My family tree in Barbados has been changed by the British Empire in ways that are still felt today
This First Person column came out on August 1, 2022, on Emancipation Day, before Queen Elizabeth died. It was written by a PhD student at the University of Toronto named Jillian Sunderland.
See for more information on CBC’s First Person stories.the FAQ.
I’ve been back to the busy streets of Bridgetown, Barbados, many times, but I still don’t feel like I’m in sync with life. Bridgetown has never felt like home to me, even though it is where my father is from and I have citizenship in both Canada and Barbados.
When I was growing up in Canada, my father never made it fun to learn about our Bahamian roots. We didn’t eat traditional dishes like oxtail and pigs’ feet, and we didn’t listen to calypso music with its jerky beat.
Instead, most of my memories of my father from my childhood involve him wearing a three-piece suit and being quiet and reserved. His accent sounds more British than the Creole language’s soft, rhythmic tones. He sounds more like a colonizer than a colonized person. He didn’t tell us stories about his childhood or tell us about the rich cultural history of Barbados. Instead, he seemed determined to teach us to be fiercely competitive, to follow the rules, and to respect authority. Even though I’m not a “real” doctor like he wanted, his influence still shows up in my academic work, where I often defend rules and the way things are.
I thought that, as a Black immigrant to Canada, my father had given up his life in Barbados and adopted Canadian ways to do well, but that is only partly true.
I now know that his desire to be like everyone else came from the fact that he grew up when Barbados was still a loyal part of the British Empire.
Once dubbed “Little England,” Barbados was the first slave colony that Britain owned.Was ruled by the British from 1625 to 1966. Slavery in the Caribbean was different from other places because plantation owners worked slaves to death and decided it was more profitable to bring in new slaves than to help the ones they already had. The English settlers and the monarchy were able to get money from these sugar plantations.
Although In 1834, the British Empire put an end to slavery.Britain was still in charge of Barbados until 1966, and after West African slaves were freed, they tried to “correct” their culture. Black kids like my dad were finally allowed to go to school. They wore neat school uniforms and were taught “proper” behavior, English customs, and loyalty to the Royal Family. By going to school, my father learned about British values and customs and became very loyal to the Crown. These are the things he taught my brother and me about life.
Even though I was raised on the Canadian prairies with very English values, I still had to deal with racism. Even though my classmates were lily-white, they still called me “ape.” Teachers said hurtful things about how tightly curled my hair was, which made people laugh out loud.
“Friends” who turned down my party invites said that their parents had told them that I was a “bad seed.” Even though they both had a typical Canadian upbringing, race still made it impossible for them to be included.
This was a result of British imperialism, and my family took it with them when they moved from Barbados to Canada.
I go to Barbados often to look for signs of my family’s history. I do this because I want to feel like I belong there. But my father’s unwillingness to talk about his past has made it hard for me to learn about my family’s history.
I was able to trace my family tree back to one of my ancestors who was a slave, but then I ran into a wall of colonial legacy. Before slavery was outlawed, slaves had their family names taken away and were forced to take on the names of their English owners, as if they were property to be owned.
In 2021, Barbados broke away from Britain.It got rid of the Queen as its leader and turned into a republic. My father was a traditionalist, so he didn’t like this change. He seems to have nothing bad to say about the Crown. After all, he thinks that his English-based education helped him get ahead and build a good life in Canada as an Afro-Caribbean immigrant.
But I think the cruelty that was done to my slave ancestors was too much to pay for. Even after slavery ended, my dad was cut off from his roots, customs, and practices because he was forced to learn and follow British ways.
Even though he might not feel this loss, I do.
Even though he said it was wrong to knock down statues of the Queen and say she shouldn’t be the head of state, I agree. He doesn’t understand why I feel the need to find my roots or why I want to talk about the roots of Canada’s colonization and the way First Nations people were treated.
Barbados turns into a republic:
Even now, when I talk to my father, it’s impossible for us to see things from each other’s points of view.
Even though this happened a long time ago, I still feel the effects of the British monarchy’s unchecked imperialism. To me, the Crown’s legacy is one of loss, moving, violence, and trauma that has been passed down from generation to generation and made family members into strangers.
It is an inheritance that the Royal Family doesn’t seem to want to deal with.offering only regretsBut neither an apology nor payment.
My dad and I might learn to understand each other one day. But until then, I have to work on getting back in touch with my roots on my own.
Being Black in Canada is a CBC project that Black Canadians can be proud of. It has more stories about the lives of Black Canadians, from racism against Black people to success stories in the Black community. Here, you can find more stories.
Have you had an experience like the one in this First Person column? We want to know what you think. Send us an email at [email protected].