GEOG 1000 Lecture Notes - Lecture 26: Jamaican Patois, Haitian Vodou, Compas
6 May 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
GEOG 1000
January 17, 2018
The Caribbean: History and Creative Diversity
Caribbean Wealth
● Bermuda (Very wealthy)
● Among the world’s poorest (Haiti, 70% less than $2 per day)
History
● European/US Colonizers: Spanish, English, French, Dutch, US
● Main Indigenous group: the Taino
● Pre-Columbian Caribbean - Caribs move up from the southeast
● Columbus is given gifts, he writes how happy they are
● Tries to force the Taino to work extracting gold
● Columbus and genocide of Taino on Hispaniola
● The purpose for colonization was sugar plantation, sugar entered the diet of
Europeans
● Imported slaves for working due to Indigenous shortage
● More people were brought to the Caribbean than the US
● Came from diverse cultural regions within Africa
● Post-emancipation turn to indentured workers
○ People signed their lives away to work on plantations
● Cultural Mixing: food and gardening
○ Indigenous people had their own gardening practices
○ Active gardening tradition; slaves were allowed gardens to feed themselves,
escaped slaves living in mountains planted their own crops
● Puerto Rican Casitas in New York City
○ Abandoned lots turned into gardens and community centers
● Indian influence in Caribbean being brought to Toronto
● Salt Cod from Newfoundland and New England, important part of Caribbean food
● Creole mix of French, African and Caribbean
● Jamaican Patois influence in Toronto spreading beyond Jamaican community
● Religion
○ Mixing of multiple religions - African and Christian
○ Haitian vodou
○ Cuban Santeria
● Music
○ Ska - precursor to reggae
○ Bomba - Puerto Rico
○ Salsa - Cuba
○ Compas - Haiti
○ Cumbia (Columbia)
Document Summary
Among the world"s poorest (haiti, 70% less than per day) European/us colonizers: spanish, english, french, dutch, us. Pre-columbian caribbean - caribs move up from the southeast. Columbus is given gifts, he writes how happy they are. Tries to force the taino to work extracting gold. Columbus and genocide of taino on hispaniola. The purpose for colonization was sugar plantation, sugar entered the diet of. Imported slaves for working due to indigenous shortage. More people were brought to the caribbean than the us. Came from diverse cultural regions within africa. People signed their lives away to work on plantations. Indigenous people had their own gardening practices. Active gardening tradition; slaves were allowed gardens to feed themselves, escaped slaves living in mountains planted their own crops. Puerto rican casitas in new york city. Abandoned lots turned into gardens and community centers. Indian influence in caribbean being brought to toronto. Salt cod from newfoundland and new england, important part of caribbean food.
