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Definition of Terms 1. Cultural Diversity------Cultural diversity refers to the great differences in the characteristics and attributes of social groups that cause them to have significantly different experiences of social life. With reference to the Caribbean, many of these attributes stem largely from the traditions and activities of different European powers who were hegemonic in the Caribbean. 2. Race/ Racial groups------ These are groups characterized based on physical, biologic and genetic type.(Caucasian, Mongoloid, Negroid) 3. Ethnic Group-------These are groups based on a host of different cultural traits such as religion, tradition, language, nationality or geographic origin. Any strong cultural group is considered an ethnic community, for example, patois speakers in a certain area. (Indians, Chinese, Africans, Whites Syrians) Sometimes the view is expressed that the Caribbean region, or a particular country is too diverse culturally, to be able to foster unity. That is usually said in the context of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and its efforts to integrate the region or, at times of national general elections in a particular country. The positive and negative effects of cultural diversity are perpetually debated. A broad sweep of the Caribbean region shows that diversity results mainly from geography and history. For example, the Lesser Antilles with their mountainous backbone have fostered fishing as a way of life and cultural communities such as fishing villages which have strong ties with similar communities in nearby islands. On the other hand, the larger islands do have fishing villages but their dominant economic livelihood stems from largescale agricultural enterprise, situated mainly on the fertile coastal lowlands. The cultural forms of organization and lifestyles thus vary and are due mainly to geographical factors. However, it is difficult to ignore the contribution of history to this scenario- for example, in pre-Columbus times, the larger islands were NOT engaged in large scale agriculture. Cultural diversity, therefore, RESULTS MAINLY FROM HISTORICAL FACTORS.
In each country, cultural diversity is also evident on a micro scale, in the: 1. socio-economic groups which experience different lifestyles 2. different values and characteristics that comprise rural and urban living We cannot overlook micro patterns of diversity that may be evident in one country or in one region of a country. People may live in conditions of extreme poverty and others in a great deal of affluence. Differences in socio-economic status contribute to a range of lifestyles, aspirations and opportunities. In addition, there continues to be a great deal of difference between rural and urban living. Even this is a European cultural legacy. The argument follows that Europeans were only interested in the colonies for economic gain, so they developed ports to ship out raw materials to the mother country and built roads and infrastructure between the plantations and the port. Some of these ports eventually became capital cities and Caribbean people continued to invest in the CORE leaving the PERIPHERY underdeveloped. While this may be a Caribbean wide phenomenon, each country exhibits differences in terms of the social groups which maybe dominant in the core and periphery. This reflects the type of occupations favoured or accessible to certain sectors of the population. So, in a specific Caribbean country, race may not contribute as much to diversity in the population as socio-economic status. Many of these aspects of cultural diversity have been influenced in some way by the coming of the Europeans (pointing to the importance of History) as they sought to impose their norms and institutions on the region. The following testify to this fact: 1. The variety of styles of European architecture that permeate the region and in some countries jostle with dwellings made from indigenous materials. Moreover, a distinctive Caribbean architectural style seem s to have emerged from a fusion of French, Spanish and British traditions. 2. Laws, judicial systems, the protective and armed forces, government and politics are all modeled to a greater or lesser extent on the European colonial power that exerted dominance in a particular country. Thus, the institutions, customs and rules associated with the legal system will vary considerably between Hispaniola and Barbados for instance. 3. Religions, which vary with ethnicity but which also vary with European heritage. The ethnic East Indian communities of Guyana will tend to be either Muslims or Hindus, while some East Indians and most Europeans and Africans belong to traditional Christian religions. However, the Europeans were of different Christian denominations- thus, Trinidad is dominantly Roman Catholic while Barbados is predominantly Anglican. 4. Food and Culinary traditions. The British, French and Spanish bestowed names of dishes and influenced taste patterns in the Caribbean ( note, for example that the national dish of Dominica is frogs legs, and the British reference to the French as Frogs refers to their preference for that meat. However, African traditions emerge equally strong here in the predominance of ground provisions in the diet and ways of preparing food (mortar and pestle). Indigenous forms have also been created such as the Maroon ,preparation of jerk pork. Amerindian traditions are also continued where maize or corn and cassava are used. In summation, it may be said that there are broad patterns of diversity over the whole region mainly brought about by the juxtaposition of different European powers, and their dominance over a population that also was diverse- Amerindian, African and Asian. The interactions of these different groups have either promoted cultural erasure, retention or renewal in different degrees and in different ways in each Caribbean country. Diversity continues to be re-created.