CULTURE #3

UNDERSTANDING THE FEATURES OF

CARIBBEAN SOCIETY AND CULTURE
SOCIAL STRATIFICATION
Social Stratification refers to the ranking of society into groups or classes of people according to
wealth, power, status and or prestige (Mohammed, 2007).
It is society's way of placing a value on individual/ groups
In addition, a particular race or colour may be aligned with those who have wealth, prestige or
status in the society.
Social inequality refers to a stratified system or ranking of social groups is a form of
institutionalized inequality
In addition working class labourers was not usually place high up the social strata because they
are considered easily replaceable as their jobs require no specialised training or talent and the
remuneration given did not enable to then influence to buy education or skills required for upward
mobility
Social stratification deals mostly with the position of whole groups on the social scale and not
necessarily of individuals

A form of discrimination as the status of individuals tend to be assessed and summed up

based on general assumption about the ethnic , racial, class, or religious grouping that they
belong to.

Social stratification in the Caribbean is also based on the perception among the population that
have often formed as a result of historical experiences from the colonial period and the
plantation systems in particular which provided a model for the development of many modern
Caribbean societies

There are also instances where the social stratification systems of countries outside the region
emerge as features in Caribbean society, The East Indian Caste System ( Trinidad & Guyana)
PLANTATION SOCIETY AND ITS
IMPACT ON SOCIAL STRATIFICATION
The arrival of the European in Caribbean society resulted in the establishment of
plantation systems of production. Not only a system for production (for goods) it was
an organized social system that pervaded all aspects of social, cultural, economic and
political life.
It is argued that plantation system is played the most influential role in the development
of Caribbean culture.
Economically the plantation was geared to large-scale monoculture, usually of a staple
crop( sugar cane, cocoa, tobacco or coffee) grown for export. Any needs of the
plantation for the region was imported from Europe including technology.
the plantation was self sufficient communities existing more or less in isolation.
Labour was supplied in different periods by African slaves or indentured labourers who
suffered hardship and oppression
 SOCIAL STRATIFICATION UNDER SLAVERY

During the era of slavery Caribbean society was a closed system of stratification based on
race and colour. The society was termed as a ‘plantation society’.
A plantation society was a rigidly stratified system of social and economic relations
enforced on plantations in the Americas (Mohammed, 2007).
Economic characteristics – very large agricultural land holdings which demanded a huge
labour force for manual work. The owners and managers were Europeans who had access to
capital.
Social Relationships – the large plantation encouraged the formation of a miniature social
system with little contact with the outside. The ‘total institution’ of the plantation demanded
that everyone observed the superiority of European culture. Different races contributed to
cultural diversity but the way in which the plantation was organized discouraged easy
interaction and mixing of the races
There was no social mobility in the plantation system. Plantation society was a closed system
and the individual’s ascribed social status was determined by race and colour.

Wealth played a major part in the system, wealthy white plantation owners from Europe held
power, white labourers was provided by enslaved black African with no rights and who under
the laws of the society were deemed the property of the owners to dispose of as they liked.

Stratification during slavery

oKings

oGovernors

oWhites( plantation owners, Managers, merchants)

oColoureds ( mulattoes, ) and freed blacks

oEnslaved blacks – these on the plantation, field slaves, house slaves, racial mixing
 Kings & Governors: had ultimate control over the colonial government. Nobles appointed to important

government positions including that of governors in Caribbean territories.

 Whites( plantation owners. Managers, merchants): members of the plantation with special skills,

doctors, lawyers, high-level civil servants, plantation family members

 Coloureds ( mulattoes, ) and freed blacks: artisans, shopkeepers owners of small businesses, who part

take in the decision making process of society- they bought lands which gave them the right to vote.

 Enslaved blacks – these on the plantation, field slaves, house slaves, racial mixing: chattel of the

plantation owners or property of the plantation

Ascribed Social Status- a position in society based on attributes you were born with such as race colour
and caste
PLANTATION SOCIETY AFTER
EMANCIPATION 1838
After emancipation social stratification remained rigidly based on race colour and wealth until
into the 20th century.
Power and wealth remained in the hands of the white with the majoirty powerless and poor
The arrival of the indentured labourers from Asia/India placed them at the bottom of the
hierarchy
The indentured had more rights than the slaves before however they suffered hardship and
restriction of their freedom of movement during their contracts. After their contract ended
they acquired wealth and status and rise through the social order
Blacks and mulattoes were able to move up the social order by acquired wealth. They acquired
voting rights by virtue of their property holding and some became members of local assembles
Mulattoes- prominent Jamaican assembly members- George Williams Gordon who was
involved in the Morant Bay rebellion- self educated a son of a Scottish planter who became a
wealthy businessman and landowner
A wealth small group historically controlled government and by their landholding and wealth
were allowed to participate in the democratic process. This was a right not extended to the
poorer ranks of society- Afro-Caribbean &Indo-Caribbean until universal adult suffrage was
introduced from 1944 onwards.

Independence has been argued as a watershed with people of European descent no longer
viewed by the rest of society as superior racial discrimination is not promoted , social mobility
is achievable and merit has become an important factor influencing status and the acquisition
of new wealth rather than colour and ethnicity.

These who disagree, pointed out the ethnic tension that continue to exist in some territories and
arguing that the factors of race, colour and wealth still play significant role in contemporary
societies
 EFFECTS OF SOCIAL STRATIFICATION ON CONTEMPORARY CARIBBEAN

Certain social groups continue to dominate society. These groups may be direct descendents of
Europeans whether white or coloured.
There is still a strong resemblance to the colonial economy where raw materials are exported and
there is a minimum of manufacturing or significant investment of local persons in the economy and
abroad. Very little has changed in terms of developing viable alternatives which could lead to
economic diversification.
Cultural pluralism is still evident. Certain ethnic groups may be found in specific geographical
locations, in certain occupations and in certain clubs and associations. Cultural pluralism describes
a situation where different cultural or racial groups in a society mix only to a certain extent, with
limited social and cultural integration (Trinidad and Guyana).
There is a preference for or a privileging of the ideology of European superiority ( more recently it
has become a wholesale acceptance of US cultural values evident in fashion, consumer goods,
images of physical beauty, appreciation of lifestyles and values
 SOCIAL MOBILITY
 
Social mobility is the movement of persons from one status position to another.
 
Patterns/ types of Social Mobility
Horizontal mobility involves moving within the same status category. An example of this is a nurse who
leaves one hospital to take a position as a nurse at another hospital.

Vertical mobility, in contrast, involves moving from one social level to another. A promotion in rank in the
Army is an example of upward mobility, while a demotion in rank is downward mobility.
Intragenerational mobility, also termed career mobility, refers to a change in an individual's social standing,
especially in the workforce, such as occurs when an individual works his way up the corporate ladder.
 
Intergenerational mobility refers to a change in social standing across generations, such as occurs when a
person from a lower‐class family graduates from medical
 FACTORS AFFECTING SOCIAL MOBILITY

caste
marriage
 divorce
inheritance
colour
education
 
A meritocracy is a society where social mobility is attained through achievement (educational qualifications).
 
A social class is a group of people who share a similar position in the stratification system. The typical social
class divisions in contemporary Caribbean are upper, middle and lower. These divisions are in line with
Weber’s categorisation of class that is based on power, prestige or status. In the Caribbean context, social
class is the key ingredient in the stratification of society rather than the strict ascription of race and colour that
typified plantation society.
 CULTURAL HYBRIDIZATION
Cultural Hybridization is the blending of elements from different cultures, eg Language is just
one example of cultural hybridization.
Elements of Cultural Hybridization
Religion syncretism: Myal, Rastafarian, revivalism and Shouter Baptists…etc
Language: hybrid forms are variously referred to as patois or Creole.
Basilect ( Creole)
Mesolect
Acrolect
Pidgin is the first-generation version of a language that forms between native speakers of
different languages — a makeshift communication bridge: or a rudimentary form of
communication largely for conducting business
CULTURAL CHANGE PROCESSES INCLUDE
THE FOLLOWING:

Enculturation

Assimilation

Transculturation

Interculturation

Diffusion
 EDWARDS KAMAU BRAITHWAITE ON CREALISATION
Cultures emerged in response to the situation that faced migrant groups in the Caribbean:
whites were the masters and all other groups ( especially blacks) were subservient.
The culture that emerged in the Caribbean was the first instance of crealisation.
The view of the white masters acts as a force that compelled members of Caribbean slaves
society to confirm and aspire to Eurocentric views of themselves and society as a whole
( religion, values, beliefs). This forms the base of the crealisation of Caribbean society as
blacks mix the culture they already held ( African) with the learnt European values and norms.
Braithwaite stated the process of acculturation led to crealisation among blacks in the
Caribbean started when slaves were given European names and taught a common language as
well as conditioned in the view that whites were superior. He argued that socialization of the
blacks led them to seeing it as socially uplifting to emulate the traditions and cultures of the
their masters.
Braithwaite concept of a creolized society is the idea that all cutural forms within society are
mixed to differing degrees and all complex endless ways to create something new and unique.
THE PROCESS OF CULTURAL HYBRIDIZATION/ PRACTICES

Cultural erasure refers to practices that have died out or are dying out.
Cultural retention refers to practices that have survived even when most other forms
and symbols of a culture are no longer evident.
Cultural renewal occurs when a group goes through a conscious rejuvenation process
and return to some element of its culture. An attempt to revive elements of their
culture.
CONTEMPORARY CHANGES

Society and culture today are not as stratified as plantation society largely due
to the social mobility brought about through education.
 
Political power today is largely resides in the hands of people who are
descendants of slaves and indentured labourers.
 
There are groups today in the society who espouse African customs, ethnic wear,
religions, designs and interaction with the African continent in an effort to learn
more about their ancestral roots and at the same time supplant European
ideologies of superiority.
CONCEPTS
Plantocracy, also known as a slavocracy, is a ruling class, political order or government composed

of (or dominated by) plantation owners.

Intelligentsia, the education and intellectual elite of a society, comprising a distinct social class of

artist, teachers, writers, scholar, clergy and thinkers.

Middle class, The middle class is a class of people in the middle of a societal hierarchy.

Bourgeoisie, the owners of production, upper class in society /elites (in Marxist theory) the class

that, in contrast to the proletariat or wage-earning class, is primarily concerned with property values
 CONCEPTS
Working class, the social or economic class composed of these workers.
Underclass, the segment of the population that occupies the lowest possible position in a class
hierarchy, below the core body of the working class OR a social stratum consisting of
impoverished persons with very low social status.
Caste, a form of social stratification characterized by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a
lifestyle which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy and customary social
interaction and exclusion based on cultural notions of purity and pollution
Creolisation, is the process in which Creole cultures emerge in the New World. As a result
of colonization there was a mixture between people of indigenous, African, and European
descent, which came to be understood as Creolisation. Creolisation is traditionally used to refer
to the Caribbean;
 REFERENCE

Beckford, Evol( 2007) Caribbean Studies Course Outline and Notes.

Mohammad, Jeniffer (2008). CAPE Caribbean Studies: An Interdisciplinary
Approach. Macmillan Publishers Limited.

Nelson Thones ( 2011) Caribbean Examination Council CAPE Caribbean Studies:

Self Study Guide.

Safa, Helen. ( 2001). Popular Culture, National Identity and Race in Jamaica.” Ian
Randle Publishers., identity, nation and society. Ian Randle Publishers.