Dr Rita Pemberton

On the morning of December 6, 1919, the authorities in Tobago were caught unawares when the capital was overtaken by striking workers who were protesting against the low wages that were paid on the island.

The daily wage was 28 cents, while saltfish sold at 18 cents per pound and rice at ix cents. Life was difficult for the workers because, especially as a result of World War I, the price of goods had escalated and wages remained stagnated at levels of the previous century.

The strike action began with cartmen, carpenters and labourers who were employed in the Public Works Department who struck for better wages, but it quickly turned into a riot as the strikers who were joined by other workers, took possession of the town, which they held up to 10am.

The alarmed officials sought to persuade the disgruntled workers to leave the town and return to their homes to no avail. With the support of growing numbers, the resisters armed themselves with bottles, sticks and stones and gathered in the uptown business area, where they forced businesses to close.

They then moved to the commercial buildings, where they forced the workers to leave and the owners/managers to close their doors. They then turned on government buildings - the courthouse, telephone exchange and wireless building.

Officials were now in panic mode, because these were the main administrative buildings on the island and the means of communication with central government, so it was important that they should be protected from the wrath of the strikers.

The island's chief administrators, the Warden and the Chief of Police, tried to take control of the situation by attempting to negotiate with the angry workers. They were struck by missiles thrown by the protesters and received blows all the way from the commercial area to the police station and back around to the marketplace. The crisis had developed beyond the ability of the battered, bewildered officials to manage.

The crisis deepened as the strike action spread to estate labourers on several estates across the island. The Chief of Police confessed that he did not possess the resources to deal effectively with the situation and asked for reinforcements to deal with what he described as 'serious disturbances.' Particularly worrisome was the situation at Friendship Estate, which had escalated to such an extent that the estate needed to be put under the control of a patrol of marines to maintain order.

In order to restore order on the island, the panic-stricken officials hastily appointed special constables from among plantation owners, government officials, members of the clergy and a group of World War I veteran volunteers to augment the limited police force.

The policemen who were deployed to the scene in Scarborough were armed because the situation warranted firm handling and, according to the authorities, were forced to fire into the crowd to save their own lives.

In the process, Nathan