The 21st century contemporary Dominica is perhaps not unlike any other Caribbean island today. The hustle and bustle of every day, public servants delivering on the agenda of elected parliamentarians, a private sector providing goods and services for a diverse population pursuing their hope and dreams.
Conversely, 400 years ago, the Caribbean, was not known as the tourist destination of choice as we know it today, but a theatre of war between European powers jostling for newly-discovered ‘ islands. The islands of the West Indies were coveted not for their picturesque beauty, but for the purpose of colonisation and planting grounds on which to establish their sugar and tobacco plantations from which, as time would tell, was a source of imminence wealth which transformed Europe into the behemoth commercial hubs they have become today.
“Conversely, 400 years ago, the Caribbean, was not known as the tourist destination of choice as we know it today,”
That in the quote does not make any sense; it’s difficult to comprehend the authors thoughts.
I don’t think anybody thought of tourism as an industry in the Caribbean 400 years ago: in slavery there was no tourism; only the slave trade.
The final abolition of Caribbean slavery was in 1886, when the last slaves who had been re-termed “apprentices” some years before were freed in Cuba.
So, if we do this: (1886)-(400) = 1486; that means slavery was live and well in the America’s; the islands of the Caribbean are in the Americas 400 years ago.
Let us note that: the first hotel was built in the Caribbean on the island of Nevis in 1778 and brought wealthy visitors, such as Samuel Taylor Coleridge, to Nevis in the 19th century.
Anyone with information which can refute that come forward; cause I doh know everything eh!
Will some body explained to me what is the meaning of slave. The word slave has been changed to employed. One means:- You work for me, I clothed, feed, pay your bills, free accommodation, sleep and so on, therefore, everything is paid for, so you don’t need a wage. The second reads, you work for me and at the end of the month, I pay you a wage to spend as you so wish. The difference between the two is “Sold”. Under the sweat of thy brow thou shall live.
If your understanding of the word slave is as you wrote it; I must say your understanding of the word is incorrect.
The word ” slave” means a person who is the legal property of another, and is forced (coerce) to obey whatever their owner demands.
A slave is no better off than a beast of burden!
A colony is a country or area under the full or partial political control of another country, typically a distant one, and occupied by settlers from that country.
Dominica or any other colony was never fully occupied by the British!
To say Dominica was not a country, simply because it was colonized by Britain does not sound right; in that case whereas the continent of the United States was colonized by the same Britain (England), America then was not a country?
Is that correct?
For that matter we can also say India was not a country because it was once colonized by Britain; so too was the entire continent of Africa, with separate countries were not a country at all.
Australia also and the Aborigines did not exists as a country?
A country is a nation with its own government, occupying a particular territory.
How do we account for slavery; the Kings of Africa sold our forefathers into slavery without opposition from any colonial master Food for thought.
I know where you got the blacks selling Blacks thing, it came from the same missionaries sent to educate us, and ‘educate’ they did. It’s called blame the victim, every rapist does that old trick. Hitler blamed the Jews for their demise. Food for fore-thought: When Europeans went to Kush to kidnap people and enslave them they went with bibles, huge ships complete with military men, armies actively fighting in ‘the 30 year war’ bloody tribal war in europe, armed with the latest weaponry and military formations adcanced and escalated during same 30 year war (simple research). When they arrived in Kush, before they divided it up and named it Africa, it was always a BLOOD BATH. They never sat around waiting for an African to bring them another, don’t drink that cool aid, it never happened. Complete invasions. It was a series of blood baths one after another. Did I say blood bath? They did the atrocities, then wrote their accounts, we shouldn’t expect them to ‘teach’ us…
Let me tell you; you are full of crap!
Missionaries has nothing to do with it; blame your black tribal kings, and Chief’s for selling your forefathers into slavery!
It is one thing to debate, but when one debate they must know what they are talking about; nonsense don’t help in anyway.
For over 200 years, powerful kings in what is now the country of Benin captured and sold slaves to Portuguese, French and British merchants.
The slaves were usually men, women and children from rival tribes — gagged and jammed into boats bound for Brazil, Haiti and the United States.
The trade largely stopped by the end of the 19th century, but Benin never fully confronted what had happened.
The kingdoms that captured and sold slaves still exist today as tribal networks, and so do the groups that were raided.
The descendants of slave merchants, like the de Souza family, remain among the nation’s most influential people, with a large degree of control over how Benin’s history is…
ADMIN: The church’s history in slavery is both varied and controversial – it is not as simple as saying they had nothing or everything to do with it.
Here is a paper from a Ghanian University that provides a more nuanced view of the church’s role in slavery: http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1017-04992018000200008&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en
“Slavery existed in most ancient cultures and continues to exist indirectly in some societies in its various forms. Though slavery was used openly in the past by ancient cultures to create wealth, it is today regarded as an act of injustice against humanity.” (Admin).
I went to the link you provided; and I must say truth always prevail; now slavery quote; “bond or free” according to the Bible.
Nevertheless; if we were to concentrate on Biblical Slavery, which God tolerated, we will find it was something totally different to the modern time history of slavery.
I will not debate Biblical Slavery, except to say most of the time the then slaves agreed to be enslaved to the master; they however, did not sell themselves; although we are aware that Joseph brothers sold him to merchants into slavery; God ordained that.
And, there is no account in the Bible the then slaves were beaten and brutalized.
Admin many of us are appreciable of your input in this regards, very…
@Francisco .. The blacks selling Blacks thing NEVER HAPPENED. It came from the same missionaries sent to educate us, and ‘educate’ they did. It’s called blame the victim, every rapist does that old trick. Hitler blamed the Jews for their demise. Food for fore-thought: When Europeans went to Kush to kidnap people and enslave them they went with bibles, huge ships complete with military men, armies actively fighting in ‘the 30 year war’ BRUTAL tribal war in europe, armed with the latest weaponry and military formations adcanced and escalated during same 30 year war (simple research). When they arrived in Kush, before they divided it up and named it Africa, it was always a BL**D BATH. They never sat around waiting for an African to bring them another, don’t drink that cool aid, it never happened. Complete invasions. It was a series of bl**d baths one after another. They did the atrocities, then wrote their accounts, we shouldn’t expect them to ‘teach’ us differently.
ADMIN: You don’t have to agree with his conclusions but it is a fact that slavery existed in Africa (albeit in much different forms) prior to the transatlantic slave trade.
There are many accounts of Africans being involved in supplying slaves to the Europeans.
If you distrust what you may consider European sources then consider reading this book by an independent (self funded, self researched) black academic and author: The Destruction of Black Civilization by Chancellor Williams
Thanks admin:
One thing we all need to remember is in Dominica, the people who does not know anything; believe they know all!
Everything I stated is historical fact!
I pity that person; since no white man; “slave trader” could have gone into West Africa, capture men women and children walk them shackled thousands of miles to Goree Island to be shipped to the Caribbean, and the rest of the America’s without the corporation of our very own Black ancestors!
“Île de Gorée is one of the 19 communes d’arrondissement of the city of Dakar, Senegal.
It is an 18.2-hectare island located 2 kilometres at sea from the main harbour of Dakar, famous as a destination for people interested in the Atlantic slave trade.
Its population as of the 2013 census was 1,680 inhabitants, giving a density of 5,802 inhabitants per square kilometre.
To the know nothing know all; my name “Telemaque” still exists in Dakar Senegal!
Admin indulge this and another to follow!
The geographic coordinates of Dominica in decimal is 15.415 degrees North, and 61.371 degree West.Hence the DMS coordinates in degrees, minutes, and seconds are: 15 degrees 24′ 54″ N and 61 degrees 22.59′ W.
Now if someone familiar with geography, go to the World Map, they will see actually a straight line from Goree Island to Roseau Dominica: one of the reasons there were more house slaves in Dominica than elsewhere in the Caribbean is because of the direct connect to the slaves trade.
They were brought to Dominica where they were retail and shipped to North and South America, and the rest of the Caribbean.
All of my submissions I hope are somewhat intellectual; I don’t repeat the words of the white haters; who wish to crucify people because of the color of their skin; if I do; I would be no less than of our forefathers who sold our ancestors into slavery.
Contending black did not sell black into slavery proves that person is illiterate!
Dude blacks didn’t sell Blacks. There is absolutely no evidence of such. The stories you repeat are all maliciously taught to us in order to keep us where you are currently. They fought valiantly against the invading Europeans, but were no match against the invaders. Europe’s armies conquered from coast to interior to coast and built enslavement forts. They did not sit around waiting for a slave or two nor for Africans to build tunnels and forts. It was Europe’s savage war on Africa.
They also taught us that Africans lived in trees like monkeys so they had to save them with religion and have you repeating that. They taught us that we’re are inferior, savages, that Africa is a dark continent, that we were not civilized, etc.etc. You seem to believe all of that but nothing to the contrary. They got you. The rest of us will continue cutting this beast down for the sake of future generations. Leave that camp, it’s in your interest to step in and assist.
ADMIN: “Dude blacks didn’t sell Blacks. There is absolutely no evidence of such.”
While we don’t believe the truth in any way validates or excuses the European caused atrocities in slavery, that’s simply not accurate. There are many sources both European and African that slavery existed in African for hundreds of years before the coming of the transatlantic slave trade and that Africans commercially participated in the those slave trades.
Either all those sources are lying or completely misinformed or you need to thoroughly re-evaluate the evidence and revise your narrative accordingly.
If I could asks Poise or whoever a couple of questions; I would asks that person what level of education they attained, and from what educational institution?
How many degrees he/she attained in African history?
If I said: “it did not happen, Africans did not sell our African forefathers to the slave traders,” I should be prepared to present some form of historic documented proof stating that it never happen.
Again I will emphasize, juts because some of us have a smart phone, and have the opportunity, or given the privilege of writing on a website does not mean we are educationally smart.
When I don’t know something, I read and if I must; simply to know the truth, I research for my answer, rather than writing nonsense embarrassing myself bleating; rather baaing like an inebriated sheep!
One is never to old to learn!
It never happened: well professor detail how the slave trade began, and what method was used to bring millions of slaves out of Africa.
I understand what you mean Admin but many, if not all of those sources were/are deliberately misinformed to achieve the end result we have today about the continent. It’s difficult to shift thru the rubble but white supremacist think-tanks have controlled the narrative and rewrite history from time to time, up to and including what’s taught in schools here and in Africa. We may have to relearn a lot of what we know and what is out there, much of their evidence is/was staged. Keep in mind it was conquest and land grab by European super powers at the time battling each other to anhialate the Roman empire. They went to Africa swords and guns blazing. I must admit there were pockets of many odd things on both continents but the slave trade wasn’t reliant on Africans selling each other as being portrayed here.
While Dominica’ History is continued to be Narrated by a descendant of oppression, Albert Williams comes across as Revelation. The Chains may have been broken from the physical, Shackled Hearts and Brains have placed some of us on a very low realm in servitude. Religion, the main factor, have had a hand in indoctrinating the very first African brought to the Americas, today the doctrine of the slave master, Judaism, Christian and Islam continue to create slaves of a different dimension. Slave Colonies have become so=called Nations, Begger Nations populated by Africans living in abject poverty and in some cases severe Degradation.They had no part in the conditions created, it was fashioned by Criminal Europe, and the Roman Catholic Church. Human trafficking was alright, their way to amassing vast personal wealth. Reparations and Repatriation in time to come, will be the Africans Mantra, the present state of our World is no doubt, going to make that vision very plausible.
What we have today, in Dominica, parading as a democracy is plantation politics. In place of the white Europeans enriching themselves at the expense of black slaves, the current occupier of the prime minister’s office is doing the very same things that were done to our forebears.
Spain, Britain, the Dutch and the Portuguese, in particular, built their economies on free labour provided by enslaved Africans in the Caribbean and the Americas. Now Skerrit and his enablers are making themselves vulgar rich from the sweat, blood and tears of desperately poor local taxpayers.
I repeat for the umpteenth time. All the resources belonging to the country of Dominica are to be shared equitably. We should use public revenue and the resources of the state to endeavor to lift all Dominicans above the poverty line. Let every single man, woman, boy and girl be the beneficiaries of STATE’s funds and assets. It should be no other way.