Awareness of the horrible conditions of Caribbean slavery and the constant struggle for freedom among enslaved people has been part of Emancipation Day observances. How did the ex-slaves respond to their newfound freedom? Who comprised this oppressed group? They belonged to a diverse group and also followed different religions. Few persons are aware that not all Africans or those of African descent were enslaved before 1834.
During 1839–1849, an estimated 10,300 free Blacks from Grenada, St Vincent and Barbados migrated to Trinidad. This island also received 8,000 liberated Africans from the United States, Sierra Leone and St Helena. In 1805, a cargo of slaves from inland Africa arrived in Trinidad. Anthony de Verteuil noted that “They were Mandingos, ‘followers of Mohammed the prophet’ and had been enslaved by ‘infidels’, that is, by one of the pagan tribes, and sold to a slaver on the coast. Among them was Jonas Mohammed Bath, who was the Sultan of Yalliallhad.” It is important to note that the Mandingos were part of a group of Africans who were free before the Emancipation Act became law. The second group of free Africans was the Merikens.
Who were these Mandingos? They were one of the first tribes in West Africa to accept Islam. They originated from Senegambia. In the April-June 2009 issue of The Message (a publication of the United Islamic Association in England), there is an article on Islam in the Caribbean. The first group of enslaved Muslims originated from West Africa and was from the Fulani and Mandingo tribes. The article stated, “They were very devout Muslims, and in spite of the harsh and inhuman conditions under which they were forced to work, they practiced their religion as best as they could under the circumstances....Neither could physical violence nor mental torture succeed in causing them to give up Islam in favor of the religion of their masters.” Barry Higman, an academic, noted that by 1813, about 10 per cent of the slaves imported into Trinidad from Africa were Mandingos. These Mandingos settled in Port-of-Spain and Moruga. In a public lecture in August 2007, Bridget Brereton noted that leaders of the Mandingo community were “well-educated as boys in Africa, were literate in Arabic, and came from high-status families.” These Mandingos also submitted a petition to Britain demanding their return to Africa.
Note: Malcolm X once said, “History is a people’s memory, and without a memory, man is demoted to the lower animals.” Today, young persons seem reluctant to read their history. Hopefully, a few of our filmmakers in the Caribbean would increase awareness by producing movies depicting the trauma of the slave trade, the cruel life on the plantations and the struggles that resulted in freedom.