Describe the major migrations into the Caribbean that greatly impacted Caribbean society and culture

Caribbean Society has been ever changing over time as many peoples migrated into the region
and brought with them their various cultures. Migration can be defined as the movement of a person or
people from one geographical location to another. Culture can be defined as the way of life of a people
and can be material or non-material. Material culture is that which is tangible such as food and clothing
while non-material are behavioral factors such as societal values for example religion. There were four
major migrations that shaped Contemporary modern society; The Amerindians, The Europeans, The
Africans and the Indentured Servants. In this essay the influence of the migrations in the molding of
contemporary Caribbean society will be examined.

The Amerindians are seen as the first aboriginal people of the Caribbean region and were the
prime inhabitants of the islands prior to Columbus’ arrival in 1492. The Amerindian population could be
further broken down into three groups; the Taino, The Kalinago and The Maya. Whilst the Taino resided
in the Greater Antilles and the Kalinago in the Lesser Antilles; The Maya were generally only found in
Belize. The Bering Strait Theory attempts to explain the origin of these people. The theory shows that
Amerindians migrated from Asia over to North America across the Bering Strait during the ice age as they
followed the animals for needs such as food and clothes. Although later described as primitive by the
Europeans, all of the Amerindians groups had political, economic and social structures. For example, the
Taino had a system of hereditary succession where the leader was known as the Cacique, similarly the
Maya’s leadership was also hereditary and the head was known as the Halach Unique. On the other hand
the Kalinago system of leadership was based upon military capabilities where the most suitable was
selected and given the title of Ubutu. Additionally, all of these groups utilized subsistence farming and
had a system of barter.

In 1492 Columbus reached the Caribbean and found the Amerindian inhabitants on the islands.
At this time, countries were being concurred in the name of Spain under The Treaty of Tordesillas which
was drawn up by the Pope where Europe saw themselves as the center of the universe. The Europeans
saw the white race as superior to all other races, additionally they believed that any colonies developed
should exist for the benefit of the mother country. Upon arrival the Europeans immediately saw the need
to exploit the Amerindians in order to obtain their gold. The Europeans did not believe that they should
work in the harsh tropical conditions and therefore they forced the natives to mine gold for them. This
came to be known as the Repartemiento system. With debate the Repartemiento became the
Encomienda which was a re-enforcement of slavery but under the belief that once the Indians were
“Christianized” it could be deemed acceptable. Thus, new laws, and religion were imposed. Families were
“encouraged” to be married in order for their union to be right in the eyes of God. These changes led to
the development of Resistance. Some of the Indians rebelled and others ran away. There were many
consequences of the Europeans’ imposition. Near Genocide of the Amerindians came about as a result of
the harsh working conditions coupled with the unknown diseases brought with the Europeans.
Additionally a process of enculturation or the mixing of cultures and hybridization or the mixing of races
began which resulted in mixed children.

The next major migration was the African migration. The African migration is notably the only
forced migration, whereby the blacks were abducted and enslaved thus creating a system of chattel
slavery. The West Africans who were forced out of their homes were made to endure harsh conditions
on their passage to the Caribbean and once in the region they were the property of the Europeans. As a
result they could be treated as they pleased, overworked and disposed of when or if deemed necessary.
Slavery supported the plantation economies. Slavery was introduced when other labor systems proved
inadequate. Slavery caused the rise of racism which was the philosophy that a race is better than
another thus resulting in prejudice and discrimination. This began as the whites immediately saw
themselves as superior to the enslaved because of their differences in skin colour. All Caribbean colonies
were divided on the basis of races, then color. Race refers to the biology make up and link to the
ethnicity. The society was rigidly stratified according to race, meaning one was both white and free,
enjoying a high status or black and a slave with no status or rights. The enslaved values’ were dismissed
and European values were imposed upon them, as a consequence syncretic religions came into
existence as the enslaved combined some of their religious practices with those of the Europeans. This is
seen in instances such as the Spiritual Baptist religion. However the Blacks retained aspects of their
culture in family structure where the mother is head of the household. This is evident in the matrifocal
households that exist in the region, for example, Common law Unions and Visiting Unions.

Post-emancipation the Europeans were in search of a new workforce as many blacks refused to
work on plantations again if they could help it, thus the Indentureship system came into play. With this
system the migration of Asians began. The East Indians, Chinese, Javanese and Madeirans migrated to
the Caribbean on 5 year contracts and brought with them their various cultures. The Asians who came
tended to establish segregation which reinforced their differences and intensified social tension within
these territories. Eastern culture such as Hinduism, Islam and Buddhism was brought along with
different aspects of dress e.g. sari, dhoh, language e.g. Hindi, foods, and music e.g. the East Indians
brought Tasa drums which can be found in Trinidad. Within these groups there was also a racial
prejudice towards the blacks. The East Indians often refused to let their offspring be educated so as to
avoid the Christian teachings within the school. They wished to keep their culture separate from that of
the Blacks. It is this that has resulted in Plural Societies in territories such as Trinidad and Tobago.

It is evident therefore that there were four major migrations which have shaped contemporary
Caribbean society. The first was the Amerindian migration across the Bering Strait where the inhabitants
consisted of the Taino, Kalinago and Maya. The second migration was that of the Europeans which saw
the genocide of the Taino population in the Caribbean due to harsh working conditions and foreign
diseases without cure. Afterwards came the African migration where blacks were forcibly taken from
West Africa and brought to the Caribbean to work on plantations. In this instance African culture and
European culture began to merge as the Europeans imposed their values and the blacks tried to
maintain theirs in what little ways they could. For example, this resulted in religions such as Spiritual
Baptists, Shango and Voodoo. Finally, post emancipation east Indians, Chinese, Javanese and Madeirans
migrated to the Caribbean on contracts to work for the Europeans, and after the contracts many of
them remained and retained their culture forming Plural Societies in territories such as Trinidad and
Jamaica to a lesser extent.