Boa, Sheena (1998) Colour, class and gender in post-emancipation St. Vincent, 1834-1884. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

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Abstract

This thesis examines the experiences of the inhabitants of
St. Vincent during the first fifty years of freedom. It
examines social changes, work opportunities and areas of
conflicts that developed during the period. It also details
the effects of the declining economy on the islanders. The
main subjects of the thesis are the agricultural labourers
who were freed from slavery. It investigates their working
lives, their attempts to achieve independent status as
freeholders and their family and religious experiences. It
also examines the changing attitudes towards them that were
held by the planter class, the clergy and colonial
officials, and how these views influenced the formation of a
free society. In particular, the thesis investigates how
perspectives of race, class and gender differed within the
island, and how these divergencies created hostilities
between different social groups often leading to unrest.
While the main focus of the thesis is St. Vincent, it
also compares conditions in St. Vincent with other Caribbean
islands and Britain. This has helped illustrate how some
local conditions, such as the lack of available land,
ineffective plantation management and economic factors,
reduced the opportunities for the freed people of St.
Vincent. However, it also illustrates a commonality of
experiences among the poor in both the Caribbean and
Britain. It illustrates how the lives of the poor in the
Caribbean were often restricted by the same class and gender
biases experienced in Britain, as well as by racial
prejudices held by the ruling authorities.
The thesis relies on a variety of source material.
Most of the primary sources were official Colonial Office
dispatches, newspapers and Wesleyan missionary letters and
reports. Throughout the thesis, I have questioned the
motivations of the writers of these documents and
interpreted the discourses they employed. I have also
attempted to place the findings of my research within
current debates among Caribbean historians of the postemancipation
period to illustrate the importance of further
gender analysis and research.

Item Type:	Thesis or Dissertation (PhD)
Subjects:	F History United States, Canada, Latin America > F1201 Latin America (General)
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Saint Vincent -- History -- 19th century, Saint Vincent -- Social conditions -- 19th century, Saint Vincent -- Ethnic relations, Freedmen -- Saint Vincent, Poor -- Saint Vincent
Official Date:	December 1998
Dates:	Date Event December 1998 Submitted
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	Department of History
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor:	Heuman, Gad J.
Sponsors:	Bedford Charity ; Gilchrist Education Trust ; University of Warwick
Extent:	v, 443 leaves
Language:	eng
URI:	http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/39697

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