On the website Islandmix.com there is a thread entitled "Trinis of Vincy Roots vs. Trinis of Grenadian Root". Now one may ask the obvious question here... What is this topic about and what purpose would it serve? Everyone has contributed and the discussion about the role of the Vincies and Grenadians impact on the culture of Trinidad is only part of the story.
Simply put, the author of the thread/topic of discussion is a person who publishes his post using the avatar "Vincypowa" and he simply loves to tease persons of Trinidadian nationality. He has no 'beef' with persons born in Tobago but the Trinis are his target for creating mischief - this man's adrenalin boils when the word "Trini" is mentioned.
OK, so what does he want to accomplish from this discussion? Well, he clearly stated that he wants to "see who contributed more to the musical and overall development of Trinidad, the Vincy or the Grenadian"? He went on to say the following in his second posting:
"IT IS SAFE TO SAY that without the MIGRATION OF VINCIES and GRENADIANS, THE MUSICAL and CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT of that NATION would have been at a MINIMAL.
And so we must CELEBRATE these TWO ISLAND NATIONS for their DEVELOPMENT of Trinidad.
LEH WE CELEBRATE THE VINCIES and GRENADIANS and their OFFSPRING WHO CONTRIBUTE IMMENSELY TO THE DEVELOPMENT of TRINIDAD. BRING IT COME".
Common sense always tells us the hindsight is a bitch. We can look back at history and make many claims that will really sound ridiculous if we really think about it. Now slavery has been condemned and rightly so... using Vincypowa's thought process can we now celebrate the Europeans for what took place during those early exploratory years because if they had not done what they did then today we would not have the music and culture that exists in the Caribbean today... I think not!
So what about the Grenadians and Vincentians migration to the island of Trinidad and the success they had on the island. We have to go back and take a look at the period of migration into Trinidad. The population of Trinidad remained small compared to the rest of the Caribbean region. The Spaniards were in control but they needed the means to encourage people to settle on the island. As a result of this need for settlers "The Cedula of Population" was declared in 1783. This opened up Trinidad to immigration from mainly the French Caribbean islands. The Cedula gave lands to persons of Roman Catholic faith who would swear allegiance to the Spanish Crown. This was a sweet deal the persons who took up the offer did not do it because they loved Trinidad or because they disliked where they were situated. It was all about business. The contract granted 32 acres of land to each Catholic and 16 acres of land for each slave they brought with them to Trinidad... this was business! Persons of color, who were free and wanted to settle in Trinidad, were also granted 16 acres of land to develop. The population exploded from 1000 inhabitants to over 18,627 inhabitants by 1797 (the year the British captured Trinidad).
So now we know why the settlers came to Trinidad from the various French colonies. As a matter of fact, even though the Spanish ruled Trinidad for over 300 years the dominant language spoken on the island was in fact French patois. This language also had African and eventually East Indian influences to it. People migrated to Trinidad from all over the Caribbean region starting with the French islands including Haiti, Martinique, and Guadeloupe. French landowners/slave owners from Saint Vincent and Grenada migrated to Trinidad to take advantage of the opportunities afforded by the Spanish. Trinidad is very unique in that the island was once claimed by the Spanish, French and eventually became a British Colony. People from Africa, people from the Caribbean region (aborigines, slaves, and children born by slaves), Europeans, Indians, Chinese, Jews, Syrians, Lebanese and Portuguese, and 'Pyols' from Venezuela all came to and settled in Trinidad for Various reasons. Why is this important as it related to the culture of Trinidad? It is important because Trinidad has the most diverse population make up of all the Caribbean islands. Trinidad became a melting pot of cultural fascination that has given the world so much.
Regardless of where the people came from it is the island of Trinidad and its cultural signatures that came together to create the environment that gave birth to so much greatness during the formative years of development. In terms of musical culture ask yourself why Sparrow (born in Grenada but came to Trinidad as a child) became such a great calypsonian? Why did the great Duke (Saint Vincent) do so well in Trinidad? Valentino and Super Blue from Grenada and Chalkdust from Saint Vincent? Why is it that during this period we did not get equally great talent from the rest of the islands? Now I am not talking about the people born in Trinidad and became great calypsonians. The island of Trinidad is the reason! If Sparrow, Chalkdust, Duke, Valentino or Super Blue never reached the shores of Trinidad they may have never become great singers. It is because of the vibe of the nation, the climate of development taking place during that period of our history that these people were immersed in that gave them the means to develop, create and become great! It did not happen elsewhere.. it happened in Trinidad! Give thanks and praises to Trinidad and stop trying to take away from the accomplishments of our people.
So to reinforce what was said above, let us never forget that every country of the Caribbean developed from immigration (and that is still the case today) so it is foolish to create a post and pick and choose which island did what for the other (especially when the author of the article has a history of teasing Trinis regarding the 'source' of their cultural achievements). So why stop at Grenada and Saint Vincent? Let us create a post about which African countries impacted the culture of Saint Vincent and Grenada also. How about that?
