Tobago’s 20th-century communication woes

Dr Rita Pemberton

From the dawn of the 20th century, one of the main complaints from all sectors in Tobago was the lack of regular contact with the rest of the world.

During the last two decades of the 19th century, decreasing activity on the Scarborough port heralded the stark reality of the final downward spiral of the island’s sugar industry.

The steamers which called in Tobago included the subsidised service of the Royal Mail Steamer and Packet Company. It called at Scarborough once a month, and there were merchant ships which belonged to Messrs AM Gillespie and Company, John McCall and Company. These provided shipping space for imported plantation essentials and exporting plantation produce.

Intercolonial schooners, sloops, steamers and small craft handled goods for the smaller farming and business community and gave the island contact within the region. There were also two English lines and one American, introduced during the 1880s.

With the crash of Gillespie and Company and the demise of the sugar industry, both trade and the island’s communication with the outside world were significantly reduced.

As a consequence of union with Trinidad, between 1889 and 1899, Trinidad was the conduit for most of Tobago’s trade, although some direct links were maintained with other British Caribbean possessions and, via Barbados, with North America and Europe.

When, in his attempts to diversify agricultural production in Trinidad, Governor Sir William Robinson established the fruit trade, Messrs Turnbull and Company was contracted to provide a round-the-island service to collect fruit to be exported to New York. A fortnightly service to Tobago was included.

Royal Mail steamers called fortnightly on the journey from Trinidad to Venezuela and Margarita, but that connection was terminated in 1903. Tobago was then served by the Royal Mail’s Grenada/St Vincent/Barbados/Trinidad route. The steamers of the Canadian company Pickford and Black passed into Tobago twice monthly on their way to and from Guyana, and sloops from Grenada and Carriacou established a regular profitable trade with Tobago and Trinidad, while Tobago’s direct trade with Barbados was reduced.

In March 1901, the first coastal steamer service between the islands was established, with two ships. It was initiated by the Kennet, which called at Scarborough. The second ship, the Spey, arrived in October 1901. They provided a fortnightly round-the-island service.

The Spey, which was also intended for passenger transport, was fitted with cabins and had an ice chamber to transport fish caught off Tobago to Trinidad.

This placed trade and movement to Trinidad on an acceptable level and facilitated contact with the Caribbean, North America and Europe, while the coastal steamer services enabled the movement of goods from the northern parts of Tobago, which had poor communications with the rest of the island.

But in 1905, the Royal Mail steamers ceased calling at Tobago, severing the island’s connections with the northern islands and disrupting the Grenada/Tobago trade. In July 1906, citing lack of profitability, Pickford cut its service to St Vincent, Grenada and Tobago.

Tobago’s communication with the outside world then rested with its sea links through the coastal steamers and the few sloops that continued to operate.

Complaints about the difficulties caused by the termination of these services reverberated across the island and merchants called for a resumption of services of the Royal Mail and the Canadian boats. Grenadian migrants, who were encouraged to settle in Tobago, were particularly negatively affected. Some owned properties in both islands and were unable to travel to do business.

The island faced many problems, the price of transport increased immediately and as a petition from the island indicated, Tobago’s development was hampered. It soon became clear that its welfare was not a central concern: at the heart of the matter was the company’s concern with profit and the government’s reluctance to increase the subsidy as requested by the company.

The Colonial Office was adamant that the coastal service was not an essential service but a last resort, to which funds allocated for other projects should not be diverted.

A Royal Commission on Trinidad and Tobago trade relations met in 1910 – but Tobago was not represented, because of the lack of service to Trinidad. Memoranda were submitted and in recognition of the negative impact on Tobago, the commission called for a renewal of the subsidised service by the Canadian boats, which was never realised.

The coastal service continued to decline. The Spey was unsuited to the route and passengers were tormented as the ship rocked and tossed its way between the islands. It was replaced in 1912 by the Jamaica, and in 1914 the Belize and Barima were introduced under a renewed contract with the Royal Mail company.

Sailings were reduced in December 1915 because the company claimed the run from north Tobago was unprofitable.

After another protest, with support from Trinidad officials, the service was restored on January 1, 1916. The Barima was withdrawn because of the exigencies of World War I, but remained in Trinidad, and ultimately was sent to Morocco with a promise of a smaller boat from the company, which never materialised.

From 1918-1931, the Belize was the only boat serving the coastal service. The company kept threatening to withdraw completely and pay the financial penalty, but the argument that it would destroy the island’s economy, and that of planters in Trinidad’s coastal areas, held sway for a short time.

However, the development of the Trinidad road network meant that by 1925 Trinidad planters did not need the coastal service, and in 1923 Government agreed to one steamer service without cabins, and to provide only daylight service to Tobago. Vociferous protests came from the Tobago Planters Association.

With one steamer, service was irregular and was withdrawn without notice for servicing twice per year, with no replacement. After the Belize ran aground off Toco on October 31, 1924, Tobago was without a service until March 1925. A delegation to the Colonial Office received no support from officials from Trinidad. In fact, the Governor expressed the view that the cost of the service was unwarranted.

Desperate planters resorted to sloop service, upon which they depended up to 1938. A Canadian service which provided cargo ships in 1929 was unsatisfactory. It was very unreliable and provided no passenger services, which were essential for people who wanted to attend to administrative matters which could only be done in person.

In 1931, two new vessels, the Trinidad and Tobago were put on the inter-island service, but proved woefully inadequate. Seating and freight space were insufficient, and as a result overcrowding and squalid conditions prevailed. In addition, the absence of infrastructure at the island’s bays created a major problem.

Despite these deficiencies, the boats remained in service for 22 years – without maintenance – until they were declared unseaworthy in 1957. The question of the sea connection between Trinidad and Tobago, and the demonstrated lack of administrative concern for the needs of Tobago, was a major issue in the relations between the islands.