Whiteness and the Great Houses as “symbols of slavery”

The Great Houses, which were residential mansions for the colonial white elites, were regarded as by-products of slavery as they were built with the enormous funds acquired from forced labour in the former British colony of Trinidad. This paper seeks to show what these colonial buildings mean to the...

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Published inInternational Journal of Human Culture Studies Vol. 2021; no. 31; pp. 382 - 392
Main Author Ito, Michiru
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Institute of Human Culture Studies, Otsuma Women's University 01.01.2021
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ISSN2187-1930
2187-1930
DOI10.9748/hcs.2021.382

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Abstract The Great Houses, which were residential mansions for the colonial white elites, were regarded as by-products of slavery as they were built with the enormous funds acquired from forced labour in the former British colony of Trinidad. This paper seeks to show what these colonial buildings mean to the modern-day whites who are labelled as abusers and oppressors by the non-white members of society. According to the interviews conducted with the white citizens in Trinidad, although the Magnificent Seven does not hold much significance for them, the Country Club sits at the core of whiteness in Trinidad. The prestigious membership club still works to strengthen the ties amongst the white society in 21st century Trinidad.
AbstractList The Great Houses, which were residential mansions for the colonial white elites, were regarded as by-products of slavery as they were built with the enormous funds acquired from forced labour in the former British colony of Trinidad. This paper seeks to show what these colonial buildings mean to the modern-day whites who are labelled as abusers and oppressors by the non-white members of society. According to the interviews conducted with the white citizens in Trinidad, although the Magnificent Seven does not hold much significance for them, the Country Club sits at the core of whiteness in Trinidad. The prestigious membership club still works to strengthen the ties amongst the white society in 21st century Trinidad.
Author Ito, Michiru
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References [9] Campbell, Carl C. The Young Colonials: A Social History of Education in Trinidad and Tobago, 1834 – 1939. University of the West Indies Pres. 2000.
[23] de Verteuil, A. and Camps-Campins, A. The Great Eight. Litho Press. 2015.
[5] Singh, Kelvin. Race and Class Struggles in a Colonial State: Trinidad 1917-1945. University of the West Indies Press. 1997.
[15] Trzaciak, Joanna. “Creole on the Trinidadian Ground: Revisiting the Concept”. Revista del CESLA. 2014 (17) : pp. 201-214.
[10] The St. Joseph’s Convent. “School History”. https://www.sjcpos.edu.tt/about-us/school-history [accessed May 17, 2021]
[26] Quoted from 5 respondents.
[17] Brereton, Bridget. Race Relations in Colonial Trinidad 1870–1900. Cambridge University Press. 2002.
[21] de Verteuil, A. Great Estates of Trinidad. Litho Press. 2011.
[4] Dhanda, Karen. “Labor and Place in Barbados, Jamaica, and Trinidad: A search for a comparative unified field theory revisited”. NWIG: New West Indian Guide / Nieuwe West-Indische Gids. 2001. 75 (3/4): pp. 229-255.
[24] Bissessarsingh, Angelo. “The Laventille quarries”. The Trinidad and Tobago Guardian. Apr 27, 2013.
[25] Quoted from 13 respondents.
[2] Burnard, T. G. “'Prodigious Riches': The Wealth of Jamaica before the American Revolution”. The Economic History Review, 54 (3), August, 2001: pp. 506-524.
[31] de Verteuil and Camps-Campins. 2015: p.225.
[3] Jennings, Judith. The Business of Abolishing the British Slave Trade, 1783-1807. Routledge, 2013.
[12] Tate, Shirley A. and Law, Ian. Caribbean Racisms: Connections and Complexities in the Racialization of the Caribbean Region. Palgrave Macmillan. 2015.
[22] de Verteuil, A. and Camps-Campins, A. The Great Eight. Litho Press. 2015.
[20] Tate and Law. 2015.
[16] Mzoughi, Imen. “The White Creole in Jean Rhys’s Wide Sargasso Sea : A Woman in Passage”. Human and Social Studies. 2016 (1): pp.88-110.   Lambert, David. White Creole Culture, Politics and Identity during the Age of Abolition.                                                             Cambridge University Press. 2010.
[8] St. Mary’s College. “About”.           http://www.stmarys.edu.tt/about.php [accessed May 17, 2021]
[11] The Bishop Anstey High School.                      http://bahs.edu.tt/history.html [accessed May 17, 2021]
[19] Howard Johnson and Karl Watson (eds.) The White Minority in the Caribbean. Ian Randle. 2000.
[28] Fraser, Jewel. “A Heritage Building Lives On in Trinidad”. The New York Times. March 26, 2015. https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/27/greathomesanddestinations/a-heritage-building-lives-on-in-trinidad.html [accessed May 17, 2021]
[30] de Verteuil and Camps-Campins. 2015.
[18] Roffey, Monique. Other White. Wasafiri. 35(3), 2020: pp. 62-68.
[7] Quoted from a white woman in Trinidad, August, 2017.
[13] Bissessar, Ann Marie. Ethnic Conflict in Developing Societies: Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Fiji, and Suriname. Palgrave Macmillan. 2017
[27] de Verteuil. 2011.
[6] Ferreira, Jo-Anne S. The Portuguese of Trinidad and Tobago: Portrait of an Ethnic Minority (revised ed.). University of the West Indies Press. 2018.
[14] Dyer, Richard. White: Essays on Race and Culture. Routledge. 1997.      Joe L. Kincheloe at el. (eds.) White Reign:                               Deploying Whiteness in America. Palgrave Macmillan. 2000.
[1] Bremner, G. A. Architecture and Urbanism in the British Empire. Oxford University Press, 2016.
[29] de Verteuil and Camps-Campins. 2015.
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
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11
12
13
14
15
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References_xml – reference: [6] Ferreira, Jo-Anne S. The Portuguese of Trinidad and Tobago: Portrait of an Ethnic Minority (revised ed.). University of the West Indies Press. 2018.
– reference: [17] Brereton, Bridget. Race Relations in Colonial Trinidad 1870–1900. Cambridge University Press. 2002.
– reference: [31] de Verteuil and Camps-Campins. 2015: p.225.
– reference: [1] Bremner, G. A. Architecture and Urbanism in the British Empire. Oxford University Press, 2016.
– reference: [3] Jennings, Judith. The Business of Abolishing the British Slave Trade, 1783-1807. Routledge, 2013.
– reference: [28] Fraser, Jewel. “A Heritage Building Lives On in Trinidad”. The New York Times. March 26, 2015. https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/27/greathomesanddestinations/a-heritage-building-lives-on-in-trinidad.html [accessed May 17, 2021]
– reference: [29] de Verteuil and Camps-Campins. 2015.
– reference: [2] Burnard, T. G. “'Prodigious Riches': The Wealth of Jamaica before the American Revolution”. The Economic History Review, 54 (3), August, 2001: pp. 506-524.
– reference: [15] Trzaciak, Joanna. “Creole on the Trinidadian Ground: Revisiting the Concept”. Revista del CESLA. 2014 (17) : pp. 201-214.
– reference: [25] Quoted from 13 respondents.
– reference: [7] Quoted from a white woman in Trinidad, August, 2017.
– reference: [30] de Verteuil and Camps-Campins. 2015.
– reference: [13] Bissessar, Ann Marie. Ethnic Conflict in Developing Societies: Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Fiji, and Suriname. Palgrave Macmillan. 2017
– reference: [16] Mzoughi, Imen. “The White Creole in Jean Rhys’s Wide Sargasso Sea : A Woman in Passage”. Human and Social Studies. 2016 (1): pp.88-110.   Lambert, David. White Creole Culture, Politics and Identity during the Age of Abolition.                                                             Cambridge University Press. 2010.
– reference: [18] Roffey, Monique. Other White. Wasafiri. 35(3), 2020: pp. 62-68.
– reference: [26] Quoted from 5 respondents.
– reference: [4] Dhanda, Karen. “Labor and Place in Barbados, Jamaica, and Trinidad: A search for a comparative unified field theory revisited”. NWIG: New West Indian Guide / Nieuwe West-Indische Gids. 2001. 75 (3/4): pp. 229-255.
– reference: [27] de Verteuil. 2011.
– reference: [14] Dyer, Richard. White: Essays on Race and Culture. Routledge. 1997.      Joe L. Kincheloe at el. (eds.) White Reign:                               Deploying Whiteness in America. Palgrave Macmillan. 2000.
– reference: [19] Howard Johnson and Karl Watson (eds.) The White Minority in the Caribbean. Ian Randle. 2000.
– reference: [22] de Verteuil, A. and Camps-Campins, A. The Great Eight. Litho Press. 2015.
– reference: [11] The Bishop Anstey High School.                      http://bahs.edu.tt/history.html [accessed May 17, 2021]
– reference: [23] de Verteuil, A. and Camps-Campins, A. The Great Eight. Litho Press. 2015.
– reference: [5] Singh, Kelvin. Race and Class Struggles in a Colonial State: Trinidad 1917-1945. University of the West Indies Press. 1997.
– reference: [12] Tate, Shirley A. and Law, Ian. Caribbean Racisms: Connections and Complexities in the Racialization of the Caribbean Region. Palgrave Macmillan. 2015.
– reference: [20] Tate and Law. 2015.
– reference: [21] de Verteuil, A. Great Estates of Trinidad. Litho Press. 2011.
– reference: [24] Bissessarsingh, Angelo. “The Laventille quarries”. The Trinidad and Tobago Guardian. Apr 27, 2013.
– reference: [9] Campbell, Carl C. The Young Colonials: A Social History of Education in Trinidad and Tobago, 1834 – 1939. University of the West Indies Pres. 2000.
– reference: [8] St. Mary’s College. “About”.           http://www.stmarys.edu.tt/about.php [accessed May 17, 2021]
– reference: [10] The St. Joseph’s Convent. “School History”. https://www.sjcpos.edu.tt/about-us/school-history [accessed May 17, 2021]
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Snippet The Great Houses, which were residential mansions for the colonial white elites, were regarded as by-products of slavery as they were built with the enormous...
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SubjectTerms Caribbean
Great Houses
Trinidad
Whiteness
Title Whiteness and the Great Houses as “symbols of slavery”
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