Dr Rita Pemberton

THE JOURNEY from captivity in their home communities in Africa through the various processes involved in the brutal human trade to their destinations in the Caribbean and the Americas was a trauma-filled experience.

At each stage of the journey the captives were enmeshed in a psychological quagmire created by the various forms of brutality they were made to endure on land, in slave markets, in canoes on the rivers, in the forts and on the ships which carried them to their destinations in the Caribbean and the Americas.

There was ample evidence of mental anguish on the part of the captive and enslaved Africans, who were described as 'sullen,' 'melancholy,' "dull," 'lethargic,' and 'suicidal' - terms which suggest they were overcome by mental afflictions, but which were viewed as deliberately cultivated bad habits.

However, some of these terms were used to classify captives obtained from different parts of Africa, who were believed to be prone to such tendencies. So it became established that some communities typically produced people who displayed undesirable qualities and were troublesome. Both agents and plantation owners were advised to avoid acquiring captives from those communities.

In fact, it was the practice to classify the Africans on the basis of their suitability for work on the estates, and buyers and agents demonstrated a preference for those who were young and physically strong to undertake the arduous work on plantations, and those who did not show signs of the undesirable qualities and behaviours and could be made to work.

No concern was expressed about the mental state of the captives during the journey and at their location on the various plantations on which they were placed, despite the symptoms which they presented. Those symptoms were interpreted as laziness, disobedience and/or resistance to labour for which the antidote was various forms of punishment. Those who displayed signs of such afflictions were mercilessly beaten into submission, because it was assumed they did not want to work, a situation which planters refused to tolerate.

Hence punishment was considered the most effective means to deal with people who exhibited symptoms which reflected some mental abnormality, and became the established practice on plantations.

In an unprecedented departure from the norm, Tobago's administration appeared to demonstrate unusual concern for the welfare of those who were of 'unsound mind' who were charged and found guilty of the offences. Such people were eligible for the protection offered by the law, pending proof that the offences were committed while the accused were in an abnormal mental state.

On December 10, 1856, a law entitled an Act for the Safe Custody of Insane Persons Charged with Offences and for the Better Care of Pauper Lunatics was proclaimed, after being passed in the assembly on September 19 and council on November 1, 1856.

The selection of people deemed qualified for this attention is interesting. It was said that, based o