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By Dr Rita Pemberton

The establishment of Tobago as a British sugar plantation colony, which was cultivated on enslaved labour, was based on two pieces of legislation which determined the future of the island and its residents well into the 20th century. The first was the international agreement, the Treaty of Paris, which was signed on February 10, 1763, by Britain, France, Spain and Portugal after France and Spain were defeated in the Seven Years' War. This treaty was intended to bring an end to the long-standing European contests for possession of property around the globe. During the war, they grabbed each other’s territory, some of which was returned at the end of the war. However, Britain retained some of the French possessions, including the coveted island of Tobago and agreed to protect the Catholic faith in the New World.
As a British possession, there was an anxiety to convert Tobago to an operating sugar estate to share in the profits to be obtained from the high prices of sugar on the international market. Hence, the island was demarcated, and land was sold to anxious entrepreneurs who carved the land into plantations. The island was populated by white, predominantly Scottish estate owners, managers, professionals, some of whom were also owners or managers, skilled craftsmen, some Barbadian plantation owners and a large population of enslaved Africans. By the end of the decade of the 1760s sugar estates were fully operational on the island. As a British possession, the island remained subject to the whims of the French, who had not given up on possessing the island, which they hoped to retake. Tobago was therefore prone to French attempts to dislodge the island from the British, who, in anticipation, enlisted enslaved Africans to strengthen their armies. French efforts culminated in the French occupation of Tobago from 1781 to 1793 and further attack and occupation in 1802.
The second set of laws was the Barbados Slave Code of 1661 which was entitled An Act for the Better Ordering and Governing of Negroes. As the oldest British slave colony, the Barbadians established themselves as the connoisseurs of slave management and provided a guide to subsequent slavers. This law instituted a system of policing with force to match the “brutish” nature of Africans for whom tight controls were considered essential. The punishment for striking a Christian ie a white person, was whipping, their nose would be slit, and they would be burned in the face. Those who engaged in plots were to be publicly executed with haste to dissuade others, but their owners would be compensated, for the loss of their property. The law underscored the fact that enslaved Africans were goods and chattel to be disposed of at their owners bidding.
Law was used to dehumanise the Africans to prevent expression of their culture and deny any attempt to improve their station in life. They were forbidden from beating drums or other noisy instruments which were associated with plotting revolts; trade in goods, strike a Christian, running away; stealing provisions or burning sugar canes. The slavers invested in keeping Africans suppressed with a military system which was supported by laws, and they built a military complex for civil domination. This law determined how the Africans who were brought to Tobago would be treated and their lives ordered on the plantations of Tobago.
From the very start of enslavement in Tobago, the need to dehumanise the enslaved Africans was a clear motive of the slavers. No cultural expression which could provide a sense of identity other than the ascribed status of slave, was permitted. African beliefs and practices were restricted by law and punishment. However, it was to memories of their traditions that Africans turned for support in order to survive in the hostile world of enslavement.
The Tobago slave laws were distinctly anti-drumming because planters feared that the messages conveyed via drumming could stir up revolts as occurred in other territories. But drumming was the "heart" of African culture and was a traditional means of communication across the continent. In Tobago, drums were created from the 18th century need to communicate with their kin across the island, provide spiritual release from the shackles of enslavement and was banned with other aspects of African culture and driven underground.
Hallowed tree trunks were first used to make drums, but their discovery led to confiscation, but the ban stimulated a resistance movement to circumvent the law and creativity which resulted in the creation of different types of drums from unused vessels and material.
Drums were made in secret away from the prying eyes of the slavers who conducted inspections of places which were suspected to be drum creation site to destroy items and punish offenders. The slavers also unsuccessfully sought to confiscate animal skins from the slaughtering sites in a desperate attempt to stifle drum production by cutting off the supply of essential material. This practice stimulated African creativity both in making and hiding their creations. The result was the creation of the Tobago Tambrin band.
After failure with the tree trunks, the Africans created smaller drums using discarded kegs which were used to ship rum and molasses to make drums. They were headed by goat or animal skins which, during the short time cheese was imported into the island, were held in place by cheese boxes. They were replaced by the wild cassava vine which grows in the island’s forest. These smaller drums were more easily concealed in the bedding of the Africans.
Drum making was a specialised art which was done by members of the community who had the gift. After the drums were made, they had to be heated to the correct temperature to provide the desired sound. There were three types of Tambrin drums which made up a band. The bass or boom drum provided the strong deep sounds, the fuller, which carried the tune and the high tone cutter. The band is complete with a fiddle and an iron and steel triangle. These drums are used for reel dances, an ancestral dance which transports dancers to the realm of the ancestral spirits who transmit messages of advice or warnings. These dances have been a part of the African resistance culture in Tobago where traditional ceremonies and rituals have been maintained. They were a part of wedding ceremonies to determine whether or not the union receives the blessing of the ancestors and provided music for ceremonies and rituals which flowered after emancipation. Drumming in Tobago constituted resistance and entertainment and despite ruling class persecution efforts, its maintenance to present day reflects a determination of the enslaved population to project their African identity and the strength of African cultural resilience.
The post Despite persecution: African identities in colonial Tobago 1763-1838 appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.