Identity and secession in the Caribbean : Tobago versus Trinidad, 1889-1980 / Learie B. Luke.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Luke, Learie B.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Trinidad and Tobago--Politics and government.

Trinidad and Tobago.

Politics and government.

Trinidad and Tobago--History.

History.

Physical Description:

xi, 338 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Kingston, Jamaica : University of the West Indies Press, 2007.

Summary:

Identity and Secession in the Caribbean chronicles the Tobago movement for autonomy in Trinidad in the time of the union of these two Caribbean islands from 1889 to 1980 when Tobago gained internal self-government. It argues that the problems Tobagonians complained about in the few years before internal self-government were long-standing and can be traced throughout the history of the union. The work puts the several calls for separation within the theoretical framework of identity. It posits that identity was the major buttress in the movement for autonomy. The unique contribution of Luke's work is its "integrationist-separatist continuum" by which the the author assesses the responses of British, colonial and local officials. This work adds to the historiography of the Caribbean, and Trinidad and Tobago in particular, and is a useful case study of the issue of secession in the Caribbean. Book jacket.

Contents:

1 Historical and Conceptual Perspective 1

2 Tobagonian Identity Construction 18

3 The Union between Tobago and Trinidad: Precursors and Concerns 46

4 No Honeymoon: The Impact of Union, 1889-1896 68

5 Making Tobago a Ward, 1897-1924 101

6 James A. A. Biggart's Crusade for the Development of Tobago, 1925-1932 125

7 The Integrationists' Interregnum: Isaac A. Hope and George de Nobriga, 1932-1945 147

8 A. P. T James and the Union, 1946-1961 167

9 The PNM and Development in Tobago, 1956-1976: Hope and Disappointment 201

10 "The Question Now Is: To Secede or Not to Secede" 234

11 Tobago's Struggle for Internal Self-Government, 1977-1980 250.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9789766401993

9766401993

OCLC:

166368663