Part IV: The Caribbean
Chapter 12: The Caribbean: Introducing the Region
Nadine T. Fernandez
The region takes its name from the Indigenous ethnic group Christopher Columbus encountered there: the Caribs. The native population of the Caribbean is estimated to have been around 750,000 before European contact. In 1492, Columbus landed with his three ships on the island of Hispaniola, now divided into the countries of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The Indigenous peoples—such as the Arawak, Tainos, and Caribs—had no immunities to European disease, and through illness, warfare, and enslavement, their populations were virtually wiped out.
It is difficult to know the gender systems of the Indigenous populations of the Caribbean as they were decimated by the colonial conquest of the islands. However, we can glean some knowledge from small-scale hunter-gatherer societies in other parts of the world. In many foraging societies, gender relations tend to be more egalitarian and complementary. Whatever gender ideologies may have been prevalent among the Indigenous Tainos, Arawak, and Carib populations, little to no trace of these remained after conquest.
Colonial Era
Colonialism thrived in the region. The many islands and coastal areas were accessible to European ships, which could easily sail into a cove or bay to make port and claim the island for their home country. After an island or area was claimed, the land was transformed through plantation agriculture. Cash crops—sugarcane, tobacco, cotton, or fruit—were grown for export profits. Most of these crops were not native to the Americas but were imported during colonial times and were planted, tended, and harvested by enslaved Africans.
The resulting trade arrangement is sometimes referred to as the “triangle” trade. Enslaved Africans were shipped to the Americas to produce sugar, cotton, and other raw materials, which were shipped to Europe to produce rum, clothing, and other manufactured goods, which were then shipped back to Africa to trade for more enslaved people who were brought to America to produce more sugar and so on. Europe grew rich not simply on its technological superiority but also on the hard labor of enslaved Africans. Over three centuries, twenty-one million enslaved people were transported from Africa to the Americas.
Table 12.1. Destination of enslaved Africans (1519–1867)
| Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery_in_the_United_States | |
| Destination | Percentage |
|---|---|
| British mainland North America | 3.7% |
| British Leeward Islands | 3.2% |
| British Windward Islands and Trinidad (British 1797–1867) | 3.8% |
| Jamaica (Spanish 1519–1655, British 1655–1867) | 11.2% |
| Barbados (British) | 5.1% |
| The Guianas (British, Dutch, French) | 4.2% |
| French Windward Islands | 3.1% |
| Saint-Domingue (French) | 8.2% |
| Spanish mainland North and South America | 4.4% |
| Spanish Caribbean islands | 8.2% |
| Dutch Caribbean islands | 1.3% |
| Northeast Brazil (Portuguese) |