The changing face of Tobago

Dr Rita Pemberton

The winds of change blew over Tobago with increasing velocity across the 19th century with significant effects on the traditional land-owning class and population movements.

The century began with the disruptions caused by the continuing British/ French tussle for ownership of the island which contributed to social and economic displacement to which were added other forces as the century wore on.

The first casualties of the initial displacement were those sugar estates which were unable to recover from the destruction and financial upheaval that accompanied the French capture and occupation of the island from 1781 to 1793. In addition, there were continuing uncertainties and economic difficulties which were associated with war with France from 1793 to 1802 and French assaults on the island in 1803.

The new French taxes, the trade disruptions and French confiscation of properties resulted in the creation of a number of heavily indebted plantation owners and their disgruntled creditors in Britain. As a result, the estates located in Bloody Bay and L’Anse Fourmi ceased operations causing those areas to remain uninhabited between 1809 and the 1870s.

There were also individual estates in other parts of the island which went out of operation as they faced similar difficulties. A pattern of estate closure, changing ownership and, increasingly across the century, abandonment.

The next significant spate of changes resulted from the combination of the economic challenges that faced the island’s sugar industry, in addition to the policy of emancipation and free trade which the imperial government pursued.

After emancipation, the island’s settlement pattern began to change from the domination of plantation estate land occupation to that of village occupation which occurred with the growth of the village settlements. The pre-emancipation role of the sugar estates as the hub of activities on the island was being eroded. There was also a visible change in the population of the towns where there were more employment opportunities.

There were two towns in Tobago; Scarborough, with the larger population and Plymouth. While the population of Scarborough decreased, that of its suburbs increased but Scarborough maintained its importance as the island’s main trading centre.

However, Plymouth declined in importance because its significance was related to the fact that its naturally occurring deep-water harbour served as the port of entry solely for the Royal Mail Stem Packet Company which brought mail and European passengers to the island.

Amid protests over the continuation of this arrangement in a location which failed to attract trade and merchant activity, Plymouth ceased to be a port of entry from 1881. It reverted to the status of a fishing and agricultural village with localised trade with some of the northern villages and with few residents of political importance.

Villages grow, towns decline

On the other hand, Roxborough, which was a small unimportant village during the 19th century ascended to importance during the start of the second decade of the 20th century. This occurred as a result of its role as the trade and administrative centre of the windward district which became more important with the growth of the cocoa industry in the area.

The population of Roxborough and Betsy’s Hope increased until after 1920 when the cocoa industry declined.

From the middle of the 19th century there was a significant change in the island’s settlement pattern. Peasant land-ownership and the growth of the cocoa industry during the last third of the century caused a wave migration of people from the leeward to northern and windward parts of the island increasing the population of these communities which resulted in a more even settlement pattern of the island’s population and with it, opportunities for other forms of employment, particularly small business, were stimulated. By 1900 Bloody Bay and L’Anse Fourmi became fully settled and large village communities were established in areas such as Riseland, Buccoo, Mt St George, Mason Hall, Adventure, Moriah, and Roxborough. By 1946, the population of the large villages exceeded that of the main towns.

Significant changes also occurred regarding the composition of the island’s population.

Up to the middle of the 19th century, the largest percentage of Tobago’s population was African-born, however, that changed as a result of the termination of the trade in captured Africans although the number of African-born residents was boosted by the importation of liberated Africans in 1851 and 1862.

In the latter part of the 19th century, the island’s African population was primarily locally born and the size of the African-descended population was increased by immigrants from other British Caribbean colonies especially Barbados and Grenada.

The remaining element of Tobago’s population was made up of English and Scottish males.

By the beginning of the 20th century there was a noticeable change in the European element of the population, particularly the Scotsmen who formerly constituted a prominent group of plantation owners and managers, which started dwindling during the closing years of the 19th century. At this time also, the official records document an increasing presence of the mixed-race population, the development of which was partly stimulated by the male/female imbalance of the white population.

Population becomes more diverse

The size of the Indian population increased as a result of the recruitment of time-expired Indians from Trinidad for labour on estates which were primarily located on the Windward side of the island. The numbers of this group increased until 1921 when they began to decline because of the discontinuation of the recruitment scheme and the attraction of alternative employment in Trinidad.

Tobago’s population was further diversified with a small presence of Chinese, Portuguese and Syrian/Lebanese migrants. The most significant aspect of population increase which occurred during the 20th century was that of immigrants from the rest of the Caribbean whose numbers doubled between 1901 and 1946 and who helped to strengthen the African elements of the island’s cultural practices.

Caribbean immigrants included people from Grenada, Carriacou and St Vincent who assisted the development of Tobago’s cocoa industry – the Oliverres, Fisherfolk from Bequia, St Vincent and others such as the Howards from Barbados, Delanceys from St Vincent and the Benjamins and Celestines from Grenada – who sought to take advantage of lower land prices on the island.

There were also migrants who served the island in other capacities. Included in this group were: Jacob Alexander Walters who came to serve as a headmaster in Charlotteville; Barbadians John and Philip Jones who served the police force and the Anglican church; and a number of Grenadian estate owners.

There was also a significant population movement of young people, particularly males, from Tobago during the 20th century as people sought better opportunities in Canada, Curaçao, Panama, Venezuela, the USA and Trinidad.

With the union of the islands, Trinidad attracted migrants from Tobago and, by 1921, almost a quarter of the Tobago-born population was resident in Trinidad.

Migration to Trinidad was further stimulated by the growth of the oil industry and the need for labour during the 1920s and 30s, to construct roads and to work on the US bases during World War II.

The population of Tobagonians in Trinidad was concentrated in Toco, around Port of Spain, on the East Coast in Manzanilla and in the oil field areas of South Trinidad.

The developments which occurred in 19th century Tobago brought significant change to the island. The hold of the plantations on the island’s history and development was permanently eroded and the symbol of plantation domination – the elite white population – was eliminated as new population components were introduced.

While a migration strengthened Tobago’s ties with its Caribbean neighbours, the question of the most effective means for the development of the island was not determined and the island suffered severe manpower loss of some of its most talented people.

The preponderance of male migration caused female domination of the resident population which accentuated the role of women in Tobago during the 20th century and beyond.