Black Tot Day and Labour Day in T&T

Labour Day in Trinidad & Tobago marks the anniversary of the 1937 Oilfield Riots. These were violent protests led by Tubal Uriah Butler against the exploitation and racism that was predominant in Trinbagonian society in that era. This event was part of a larger series of labour unrests throughout the British West Indies during the 1930s.

Each labour rebellion has its own unique circumstances, but the underlying causes were always the growing economic inequality. Another factor that they had in common was the role of the Royal Navy as a tool of the Crown in suppressing these struggles for human rights in the Caribbean.

Butler was arrested by British authorities, and imprisoned in an internment camp operated by the Royal Navy. Elsewhere in the region during these uprisings, Navy frigates made a show of force by firing into the air and deploying troops to beat protestors.

Historian Jerome Teelucksingh describes “the menacing presence of British Naval Squadrons” as the lynchpin of “state suppression of the working class” during anti-colonial struggles all across the Caribbean during the 1930s.

When the Caribbean rum industry celebrates Black Tot Day, they celebrate the traditions of an Imperial Military that suppressed liberation struggles in the region.

Image Source; Wikipedia