Dr Rita Pemberton

THE YEAR 1876 was an important year for Tobago because of two significant events within weeks of each other which had implications for the island’s constitution.

On April 17, in Barbados, a major riot, which embroiled all the parishes on the island and threatened the capital, broke out, and on May 1 the Belmanna War occurred in Tobago.

In both instances discontent, stimulated by poor living conditions, low wages, unemployment and the continual exploitation by the ruling class, aggrieved a population which occupied the levels at the base of the society.

The outcome in both cases was related to the larger issue of imperial policy in the region.

The imperial government had long been concerned about the administration of its Caribbean possessions, which were administered under the Old Representative System. The relationship between the imperial government and the local assemblies had been marked by constant contests, at the base of which was the refusal of the assemblies to submit to the imperial government on issues they considered critical to their operations in the colonies.

They refused to accept the notion that their authority stemmed from a grant from the imperial government, and they argued that it was their birthright. Ugly contests were raised when the assemblies did not obtain the support of the imperial government for policies they wished to pursue.

Since the assemblies held power of the purse, their approval was required for all expenditure which pertained to the colony. When the members of the assembly became annoyed with the imperial authorities, they would take reprisal by refusing to vote supplies, making it impossible for the salaries of officials, including governors, to be paid.

This strategy embarrassed the imperial government so often that it sought ways to circumvent the problem.

The Tobago Assembly, which came under the influence of powerful attorneys who administered several absentee-owned estates, was in constant conflict with the governors and the imperial administration. When the island did not receive support from the imperial government in times of economic hardship, the assembly refused to co-operate with the governor, refused to vote supplies and reduced the salaries of governors and other officials.

To avoid these difficulties, the imperial government decided to terminate the Old Representative System and implement direct rule of its new acquisitions as crown colonies. This policy was applied to Trinidad and St Lucia in 1815. The long-term plan of the British officials was to extend the system to the older colonies, but rather than risk the confrontation such an approach would cause, their strategy was to use the opportunity provided by internal social combustion in their favour.

The social and economic conditions of the post-Emancipation Caribbean provided fertile ground for social explosions such as the one that occurred in Morant Bay, Jamaica, on October 11, 1865. The fear-gripped local authorities were overwhelmed by the upsurge of protests,