Dr Rita Pemberton

The operation of the apprenticeship system in Tobago was so conflict-ridden that the prospect of full emancipation was opposed by the island's planter community. The system was based on the division of the enslaved labour force into praedial and non-praedial workers.

The praedials were considered the more 'civilised' because they worked in closer contact with the white community, and their apprenticeship lasted from 1834 to 1838.

The non-praedials required two more years of exposure to the civilised (white) world before they could be freed in 1840.

Of course, the non-praedials constituted the larger section of the enslaved community and were critical for the cultivation and harvesting of the sugar cane. The labour supply for the plantations was therefore behind the move to extend the apprenticeship period for that class of workers.

The experience of the apprenticeship system across the region made the imperial administration realise that any attempt to free one section of the enslaved population and retain the rest in legal bondage would be met with unbridled resistance - a cost they wished to avoid. Hence the British Parliament instituted full emancipation in 1838.

Tobago, along with St Vincent and Grenada, was then a part of the Windward Islands government which was centred in Barbados. The legislatures of St Vincent and Grenada were equally vehemently opposed to the early termination of the apprenticeship system.

The Legislative Council of Tobago refused to introduce the measure in May 1838, based on what were 'considerations of hardship' of the planting community - a reference to the labour supply which was the primary concern of planters on the island at that time.

The Tobago Assembly did not hide its disapproval of the measure, which it considered to be beneficial neither to employer nor apprentices, and was an unconstitutional imposition of the imperial government. This was the prevailing attitude of the planting community in Tobago to emancipation.

There were two significant developments in Tobago in 1838 that affected subsequent occurrences with respect to labour relations on the island.

Firstly, there was considerable land speculation on the island as attorneys, managers and other officials had invested in estates to take advantage of the low land prices which were stimulated by the uncertainties of emancipation. These new owners, who were anxious to wring profits from their investment were loudest among the chorus of opposition to early termination of apprenticeship.

Secondly, the classification of workers provided another avenue for the planting community to circumvent the regulations. There was uncertainty about the classification of domestic workers and mechanics.

In an attempt to ensure an extended service of those who were considered essential to plantation operations, the position of the Tobago planters, as was articulated by planter solicitor general Edward Sanderson, was that all employees on the estate were praedial workers. They pred