History

Engage, Festivals and Events, History, Trinidad and Tobago

T&T Carnival | Did you even know

Our new trivia column opens with a T&T Carnival quiz. Think you’re an expert on Carnival and calypso history? See how many of our twelve questions you can answer correctly

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Engage, History

Cruising for trouble | On this day

Some people love cruise ships, some people hate them. But, personal preferences aside, the fate of the SS Columbus — scuttled by her captain eighty years ago — suggests the dangers of tourism in a time of war. James Ferguson tells the tale

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Engage, Culture, Environment, History

Get a kick | On this day

Kick ’Em Jenny sounds like a comic name, but for the scientists who study this underwater volcano, first recorded eighty years ago, it’s no laughing matter. The Caribbean was shaped by its volcanoes, says James Ferguson, which created our mountainous island landscapes — but can also wreak havoc

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Engage, History, Sports, Haiti

Football holiday | On this day

When two English football clubs toured the Caribbean fifty-five years ago, local teams in Jamaica, Trinidad, and Barbados were no competition. Haiti was a different story, writes James Ferguson

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Immerse, Theatre and Dance, History, People, Cuba

Alicia Alonso: forever prima | Backstory

How did Havana come to be one of the world’s leading centres of classical ballet? Nazma Muller tells the story of prima donna assoluta Alicia Alonso, and her influence on generations of Cuban dancers

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Engage, History, Anguilla

A flag on the island | On this day

When a British military force landed in Anguilla fifty years ago, it was a strangely anachronistic moment in Caribbean colonial history — but one that Anguillans welcomed with open arms, suggests James Ferguson

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Engage, History, Haiti

“Papa Doc” Duvalier: When the bogeyman is real | On this day

Sixty years ago, Haitian dictator “Papa Doc” Duvalier set up a fearsome paramilitary corps to dispatch political opposition. James Ferguson looks back at the sinister history of the Tontons Macoutes

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Engage, History

The war after the war | On this day

Thousands of men from the British West Indies enlisted in the armed forces during the First World War, playing a crucial but often thankless role in the Allied victory. And when the fighting was over, another struggle for respect and recognition began — feeding a new wave of self-determination in the Caribbean. James Ferguson remembers the events of a century ago that set it all in motion

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The views expressed on this website are those of the the authors and do not reflect those of the Direct Support Grants Programme.

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