Open AccessA Brief History of Race, Politics and Division in Trinidad and Guyana
Author(s) -
Kahlia Brown
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
caribbean quilt
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1929-235X
pISSN - 1925-5829
DOI - 10.33137/caribbeanquilt.v5i0.34377
Subject(s) - politics , race (biology) , regionalism (politics) , political science , racial politics , voting , government (linguistics) , development economics , geography , political economy , economic growth , gender studies , sociology , democracy , law , economics , linguistics , philosophy
This essay will act as an analysis of the Indo-Afro racial politics of two west Indian countries: Trinidad and Tobago, and Guyana. I will give the circumstances that led to the migration of large numbers of East Indians as indentured servants to Trinidad and Guyana, specifically. I will also explain how these conditions led to a distinct form of government and society. Through tables of electoral data in Trinidad, the racial voting patterns will be observed, and I will elaborate on how political parties do or do not pander to their respective racial communities. Finally, I will conclude by addressing how the racial divide in these two large Caribbean nations impact Caribbean regionalism on a larger scale.