Post-World War II change in Tobago

Dr Rita Pemberton

World War II is an important marker in the history of Tobago, because it was the springboard for a number of developments which were of significance to the population and which resulted in the economic, demographic and political transition of the island.

When war broke out, Tobago was experiencing an economic slump, caused by the crash of the country’s cocoa industry, the main revenue-earner and means of support for many families, in addition to the administration’s failure to devise a policy to stimulate the economy.

The situation was compounded by the post-World War I depression, unbridled cost-of-living increases, the continuing plague of extremely low wages and the lack of mitigating welfare services. These conditions, which mirrored those in other Caribbean territories, stimulated a radical left movement which espoused communism as the ideology which offered the solution to the problems faced by the masses. The high incidence of poverty and protest marches in the region during the 1930s raised serious concerns in imperial circles, the bastions of democracy.

As a result, policies which were intended to forestall such an unthinkable development as the entrenchment of communist ideas in the region, were implemented. The Allied powers were taking no chances and sought to prevent a situation which would permit the infiltration of the enemy (The Axis powers and their ideology) in the region, which was of strategic importance to the US.

At the outbreak of war in 1939, and particularly from 1941, when the Caribbean was included in the theatre of war, these concerns, which provided a hidden agenda for the war policy, underlay the priority matters which commanded imperial attention.

The result was the institution of policies intended to ensure vital trade links to the colonies were maintained during the war and that food was available to the population. The intent was to prevent poverty and social distress from becoming the avenue for communist infiltration.

In order to prevent any development during the international conflict that could impede trade, an elaborate system of bulk buying and organised food distribution through the region was devised to protect shipping. This was of critical importance because of the colonies’ heavy dependence on imported food.

For the first time, the focus of imperial policy was shifted from agriculture for export to emphasise local food production. A Grow More Food campaign was instituted across the region. This opened the market for the produce of the farming community of Tobago.

The presence of army camps in Tobago and American bases in Trinidad increased the demand for food, especially chicken, eggs, fish and meat. Tobago producers also supplied the needs of the local population for pigeon peas, corn, ground provision and fruit, for which there was an insatiable demand in Trinidad.

The improved marketing arrangements, with guaranteed prices, an assured market for all produce and convenient collection points pushed food production to an all-time high, and with that, the earnings of the producers increased significantly.

Unfortunately, this policy was confined to the war period and once the threat of war disruption was over, the Grow More Food campaign was terminated, and disrupted trading arrangements and the importation of food resumed. The old marketing problems which frustrated the island’s food producers resurfaced and this, with significantly reduced demand and falling prices, drove the trend away from agriculture that was visible earlier in the century. From 1946 the movement away from agricultural pursuits became aggravated.

The war also stimulated the migration of males, who sought jobs on the US bases, where higher wages were paid than those traditionally earned on the island. While some of these men returned with increased savings, many remained and because Tobago offered few education possibilities, migration from Tobago to Trinidad increased after the war.

In 1946 self-employment was the chief form of employment in Tobago and the common practice was to combine agriculture with other pursuits such as fishing, huckstering, shopkeeping and the skilled trades, all of which remained important after the war.

However, the range of employment opportunities slowly increased with the post-war development of tourism and the expansion of the island’s administration and the accompanying need for services in these areas. The post-war period was therefore marked by employment openings in the public service, construction, the service industries, transport and manufacture of food, clothes, shoes and furniture.

The availability of employment stimulated population movements which changed the settlement patterns on the island. Internal migration resulted in increased population in the parishes of St Andrew and St Patrick. St Andrew, which included the island’s capital, was the location of the port, the island’s trade and business centre, the lone secondary school, headquarters of the churches and better facilities than were available elsewhere.

St Patrick was the location of the airport which was developed from the wartime landing strip at Crown Point, and of the main tourist attractions. Both these areas offered more diverse employment opportunities and were important sites in the process of step migration to Trinidad and elsewhere. One of the most significant features of this new phase of the employment thrust was the increase in female participation in the non-agricultural sector.

Internal migration also caused the depopulation of the main cocoa-producing areas of windward and northern areas. Exceptions were Moriah and Roxborough, the main gateways from windward to leeward Tobago, which experienced population growth.

The war was also of significance in the realm of culture. The returning migrants from Trinidad strengthened the development of Tobago’s carnival, with practices such as stick fighting, which they learned while in Trinidad. The American presence provided the conduit for importing American culture through the films shown in the island’s lone cinema and the food tastes of the return migrants, which were developed at the bases and by workers at the army camps in Tobago.

Politically, exposure to American-style trade unionism, the institution of universal adult suffrage in 1945 and the establishment of the Tobago County Council in 1946 stimulated increased political activism which focused on the island’s development issues and the need for a more effective administrative machinery to serve it with more meaningful application of democratic principles. Concern about these issues would later morph into the autonomy drive which characterised the post-independence period.