Sunday, 21 April 2019

MERIKENS HISTORY TRINIDAD



   

Members of the British Corps of Colonial Marines who supported the British forces during the War of 1812 and after the war ended, with their families, established Trinidad’s "Company Villages" as the “Meriken” communities in Moruga.






Murphy Browne © April 18-2019



A Proclamation



Whereas it has been represented to me that many persons now resident in the United States have expressed a desire to withdraw therefrom with a view to entering into His Majesty's service, or of being received as free settlers into some of His Majesty's colonies.

This is therefore to give notice that all persons who may be disposed to migrate from the United States, will with their families, be received on board of His Majesty's ships or vessels of War, or at the military posts that may be established upon or near the coast of the United States, when they will have their choice of either entering into His Majesty's sea or land forces, or of being sent as free settlers to the British possessions in North America or the West Indies where they will meet with due encouragement.



Given under my hand at Bermuda this second day of April, 1814, by command of Vice Admiral.

Alexander Cochrane



In April 2014, the British Vice Admiral released the carefully worded proclamation encouraging enslaved Africans in the USA to seek their freedom by “entering into His Majesty's service.” It was at the height of the “War of 1812,” a conflict between Great Britain and the United States which took place between 1812 and 1815. The enslaved Africans seized the opportunity for freedom “by any means necessary” and from areas including Virginia, Georgia, Maryland and South Carolina they fled the plantations where they were enslaved to provide valuable information to the British and disrupt the plantation economy with the absence of their coerced labour. The formerly enslaved Africans in America who escaped and joined the British became members of the British Corps of Colonial Marines. Following the War of 1812 some of these former soldiers and their families established Trinidad’s “Meriken” communities.



The Corps of Colonial Marines, primarily from the areas along the Atlantic coast, from Chesapeake Bay to Georgia, were engaged in significant military action between Canada and the USA. They had extensive knowledge of waterways, creeks and river routes of the US South which was essential during the numerous battles, skirmishes and raids during the War of 1812.  The Colonial Marines supported the British forces who burned Washington, D.C. in 1814. They assisted Britain’s Southern Coastal Campaign by guarding the British Army’s right flank during the invasion and Battle of New Orleans in 1815. When the Treaty of Ghent (February 17- 1815) ended the War of 1812, the Corps of Colonial Marines was transferred to the British colony of Bermuda. First stationed at the Royal Naval Dockyard, Bermuda they agreed to be settled in Trinidad.



Six companies of the Corps of Colonial Marines, formerly enslaved Africans, were established as a community in the south of Trinidad between 1815–1816. The Governor of Trinidad, Ralph Woodford, arranged for the creation of a village for each company on the Naparima Plain. The Meriken settlers were 574 former soldiers with approximately 200 women and children. The groups of settlers were taken to Trinidad on board several ships including the Royal Navy ships, HMS Carron and HMS Levant and in hired ships, the Mary & Dorothy and the Lord Eldon. The members of the 6 companies were each settled in a separate village under the command of a corporal or sergeant. The villages were named after the companies and the Fifth and Sixth Company villages retain those names. Each soldier was granted 16 acres of land and some of these plots are still farmed in the 21st century by the descendants of the Corps of Colonial Marines.



Many of the African American settlers were Baptists from evangelical sects. The settlers maintained their religion, reinforced and influenced by African traditions. This syncretic form of religion which blended the spiritual faiths and teachings continue as a legacy in the Meriken community.



In the 1980s I became friends with Brenda Pierre an African Trinidadian woman who was a descendant of the Merikens. It was fascinating listening to the wealth of knowledge Brenda had about her ancestors, Amphy and Bashana Jackson. She spoke at length during the years we knew each other, about her ancestors’ contribution to establishing the Spiritual Baptist religion in Trinidad. Sadly, Brenda transitioned to the ancestral realm on April 16-2011 in Toronto. Samuel Ebenezer Elliot, a descendant of an original Meriken settler, George Elliot, was a prominent elder of the Spiritual Baptist in Trinidad. The “skills” of "Papa Neezer" as he was popularly known on the island, were immortalized in song by the Mighty Sparrow.



In 2019 the descendants of the Merikens have much of which to be proud. During this International Decade for People of African Descent (2015-2024) this history should be recognized and better known.



Murphy Browne © April 18-2019



                                       Samuel Ebenezer Elliot "Papa Neezer"



Many of the African American settlers were Baptists from evangelical sects. They maintained their religion, reinforced and influenced by African traditions and established the Spiritual Baptist religion in Trinidad.







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