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Wednesday, August 4, 2004
Thousands of islanders dressed in traditional African garb danced in winding processions Sunday, marking the 170th anniversary of the abolition of slavery in the British Caribbean. Crowds strutted behind trucks carrying musicians who banged on African drums, while Prime Minister Patrick Manning led the parade wearing a dashiki. Other partygoers led traditional African chants suggesting freedom from the colonization of Britain, over 400 years ago. Britain, which colonized Trinidad and many other Caribbean islands such as Tobago and Guyana, brought West Africans to work as slaves. The British empire abolished slavery Aug. 1, 1834. Trinidad gained independence from Britain in 1962, around the same time as other Caribbean islands. Trinidad's government began officially recognizing Emancipation Day in 1984, and it has now become the regions leading, most historical event. |
