African retentions in the popular language, which is used by all in varying degrees, relate to different features of society, especially food. Local dishes like palau, coco, paimi, calalu, sauce, roast corn, fufu, edos, and styles of seasoning and cooking can be traced back to Africa. The bongo drum and its use in wakes, the word obia, and soso, a system of collective saving of money, are all African-derived. Perhaps the most popular cultural expression of Afro-Trinidadians is what is known as calypso. Calypso can be defined as a form of music and dance originating in Trinidad. Calypso is presented on the world stage during the famous carnival event, where principally the Afro-Trinidadian experience is on full display. Calypso is the voice of the people. It is well recognized that the only new musical instrument invented in the 20th century is the steel pan. Trinidad and Tobago, and particularly the local African diaspora, are very proud of their invention and development of this musical instrument. Carnival can be considered another notable contribution of the African diaspora of Trinidad and Tobago to world culture. It is the time of the year when the African diaspora flocks to the islands to participate in this greatest show on earth. Afro-Trinidadians have had considerable impact outside of the island. They've not only culturally impacted the world, but they have contributed intellectually to the African diaspora and the overall Pan-African movement. Among them was Henry Williams in 1869, who organized the first Pan-African conference. According to the Encyclopedia of the African Diaspora, he influenced W.E.B. Du Bois, Kwame Nkrumah, and others. Perhaps the most popular of the Pan-Africanist movement was Kwame Ture. Kwame Ture, who was born in 1941 in Port of Spain, Trinidad, and changed his name from Stokely Carmichael, is another noted activist who contributed significantly to U.S.-African-American struggles like voter rights and the larger Pan-Africanism movement. Wellamala guys, I'm hoping you were able to learn a little about the history of Afro-Trinidadians. If you like these videos and want to help in this continued production, consider supporting the HOMETEAM on Patreon.com. The link is in the description box below. Know thyself, remember your ancestors. Peace.