Colonialism in the Caribbean
Although Michelle Cliff, Antonio Benitez- Rojo, and Sidney Mintz all discuss the Caribbean in their writings they all have very distinct perspectives. In his writing, The Caribbean as a Socio-cultural Area, Sidney Mintz discusses the Caribbean from a historical standpoint in which he characterizes it as a socially united, rather than a culturally united one. Antonio Benitez- Rojo tries to explain the distinct cultures of the Caribbean with a combination of historical and personal knowledge , in his writing of The Repeating Island. While in her novel Abeng, Michelle Cliff uses an entirely different means of discussing the Caribbean because she does it through the eyes of a child. Despite having different outlooks in explaining the Caribbean they all record the theme of colonialism and their effects on people and society.
Mintz's Perspective
The Caribbean as a Socio-Cultural Area addresses the current cultural Caribbean with an eye on the past. For example, when discussing the emergence of creole culture Mintz specifically points out that this was almost exclusive to the islands colonized by the Spanish. According to Mintz, the Hispanic Caribbean was "settled by Europeans who had come to stay and to become "creoles"; nowhere and at no time in the Hispanic islands did African slaves ever outnumber freeman of European origin" (Mintz 28). Therefore, contemporary Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, and Cuba are all very culturally diverse places who all have distinctive combinations of African, Native American, and European influences. For historical reasons, different regions of these islands have developed their own local cultures and social atmospheres by virtue of the types of people who lived ther...
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... to her colonizers land reveals Jamaica’s present dependence England and the United States which is an effect of colonialism.
It is the combination of readings from Mintz, Rojo, and Cliff which have explained what colonialism did in forming of the contemporary Caribbean. Also, not all of these islands are the same culturally because of the variety of colonial power imposed. Ultimately, it is impossible to look beyond this influence today because the structures of these islands are in fact the remains of colonialism.
References
Benitez-Rojo, Antonio. The Repeating Island, as seen in Post-contemporary Interventions, Duke University, Durham and London, 1992
Cliff, Michelle. Abeng. Published by the Penguin Group, 1984.
Mintz, Sidney W. The Caribbean as a Socio-Cultural Area, as seen in Peoples and Cultures of the Caribbean, Garden City, New Jersey, 1971.
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8. Shepherd, Verene. Engendering History: Caribbean Women in Historical Perspective. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1995.
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Beckles, Dr. Hillary, Verene Shepherd. Caribbean Slave Society and Economy. The New Press, New York. New York, N.Y. 1991.
... of treachery and, luckily, Hamlet realizes the king’s subterfuge, crushing the plot and flipping it back on him. Claudius remains steadfast in his efforts to remove Hamlet, going so far as to set up a false fencing competition and foolishly pushing the poisoned wine without considering the suspiciousness of the action. In his short-sighted and rash decision making, Claudius shows that he allows his inflated sense of regality and self-worth to cloud his judgment.
...e French influence that it has received, and is still getting through its departmentalization. In certain ways, Martinique looks a lot like the Westernized world and Europe; this can be seen in it’s economy, race relations, social welfare programs, and cultural norms. However, while colonization played a huge role in making Martinique what it is today, it’s native roots are still visible in much of the demographics of the country and the Creole presence within the department. Martinique is a unique Caribbean island in the sense that it never fought with its colonizers for independence, but it still has managed to blend the French, with the African, with the native, with the West Indian and has used different aspects of each of these cultures to ensure that no other place would be able to replicate Martinique in demographics, economy, culture, geography, or society.
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The. Caribbean Quarterly 51.1 (2005): 15-24. JSTOR.com - "The New York Times" Web. The Web. The Web.