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Notes
1. This brief photo-essay is based primarily upon my seven field seasons with Trinidad's Indian communities over a twenty-five year period (1984–2009). I have not studied Tobago. Miles Richardson and Roland Chardon of LSU played important roles in my development as a geographer. I dedicate this essay to Miles for his long and abiding support of my work among the Indian diaspora over the years, and to Roland Chardon (Citation1984) for his love of the Caribbean region and its nearly ubiquitous cane fields during his lifetime. He tried to convince me in the 1980s that a dissertation on Trinidad's sugar cane industry would be grand but my attention was keenly focused on its temples, mosques, and churches. Finally, Roland, here it is—although I do not believe it is what you would have expected. And certainly much appreciation and gratitude is extended to the countless Trinis who talked with me, invited me into their homes and lives, and who made much of my work possible in the first place. I especially thank the Smith family of Oropouche and the Mungalsingh family of Avocat Village-Fyzabad whose homes became my homes away from home. Basday will always remain dear to my heart.
2. It is important to note that coffee, cotton, citrus, copra, and especially cacao were also important export crops at one time or another in Trinidad from the period of Spanish control (1498–1797) through British colonial administration (1797–1962). Tobago has a more complex colonial history.
3. Throughout this essay I use the term sugar cane as an adianoetic device to capture the irony of its (often) simultaneous sweetness and bitterness in the lives of all those who work it. Moreover, I also use Trinidad's dialectical use of “d” in place of “the” in a similar manner. D'sugar can mean “the sugar” or “desugar” or both.
4. Other communities of people on the island also worked in sugar cane production, and Indians would work in other agricultural contexts or in other economic pursuits separately or in conjunction with cane farming. In the 19th century most independent, smaller-holding cane farmers were African or Creole while all types of plantation labor was nearly, wholly Indian. As the 19th century closed, independent farmers increasingly were Indian and eventually they dominated most sectors of caned labor by WWII. In the final analysis, cane production was so dominated by Indian labor during the 20th century one could hardly discuss one without discussing the other even though Afro-Creole Trinis could still be found in the factories. This lasting relationship is studied extensively in political, economic, cultural, and social terms (e.g., Ching Citation1985; Goddard Citation2005; Haraksingh Citation1987; Ryan Citation1996; Singh Citation1994, to name a few).
5. I spent two field seasons in Malaysia in 1993 and 1994 when Wawasan was in an early stage. Trinidad and Tobago's version is very similar in structure and intent.
6. He likely made this remark in a campaign speech sometime in mid-October of 2007 but I could not find a primary record of it. Instead, I found reactions to it as well as sarcastic reminders of it as late as 2010. See, for example, Barbados Underground Citation2007, Sookraj Citation2009, and Jacobs Citation2010.
7. In conversation with a handful of elderly Indian women in 2009 there wasagreement among them that Patrick Manning was racist in his policies. Theyfelt that EricWilliams was ‘racial’ too in that he had preferential policies for theAfricans, but they also believed that he cared about the whole country.
8. Chutney Soca is a form of Indo-Trinidadian music that draws upon traditional Indian instrumentation and locally produced soca calypso. The dynamic creation of soca, soca calypso, chutney, and chutney soca as Trinidadian art forms is still being debated. All you need to know is that I love all of them! Also, I could not find the lyrics online for you, so some of the song may be difficult to understand. Once you catch on to the key phrases, you will get the point.