From Colony to Curse: A Social and Economic History of Trinidad, 1901-2001

This book is a modern social and economic history of Trinidad. Using statistical data, newspaper archives, memoirs and other sources, From Colony to Curse reveals the daily lives of the wealthy and the poor within the different races and ethnic groups of the island, while tracking key socio-political changes from the 20th to the 21st century. This research, much of which has never been utilized by historians, contradicts several standard narratives about Trinidadian society, including how oppressive colonial rule was and the progress of the country after independence. The title derives from the island’s colonial status until 1962 and the oil boom (what economists call a “resource curse”) which came just a decade later, disrupting the economic and social mores of the society. From Colony to Curse is a historical study in development economics, political governance and, most importantly, how people of different ancestries and cultural backgrounds live in a small society swayed by global forces. Read more