To say TT did not fight for independence is only telling a very small part of the story, says Erica Williams Connell, director of the Eric Williams Memorial Collection Research Library, Archives and Museum.
She made the statement in response to the Opposition Leader, who, at a United National Congress (UNC) Monday night virtual meeting on August 29, told people not to be fooled into thinking the People’s National Movement (PNM) fought for independence.
“The British were shedding their empire at the time. The British weren’t fighting to keep us as colonies. They said, ‘Go, go, please go.’ All of (their) former colonies got independence around the same time. There was no fight,” said Kamla Persad-Bissessar.
Williams Connell said although it was true TT did not physically fight for its independence, her father, the country’s first Prime Minister and founder of the PNM, Dr Eric Williams, fought for the best deal.
[caption id="attachment_976818" align="alignnone" width="766"] Erica Williams Connell, director of the Dr Eric Williams Memorial Collection Research Library at the library in Port of Spain on August 30. - SUREASH CHOLAI[/caption]
She explained that, starting from 1950, as their colonies became independent, the British customarily offered a “golden handshake,” a sum that was to be used to buy British goods. No other colony in a similar position fought for a better deal, she insisted.
“The golden handshake is the complete representation of the fight for the best deal. It lasted a year.
"Eric Williams was the only post-colonial leader to refuse it. Every other post-colonial leader accepted the terms and conditions and said, ‘Thank you very much.’
"And he refused it on the basis of his historical study about slavery and what slavery contributed to the British and American industries.”
Williams was an Oxford-trained historian whose doctoral thesis, The Economic Aspects of the Abolition of the Slave Trade and West Indian Slavery, was published as Capitalism and Slavery in 1944. The book said slavery funded the British industrial revolution. Once the upper class made enough money from slavery, it was deemed inefficient and no longer necessary, and capitalism replaced slavery.
She said he felt the amount the British was offering was insufficient, considering they had exploited colonial people to promote the British Industrial Revolution. Instead, he provided a detailed plan outlining TT’s specific needs and the amount required to meet the objectives.
“Eric Williams felt, really, you owe us money. We don’t owe you money. We do not agree with the quantum you are giving us and we do not agree with the attached strings. That’s why he said, ‘The West Indies are in the position of an orange.’
[caption id="attachment_976785" align="alignnone" width="814"] Dr Eric Williams in the early years as prime minister. -[/caption]
Williams explained: “The British have sucked it dry and their sole concern today is that they should not s
