Tobago’s heritage: to have and to hold forever

DR RITA PEMBERTON

Nature has blessed the island of Tobago with several landforms and marine features which, in addition to providing the island with its unique geographical profile, have been central features in the island’s history and have shaped its development in important ways. These constitute important parts of Tobago’s heritage.

Heritage is a legacy of the assets of a society which is passed on from one generation to the next. It is made up of the objects that are valued by the society and serves as the backbone for the development of the culture which creates social values, traits and traditions – a community to which members have a sense of belonging and shapes its identity. In turn, these traditions are passed on from one generation to the next. Heritage can be tangible and intangible and is an inalienable birthright belonging to “all ah we.”

Tobago’s tangible heritage includes its art, historic buildings and its physical features. There are two important features of Tobago’s heritage which present a fascinating history: the Main Ridge Forest Reserve and the Pigeon Point complex which includes Buccoo Reef, Nylon Pool and Bon Accord Lagoon. Both were subject to controversy. The issue surrounding Forest Reserve occurred in Britain during the 18th century. It was primarily the domain of the planting interest and was not contested on the island. The case of Pigeon Point, which was a long festering grievance of the population, is very different .

Tobago’s Main Ridge constitutes the physical backbone of the island, and because of its heavy forest cover, was considered an economic attribute to an island that was being placed into plantation agriculture under British rule. The island became a British possession in 1763 after years of wrangling with the French – its main contender for ownership – and was earmarked for sugar plantations.

When the island was being subdivided for sale into estate lots, there were two restrictions on land use; the lots were to be of a maximum size of 500 acres, and an area of land was to be reserved exclusively as a forest reserve to protect the island’s climate and attract rain. This departure from the tradition established in the older colonies was directly related to two other developments.

Firstly, for more than a year, Soan Jenyns undertook a campaign to convince British parliamentarians of the relationship between forest cover and soil productivity which was supported by developments in Barbados. Most of that island was considered ideal for the production of sugar, and, as a result, its forest cover was swiftly denuded. When a decline in that island’s productivity was noted, it was regarded as the negative impact of deforestation and Jenyn’s ideas won increasing support from parliamentarians.

Secondly, despite opposition from the planting interest, the British parliament passed the law that established a Forest Reserve on the island of Tobago to attract rain. The intent was mainly stimulated by the need to facilitate plantation agriculture, an activity into which the island was moving. The Forest Reserve was established on April 13, 1776, and has been acclaimed as the first in the Americas. The reserve was maintained by the French administration during its occupation between 1781 and 1793, and was increased to its present size of 9,780 acres (3,958 hectares) after the recommendation of reports on the island’s forestry during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

During the plantation era, it was a source of lumber for building and game for the plantation owners, whose hobby was hunting. After emancipation, hunting was one of the activities that was used by the freed Africans to supplement their incomes. The trees on the reserve were severely damaged by hurricane Flora in 1963, and habitats and ecosystems were destroyed.

Under the present laws of Trinidad and Tobago, the Main Ridge is a protected area, safeguarding its tree population of 116 species, 16 endemic types of plants, and wild life – armadillos, agouti and wild hog, 24 types of non-poisonous snakes, 16 types of lizards, the rare occelated gecko and 210 bird species including the sabrewing humming bird.

Pigeon Point beach, Buccoo Reef and the Nylon Pool have been endearing defining features of Tobago’s tourism product and for which the island is famed. Pigeon Point was a part of an estate in the Sandy Point division when the island was divided into lots for sale between 1765 and 1769. Even after the demise of the island’s sugar industry, the estate remained in private hands and in modern times was owned by Gordon Grant and Company Limited. Its last private owner was Dr Anthony Sabga, chairman of the ANSA McAL Group of Companies in 2005.

Pigeon Point was a major sore point with the people of Tobago, who considered their exclusion from the island’s best beach an anomaly. Access to the beach, a favourite spot for tourists, was restricted to paying patrons and was controlled by a heavy iron fence. Beach access was denied even to estate workers on the property. Aggrieved members of the public questioned the wisdom of private ownership of such an important and sensitive resource. The lagoon was the spawning ground for a number of species of fish and there is an interrelationship between the reef, the Nylon Pool, the beach and the lagoon.

Hostility to the exclusion boiled over during the Black Power protests of 1970s, when the heavy iron fence was torn down and destroyed by angry protesters. Subsequently, expressions of public disgust at the situation became more frequent and vocal. In response, after some negotiation, the government of TT facilitated the purchase of the property at the cost of TT$106 million. This placed ownership of the property squarely in the hands of the government and people of TT and under the administration of the Tobago House of Assembly. The history of this piece of property demonstrates the high value that the people of Tobago place on their heritage resources, and in particular their ability to exercise control over these resources and their determination to defend this ability. The island’s heritage the cultural backbone of the society. It is a permanent resource to be used by the people, administered for the benefit of the people, for the people to have and to hold forever.