ABSTRACT
People of Caribbean origin share a history that begins with slavery and indenture, but—of course—the history of the people of Africa extends back much further. The British Empire was by no means the only Empire built upon slavery, but it was the first from which there was no hope of gaining freedom with the passage of time. In the Caribbean, the abolition of slavery was succeeded by the importation of the indentured labor of Europeans, East Indians, Chinese, Arabs, and others. At the time of slavery, Caribbean society was rigidly structured, with the plantation owners at the top, and the people of mixed blood-from unions between Europeans and Africans-forming the next layer. Slavery severely traumatised people-to such an extent that it affected people's capacity to procreate. Following Emancipation and Independence, a population which was unable to rise in number during slavery began to swell dramatically once people felt in control of their own lives.
