Breaking barricades: the women of Tobago

Dr Rita Pemberton

From the start of the 19th century, it was clear that the imperial enthusiasm that had been manifested in and for, its Tobago possession during the second half of the 18th century had waned significantly. As evidence of the declining profitability of the sugar industry increased, so too did the level of imperial interest in the island, and during the post-emancipation years, imperial policy focused on eliminating the colonial administrative structures, which were considered cumbersome and expensive irritants.

Hence its policies were directed at the dismantling the colonial structure, leaving a minimal presence, and devising a means of shifting the burden of administering the impoverished colony away from the imperial treasury. Tobago was relegated as a backwater colony considered inconsequential to the imperial imperative.

In that prevailing atmosphere, provisions for the welfare and social development of the population, although visibly needed, were not even considered.

This void was filled by the interventions of the women of Tobago.

Since the era of enslavement, the population of Tobago had been female-dominated. Women constituted the largest segment of workers on the sugar estates. During the years after emancipation, when male movement occurred, the male/female ratio became more marked in the windward districts.

During this period, women continued to contribute to agriculture as labourers on the surviving sugar estates, as well as on cocoa and coconut estates. The low wages that were paid to labourers were inadequate for family support, making it essential for them to find additional means of survival. In this regard, as demonstrated by their activities as processors or humanitarians, the contributions of women are noteworthy.

Women became some of the first local food processors, converting primary products into items that were marketable both locally and for export. This was a major departure from the established tradition, which emphasised primary production of the export crop.

While the best-quality cocoa beans were sold to agents for export, the remainder were processed into local chocolate balls for home use and sold in the markets. This led to what became the traditional Sunday breakfast special, chocolate tea.

Some of the remaining coppers from the sugar industry were repurposed to serve the needs of the former labourers in several ways. The women who worked on coconut estates produced coconut oil, which became the standard oil for cooking, skin and hair care and was also exported to Trinidad.

Cassava was not conceived as an export crop, but those women who cultivated cassava used the coppers to process the cassava into bread; flour, which was used as a substitute for or supplement to wheat flour in foods, especially bake and dumplings; and farine, which was used as a breakfast cereal, a staple item at meals, and as snacks.

The starch generated in the process was made into balls which were used as stiffening agents for clothes and for the baked delicacy called starch cakes.

In addition to diverting agriculture from primary production and providing themselves with alternative income-generating employment, these processing initiatives are of lasting significance to the development of the island’s traditional cuisine.

The activities of the women of Tobago were not confined to agriculture, for there was an acute awareness of the need for intervention to alleviate the problems residents faced. Tobago’s deficit of social development was very marked across the 20th century, when it lacked adequate medical, infrastructural and educational facilities. Women came forward to provide those services needed in the society which did not garner the attention of the authorities.

Three examples of women who volunteered their skills in the service of the development of leeward Tobago between 1940 and 1960 underscore the extent of devotion to community on the island.

One of these women, who hailed from Canaan, was Sara Guy. With no children of her own, “Nen,” as she was popularly called, provided orphans and children whose parents could not afford to support them with a home and became a mother to many. She would implore expectant mothers to “Gimme dah wan dey,” assuring that the child would be cared for if the parents faced difficult circumstances. She nurtured a number of individuals, ensured they went to school and provided the basis for them to become productive citizens. She exercised this responsibility solely on the earnings of the small parlour she ran, and provided relief to a number of struggling parents.

Dorothy Holmes was a humanitarian who devoted her life to caring for others. She served her community as a midwife in the era when Tobago possessed one inadequately resourced hospital and no ambulance service. She provided on-call service at any hour of day or night, and it was common to “sen fu call Doroti” when women were in labour. She promptly responded to such calls by walking to the house armed with her “medical bag” and, with skill, safely delivered healthy babies even when there were complications. This service was provided without cost to anyone.

Annette Archer, better known as “Teacher Baby Joe,” was very conscious of the importance of education and of the need to have small children occupied while their parents were at work. She rented a space in a dance hall in Canaan and ran a small school which provided early-childhood education to the children of the area. She dedicated her life to improving their welfare and giving them the foundation for their future development. Her efforts bore fruit by producing a number of individuals who rose to prominence as outstanding citizens of the island and country.

The activities of these three women provided many children with the opportunity to improve themselves which would not otherwise have been possible, given the lack of administrative concern for human welfare.

In the words of Eric Roach, Tobago’s foremost poet:

“It was the women who restored us…

They “…nurtured and endured”

“Taught faith and love and hope”

…“Cradled a new age with bare hands

“Shaped an end and a destiny

…”Raked the embers of the race out of the ashes”

“Creating civilization” out of the filth of colonisation.