Peasantry

Jadee St.Hill-Pinder Caribbean Studies 2007- Describe the contribution of peasant groups to the development of Caribbean society in the period of emancipation. (20 marks) The peasant groups have made a significant contribution to the development of Caribbean society in the period after emancipation. The peasantry may be described as a class of people who owned small plots of land from which they gained a livelihood They contributed in several ways including diversification of export crops in the period after slavery, establishment of free villages which played a major role in post-emancipation Caribbean society and the development of roads and markets in the interiors of the larger islands. One of the ways in which peasant groups contributed to the development of Caribbean society is through the diversification of the export crops. Sugar was “king” in the period of slavery but after 1820’s it experienced increasing competition from extra-regional countries including India, Brazil and USA. These countries had vast amounts of land and resources. The introduction of

European beet sugar also gave the Caribbean competition and this could also be grown more cheaply and was more affordable. Exports of sugar were decreasing drastically, harming the economies as sugar prices plummeted and, therefore forcing planters to abandon their plantations. The establishment of free villages by the peasants allowed several varieties of crops to be produced including arrowroot, cotton, citrus, bananas and logwood. The establishment of the peasantry reduced the need for imported food as they grew food crops for the local market and for their families. This enabled the movement from the monoculture of the planters to multi-crop farming. These crops were soon adopted by the planters and were very important in the export trade in the 1850’s. The value of export crops in 1850 was estimated to be € 1 089 300 of which the peasantry contributed 10%. By 1890, they contributed 29% of the exports. The peasantry also developed the interior especially the mountainous interior. Roads and markets were established in areas where planters had avoided, expanding the populated areas. A system of direct and middlemen trading developed in places like Jamaica, where not all the peasants who produced came to market. For example, farmers who lived in the

mountainous regions traded with those on the coast who brought such produce to the towns. The peasants also attempted to build local selfgenerating communities. The ex-slaves often pooled resources to create drainage systems and to buy lands, which could often only be brought in cash. They tried to extend the educational facilities, improve the communications and start local co-operative movement as saving societies were sent up for example the People’s Co-operative Loan Bank of Jamaica. Villages and markets were established while schools and churches were built. Education played an important role in the upward movement of many free citizens. Many young men and women attended the schools that sprang up around the island. Some went on to become teachers and educate the next generation. Others became ministers and preached in the local churches. This was a step up from the labour their parents performed. Some were able to obtain jobs tending to business matters on the island. Without the establishment of the peasantry this would not have occurred. The villages, although largely independent, provided a potential labour pool that could be attracted to the

plantations. Many peasants would work their lands and work in the plantations, providing viable labour. The growth of these free villages immediately after the emancipation of the slaves was astonishing. In Jamaica, black freeholders increased from 2,014 in 1838 to more than 7,800 in 1840 and more than 50,000 in 1859. In Barbados, where land was scarcer and prices higher, freeholders of less than 2 hectares each increased from 1,110 in 1844 to 3,537 in 1859. In St. Vincent, about 8,209 persons built their own homes and bought and brought under cultivation over 5,000 hectares between 1838 and 1857. In Antigua, 67 free villages with 5,187 houses and 15,644 inhabitants were established between 1833 and 1858. In short, the peasant groups contributed significantly to the development of Caribbean society in the period after emancipation as they provided through the establishment of schools social mobility, diversification of export crops in the period after slavery, establishment of free villages and the development of the interiors’ infrastructure.