George de Nobriga – desired and despised

Dr Rita Pemberton

THE PERSISTENCE of the issues which plagued Tobago and the failure of the Isaac A Hope administration to generate any significant change by the end of its tenure stimulated the formation of a body which articulated for stronger representation for the island in the Legislative Council.

A committee of planters, teachers, ministers of religion, senior officials and businessmen was convinced the best candidate to serve the interests of Tobago would be a strong and influential person who could change the prevailing outlook of the Trinidad members, who did not show much concern for the welfare of the people of Tobago and the problems they faced, and get some action to improve Tobago.

Undoubtedly impressed by non-resident George de Nobriga's wealth, business acumen and influence in Trinidad, it was the committee members' belief that these qualities would be beneficial to Tobago. They organised a campaign which projected his skills and gave strong support to de Nobriga, a Trinidadian, who was elected unopposed in 1938.

There appeared to be no concern about the fact that he was not a son of the soil and that because he was not resident on the island, he could become out of touch with his constituents and his multiple responsibilities could reduce his ability to serve the interests of Tobago in the manner required.

Nor did they seem to anticipate any contradiction between his role as a plantation owner and his responsibilities to the members of the labouring class, which was not represented in the group that supported De Nobriga.

De Nobriga was a powerful landowner, racehorse owner and businessman who held managerial positions in several organisations in the colony. In addition to being the manager of Aranjuez Estate in San Juan, Trinidad, he became the general manager of the Telephone Company and of the Electric Company, managing director of Trinidad Consolidated Telephones, Tobago Plantations Ltd, British Colonial Film Exchange Ltd, president of the Trinidad Coconut Growers Association Ltd, and director of the Trinidad Jewellery Company Ltd.

He was an avid sportsman. He played tennis, representing the colony, and golf. He owned and bred horses and became president of the Tobago Race Club and vice president of the Trinidad Turf Club.

In his election manifesto, de Nobriga advocated for improved livestock breeding for peasants, better and more regular sea communication between the islands, tourism development, better marketing arrangements for Tobago’s produce and road improvement.

It is noticeable that his manifesto did not include any provisions specifically related to the problems of the labouring class, which were a major issue, and of which, as a plantation owner and manager, he would certainly have been aware.

True to his manifesto promise, his first task was to address the problem of sea communication, and he recommended the establishment of a committee to investigate it. The response was the formation of the six-member Nichol Committee on April 1, 1933, in which de Nobriga was included.

Its wide-ranging report provided very detailed information on the state of Tobago and its recommendations outlined a path for development, connecting communities across the island through a well-organised road system linking with a regular sea communication system to provide ease of transportation and facilitate economic activities.

After 1939 the administration became preoccupied with war-stimulated emergencies and the report was shelved.

De Nobriga paid attention to social-services issues, addressing the transport and accommodation issues of teachers, free milk for schoolchildren and petitions for acquisition of lands in north Tobago, roads and the need for more accessible medical services.

But de Nobriga never really displayed an affinity to Tobago, which was treated like another business operation.

Despite support for him from the upper and middle groups of the Tobago population, he was despised by the labouring class, particularly those who worked on his estate. De Nobriga was the owner of Lowlands Estate, where wages were extremely low, as he sought to maintain 19th-century labour practices in 20th-century Tobago.

It was the practice to charge his workers two free days' labour to keep their employment. On those days the estate provided the workers with bread and chocolate tea, called “swag,” which was made from rejected cocoa beans. Workers who complained were fired without pay, evicted from land rented from the estate, and refused pasturage for their animals on the estate.

There were constant complaints from workers about the poor working conditions and the level of worker exploitation, and they sought permission to join a union to obtain representation in a bid to be fairly treated. But they failed.

De Nobriga was a planter at heart who showed little concern for the welfare of his workers. While he was faced with the strong migration pull of Tobago workers to higher earning possibilities in Trinidad, he developed a policy which was really an attempt to resurrect the old plantation system of forced labour in which workers were dependent and under his control to secure his labour force and keep his estate operational while making a profit.

While he continued to be supported by some members of the middle and upper segments of the society, his labour policy was a blot on his reputation as a planter in Tobago.

After 1940, he became preoccupied with his other pursuits and made no significant contribution to advance the cause of Tobago in the Legislative Council. It is no surprise that at the next election, in 1946, he was defeated, as the popular vote went to someone who identified strongly with Tobago and had the interest of the population at heart.