Black in the Day – West Indian Expats

by Reginald Smith

IN 1834, Britain outlawed slavery in its colonies, particularly the West Indies. Though this was decades before the US, Brazil, or Cuba and after emancipations by France, Mexico, and many South American countries. It was a positive step forward for the residents of this region. However, the joy of freedom was soon challenged by an unfortunate development, namely the collapse of the global sugar market. The difficulties and loss of economic security this caused throughout the Caribbean are difficult to overestimate.

This climate, combined with the growth in plantations in Central America (bananas), Cuba (sugarcane), and massive engineering programs such as the Panama Railroad and the Panama Canal provided both a demand for labor and a closely proximate supply. West Indians were highly regarded throughout the region not only in agriculture and construction but in other more skilled activities such as stevedores (dockworkers) or sailors. Also, many hirers knew once outside of their native islands, the West Indians would unfortunately have little legal recourse in the case of labor abuses or conditions. Large corporations, most often American or planter owned, placed ads in West Indian newspapers and sent recruiters to build a large labor force from the islands. Many returned home after their work but many also stayed becoming a part of the local cultures in the countries where they worked.

Honduras and Costa Rica: United Fruit and bananas

In March of 1899, two companies merged to form the United Fruit Company. This company would become famous (and infamous) over time for the huge power it wielded in Latin America influencing entire government and economies. With the emergence of a market in the United States for bananas and the unstable supply from local small producers, a plantation system was established on the Atlantic coast of Honduras and Costa Rica in order to harvest bananas for export. United Fruit ruled these areas as a sort of fiefdom being granted massive land concessions and with occasional enforcement of labor peace provided by local police and military. After Chinese and Italian workers revolted and many departed due to terrible conditions, West Indian workers were brought in to work the banana plantations.

West Indians began arriving as early as 1872, coming mainly from Jamaica, and altogether roughly 20,000 Jamaicans eventually came to the Atlantic province of Limón between 1900 and 1913 to work on the banana plantations (Chomsky). By 1910, a relatively strong local union, newspapers, lodges, churches, aid societies, and schools had been formed to help give community support and to offset the harsh working conditions. A large strike in 1910 by both Jamaicans and workers from St. Kitts was put down by military force and abetted by the British Consul, who was also an employee of United Fruit, who was supposed to protect the West Indian’s interests as British citizens. Some returned home but even now in the Atlantic coast of Costa Rica and Honduras are descendants of those who remained even after the decline of the company and its monopoly on banana plantations.

Delivering bananas by boat, Costa Rica

Cuba: Sugarcane

During the first three decades of the 20th century, over 600,000 West Indian and Haitian immigrants came to Cuba to work in the sugar cane plantations of Camagüey and Oriente (McCleod). They were called antillanos by the Cubans though most had not come from the Antilles. This large migration was catalyzed by the massive American investment in sugar that followed the independence of Cuba in the Spanish-American War. Due to this investment sugar production increased tenfold from 1900 to 1913. Local Cubans and the many Spanish immigrants (brought to enhance the island’s ethinc ‘purity’) typically did not want to work in the cane fields and so foreign labor was required.

Like in Central America, they were tolerated at first when seen as necessary but still suffered discrimination and social isolation. Being accused of immorality and witchcraft through rumor, some were even lynched by local Cubans for crimes, real or imagined. As the depression of the 1930s hit, forced deportations became common, especially amongst the Haitian expatriates, though many left beforehand disgusted with the poor working conditions, brutality, discrimination, and low pay.

Though both groups were seen primarily as Black foreigners there were several differences in their composition. West Indians most likely spoke English, were literate if not educated, and could easily communicate with the North American managers or educated Cubans who also spoke English. Though they also worked in the fields these advantages allowed them to move into more semi-skilled or skilled labor or in the case women, serve as domestics for North American expatriates. The Haitians unfortunately were seen as the ‘bad’ Blacks due to their revolutionary history, foreign language (Creole), and relative lack of literacy or cultural similarity. Though largely admired for their work ethic, they were most often the targets of lynch mobs or sensational newspaper accounts which spread rumors linking their voudon religion with atrocities such as child murder and witchcraft. They were deported in large numbers in the 1930s though many were able to survive in tightly knot rural communities out of the reach of the Cuban authorities.

Caribbean workers arriving in Panama on board the 'Crístobal'

Marvels of Engineering: The Panama Railroad and the Panama Canal

The gold rush of 1849 in California led to a mass migration west in search of fortunes. The obvious route, overland across the continental US, was deemed risky at times due to a lack of well-established settlements, trails, and hostile Indian tribes. Therefore, many opted for a more circuitous, though viewed as sometimes safer, route. This involved setting sail from the eastern seaboard to Panama where they crossed the isthmus and picked up another ship on the opposite side bound for San Francisco. The large demand for transport across the isthmus in the gold rush led to the construction of the Panama Railroad in 1850. About 6,000 workers were recruited, the largest sources being Jamaica and Barbados. They were in a precarious position being both outside of the jurisdiction of the West Indies where their British citizenship mattered but also not able to become Panamanian citizens (nor could their children). Conditions were harsh with rainfall deluging the region for about half of the year (Lewis). Eventually, the railroad was completed and those which didn’t return to their home islands stayed in Panama and eventually integrated into Panamanian society.

Panama Canal labourers about to be transported to a work site

The more massive project and demand for labor was the Panama Canal, established after America’s assistance in Panamanian secession from Colombia in 1903. The treaty with the new nation granted the US rights to the strip of land across Panama which would become the canal. The Panama Canal is one of the marvels of human engineering. A series of waterways and locks, it successfully accomplished the dream of linking the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans to seamless ocean traffic that formally had no recourse but to sail around the southern end of South America. The capital and management largely came from the United States after an earlier, failed French attempt to construct the canal. Over 100,000 West Indian immigrants would come to Panama to work on the canal (Conniff). Of those recruited the most came from Barbados who sent almost 20,000 people. This was one-tenth of the total population of the island and 30-40% of its adult males! Next was Jamaica which sent over 10,000, most who came in search of opportunity and were not directly recruited by the Canal management. French islands Martinique and Guadaloupe sent over 5,000 and 2,000 respectively and Trinidad sent over 1,000. Other islands and Guiana contributed smaller numbers of laborers (Lewis).

West Indian "Powder Men" transporting 50 lbs. boxes of dynamite on their heads

The West Indians were outsiders to both White and Black Panamanians. They were given the distinct, often derogatory name ‘chombos’. As before, the British diplomatic representation could only provide little help, the local population was largely aloof or hostile, and they nor their children were unable to receive local citizenship. Though the pay could be better than that available back home (10 cents per hour plus board, food, and medical care), the conditions were terrible. Like in the other areas, there were often worker strikes or riots over grossly inadequate food or shelter. Hundreds tried to return home seeing that they had been sold false pretenses about working conditions. The American areas, in contrast with Panamanian practice, were racially segregated along the lines of the South in almost every fashion (Anguizola, Biensanz & Smith). This was formalized in a “gold” (American) vs. “silver” (West Indian) payment and benefits systems which deftly avoided explicitly mentioning de jure racial segregation while enforcing it de facto (Conniff). This could cause conflicts if laborers and management met in Panamanian establishments where racial segregation was not enforced (Anguizola). Conditions gradually improved and labor strikes died down in the following decades.

'Silver Men' line up at the rail pay car to receive their wages

The West Indians created their own institutions in the Canal Zone from community associations to businesses, publishing houses, and schools in addition to the public school provided by the Canal authorities. West Indian schools were renowned in the area and better than the Zone operated public schools. So much so that over fifty local Panamanian pupils paid to attend them. Famous Jamaican Marcus Garvey also worked in Panama for a newspaper in Colón and later played a part in helping the labor organization in the area via the United Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) in the late 1910s and 1920s. Many West Indians and their descendants remained after completion of the Canal as workers in the Canal Zone. Their intermediate position, neither American nor Panamanian, caused a large dilemma up until the 1970s. In the end, many West Indians stayed in the country and added their culture to that of Panama while others returned to the islands or emigrated to the United States.