Stamping colonial ownership: Britain shapes Tobago in her likeness

DR RITA PEMBERTON

The most extensive rituals of possession that occurred on the island of Tobago were those imposed by the British. The island’s tenure as a British colony lasted from 1763-1781 and 1793-1962, with a French interruption in 1801/1802.

The rivalry between Britain and France for possession of Tobago, which intensified from the 1740s, was temporarily halted when the island was ceded to Britain by the Treaty of Paris in 1763 at the end of the Seven Years War.

But it was not a victory that was easily conceded and the authorities in Britain were conscious of the fact that embittered France had not abandoned hope of regaining possession of the island. Subsequent intelligence confirmed that France was planning a future strike to reclaim Tobago.

The British therefore acted with urgency to impose their stamp of possession on the island from 1763 onwards. After planting the British flag and taking the island in the name of the King of England, given the prevailing tensions with France, provisions for the defence of the new possession became priority. At first, two troops were stationed on the island to ward off any attacks of rival nations.

The next step was to establish a form of government that mirrored the British administrative tradition. Tobago’s colonial administration was established with the appointment of a governor for the group of ceded islands. The administration comprised a lieutenant governor, assisted by a council, clerk of council, an elected Assembly with a speaker and clerk of the Assembly; chief justice, naval officers, provost marshal, Customs officials, public treasurer and an agent for handling the islands affairs in London. This made the transfer of British legal practices possible.

Next in the stamping process with which the newly established administration was mandated was to quickly establish a permanent and significant British presence in Tobago. This required acceleration of the conjoined processes of settlement and production on the island. Establishing a large resident British population and stimulating economic activity were indicators of possession, but the presence of a significant resident population with interests to defend also offered possibilities for the enhancement of the island’s defence system.

In 1764, commissioners for the sale of land were appointed and surveyors were hired. Chief surveyor James Simpson devised a plan for the island with divisions into parishes, each with districts and towns. Simpson and his crew surveyed and divided the island into saleable lots and one year later, in 1765, the first land sales were made in a process that was completed in 1771.

The terms of sale facilitated the establishment of large plantations. Land allocations were up to a maximum of 500 acres and purchasers were required to be equipped with their labour and bring a portion of the land into cultivation within two years of purchase.

This process of land sales had several consequences. First, the British established the first authoritative maps of Tobago in which some of the place names on previous maps were retained, while others were renamed. The team of surveyors exerted a strong influence on the process of naming the new divisions and the names selected were reminiscent of their hometowns in Britain – the first capital, Georgetown; Plymouth; Milford; and Scarborough, the second capital.

The new administration used British place names, approved by the colonial office, to recognise the contributions of outstanding soldiers or naval officers in the wars against France. Fort Granby was named after John Manners, the Marquis of Granby, who was a hero of the Seven Years War. Tyrrel’s Bay, which was called Anse Bateau by the French, was renamed after Admiral Richard Tyrrel, who was honoured for his role in the defeat of France during the Seven Years War. Poyntz Bay was named after Capt John Poyntz, but later renamed Goldsborough Bay. Cuyler Street in Scarborough honoured Cornelius Cuyler, an American soldier of Dutch parentage who led the British troops to expel the French from Tobago in 1801.

Some other place names recognised the island’s officials. Brown’s Point was named after Alexander Brown, the island’s first lieutenant governor; Hillsborough Bay after Secretary of State Lord Hillsborough; Pinfold Bay after Charles Pinfold, the governor of Barbados, who, with Admiral Tyrrel, developed the plan to speed up the settlement of Tobago.

The St Giles Rocks were renamed Melville Rocks after general Melville, the first governor general of the ceded islands. Charlotteville was named after Queen Charlotte, wife of King George III, and Barbados Bay was named as a memorial to the first attempted English settlement of Tobago, which was organised from Barbados and landed at that location in 1764.

The streets of the capital bear the names of administrators, members of council and large planters. Jerningham, Piggott, Robinson, Ross and Young Streets were named after governors of the island. Carrington, Hamilton, Hay and Picton Streets and Wilson Road were named after officials, while Ottley and Hamilton Streets bear the names of large plantation owners.

Some streets such as Bacolet Street, Auchenskeoch, Buccoo, Calder Hall, Friendsfield and Rockly Vale Roads, bear the names of estates in the area. The names of estates reflected the origins of their owners. There was a significant presence of Scotsmen on the island, which is reflected in the names of their estates: Auchenskeoch and Burleigh Castle Estates were named after Scottish castles; Speyside after a Scottish whisky brewing area; Argyle, Carnbee, Craig Hall, Culloden Dunveygan, Invera and Roxborough refer to districts in Scotland. Calder Hall, Delaford, Goldsborough, Goodwood, Mt St George, Rockly Vale and Runnymede are the names of districts in England; Pembroke and Glamorgan are named after Welsh districts, and John Dial is an anglicised version of an Irish name.

These estate names were used as the names

of villages and districts after Emancipation and remain in use today. Thus the iconography of the island reflected, as it still does, the British imperial presence.

Another important consequence of the land sales and the establishment of plantations was the introduction of enslaved African workers to provide labour to the newly-established plantations. The contribution of the African population to the consolidation of British presence on the island extended beyond the economic sphere.

Culturally, British imperial possession was solidified by stamping out the native African languages, and through churches and schools, making English the lingua franca of the island.

Enslaved Africans were used to augment the fighting forces by both the French and British during their confrontations on the island. After debating whether it was wise to arm enslaved Africans after the series of resistance on the island, British plantation owners reluctantly agreed to use enslaved males to increase the size of their troops because of the limited number of white males on the island.

Enslaved males, who were considered “trusted slaves,” were used in an informal arrangement, creating a group of enslaved soldiers.

In 1795, the imperial government formally established the Black Regiment. to which Tobago was mandated to contribute. The troop of Tobago Blacks was formally established. Despite commendations on their military skills which contributed to the victories against France, after the wars they reverted to their enslaved status, with no recognition for their services.

Britain won Tobago and British possession was firmly stamped on the island, and unlike their white counterparts in war, to this day there is absolutely no visibility of enslaved Africans on the island’s iconography.