What do you know of Louis la Grenade, the patriarch of one of Grenada's oldest families and a "free coloured" who fought with the British against Julien Fedon? In 1776, he petitioned Grenada's Assembly to allow him and his heirs to enjoy "every Privilege as a free White Person." This appears to not have been granted but, as a slave-owner with several plantations in Morne Jaloux, St Patrick and Woburn, he fought on the side of the British against Julien Fedon and his forces in 1795.
At some point, Louis la Grenade came into possession of an estate on Trinidad (Santa Trinidada)perhaps around 1822 and appears to have populated it by sending over enslaved people from Grenada. Between 1822 and 1825, he almost doubled the enslaved population at Santa Tinidada, mostly by import.
At emancipation in 1834, his heir, Louis la Grenade II, received more than £1,000 for more than 40 enslaved people in both Grenada and Trinidad. Another claim of more than £2,000 was made for 82 enslaved people at Morne Jaloux but that was paid instead to the mortgagee of the estate, a John Bond of Lancaster, England.
Sources: A-Z of Grenada Heritage by John Angus Martin.
Legacies of British Slavery https://www.ucl.ac.uk/lbs/person/view/2146655975
Image: Enslaved people cutting sugarcane on the Caribbean island of Antigua, aquatint from Ten Views of the Island of Antigua by William Clark, 1832. The British Library (Public Domain)
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TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE
An Historical Perspective of Old Time Trini Christmas
By HISTORIAN AND AUTHOR ANGELO BISSESSARSINGH
PART 1
Origin of Parang Music in T&T
While the advent of the Christmas festive season ABVMTT Community group places the spotlight on some of our local traditionals activities which made Christmas in Trinidad a unique and savoury experience. Today we take a step back in time to explore the origin of Parang Music as a national folk form .
Parang is a style of music that has long been associated with the Christmas festivities in Trinidad and Tobago. The word "Parang"comes from the Spanish word “parranda" which when translated simply refers to “the actions of a merry making group of serenadars". The singers were called paranderos and the musical form became known as Parang, the sound of Christmas in Trinidad & Tobago. The songs were sung in Spanish.
The emergence of parang is really attributable to the influx of peons, called the panyols, of Venezuela, who provided a significant percentage of the labour force during the cocoa boom years of 1870-1920. While parang has become fairly commercialized of late, the Christmas ritual, introduced by the panyols, actually involves three stages. In Lopinot, the tradition held true for many years, preserved by such sages as Sotero Gomez and Pedro Segundo Dolabaille. The first stage is when upon arrival at a hospitable home, the paranderos would sing from the doorstep, an Aguinaldo, or song of praise, telling of the Nativity, Adoration or Ascension of Christ. This is the signal for the householder to throw open his/her doors to the paranderos who continue to serenade the home with Aguinaldos until the descanso, or rest period, when the bards are regaled with victuals and drink consisting mainly of ham, pastelles and fruit cake, as well as sorrel and ginger beer.
From the doorsteps of the countryside, the parang music was taken to a national level by the artistry of pioneers like the late Parang Queen, Daisy Voisin and the Lara Brothers. While on the subject of music, it is interesting to note that in San Fernando during the 1870s to the 1890s, the crown jewel of the town’s Christmas events calendar consisted of a grand concert which was held first at the Oriental Hall on Carib Street (present-day location of Grant Memorial Presbyterian School) and later, at the Drill Hall (where Naparima Bowl now stands). The performers in this cantata almost unanimously hailed from the very musically-inclined Vilain family, who were a prominent coloured French Creole clan. Patriarch Jean-Marie Vilain, along with his sons Pierre, Alexander and Jean-Marie Jr. were gifted musicians. Pierre, until his death in 1879, even had an international reputation as a master of the violin which earned him the title of ‘The West Indian Paganini’. With the death of Jean Marie and Alexander in the 1890s, this chapter of San Fernando’s Christmas story was brought to an end. While the custom of house to house visits continues mostly in close-knit rural communities; this folk form has evolved over time and paring groups are invited to perform in malls and public places, as well as private functions and parties, as the Christmas season progresses.
In a follow up article tribute would be paid to the Legendary Parang Queen ,Daisy Voisin where a statue ( see photo below) has been erected in her memory in Siparia.
Drawing by T&T Artist Alfred Codallo’s “The Serenaders”
Patricia Bissessar
TODAY IN TOBAGO 'S HISTORY.
November 20th, 1764, may not be a date etched in the memory of every Tobagonian, but it marks a crucial movement in the island's transition into a full-fledged British colony. This date isn't just a record in an old logbook; it symbolises the active, physical initiation of the British colonial project that would fundamentally reshape Tobago's future.
Following the Treaty of Paris in 1763, which ceded Tobago from its neutral status to Great Britain, the island was earmarked for immediate colonisation and the establishment of a profitable plantation economy.
⚓ The Voyage of the First Settlers
On or very near November 20th, 1764, General Robert Melvill, the newly appointed Governor General of the ceded islands (Grenada, Tobago, St. Vincent, and Dominica), set sail for Tobago. His mission was to follow up on Lieutenant Governor Alexander Brown, who had been dispatched earlier, and to bring with him a group of "first settlers" from Barbados who were "desirous" of making a start on the new territory.
Melvill's voyage was a tangible step in the British effort to populate and control the island. The plan was to establish a structured settlement, starting on the windward side, which was considered healthier than the leeward areas that had proven sickly for the first military detachments.
What Does This Date Represent?
This date, and the days immediately following, represent several key moments in Tobago's history:
The Dawn of the Plantation Era: The settlers Melvill brought were there to purchase land, establish sugar estates, and begin the process of converting Tobago into a lucrative colony based on the labour of enslaved Africans. It was the formal beginning of an economy that would dominate the island for decades.
The Establishment of British Authority: Melvill's arrival reinforced the British Crown's commitment to the island. It marked the practical imposition of the new colonial government, which, though initially arbitrary, would eventually lead to the institution of a legislative system in 1768, demanding laws "analogous to that of their mother country."
A New Chapter in Tobago's Sovereignty: After centuries of being fought over by European powers or declared neutral, November 1764 signalled a decisive moment of British administration. This was a critical point on the long, unstable road to the island's later union with Trinidad.
🤔 More Than a Date on a Calendar
The sailing of the Governor-General and his first settlers was not a celebratory day for everyone. It was the moment the existing populations—the few Amerindians and French turtlers—saw their way of life irrevocably changed. It was a harbinger of the immense social and economic upheaval that the plantation system, with its reliance on enslaved labour, would bring.
November 20th, 1764, therefore, serves as a powerful reminder of the beginning of the sustained colonial era in Tobago—an era that shaped its demography, its physical landscape, and its enduring struggle for self-determination. It is a date to reflect on the roots of modern Tobago and the complex legacy of its colonial foundations.
It was only under British rule in 1880 that Tobago got its own Flag Badge seen below.
Exploring and sharing the facts of our Region's past.