Monthly Archives: June 2007

The Spirit of Freedom in the West Indies

Posted on June 13, 2007 by | Leave a comment

Image take from: The Maroons

Just as the native Spanish speaking blacks, the Jamaicans would come under the review of the remaining Panamanian elite who were to keep up the Spanish colonialist ideals. The Jamaicans came, however, with their versatility in knowledge. Many knew how to read and write very well for people who had been common slaves. Also they were known for having a keen mind and an attitude which opened opportunities for them to become leaders on every project the Americans were involved in. Continue reading →

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Posted in Black Ethnicity Day Celebration, West Indian Panamanians

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The Struggles for Freedom: The Caribbean Backdrop

Posted on June 11, 2007 by | 2 Comments


Before we continue with the story of our West Indian ancestors and their role in the building of one of the most impressive engineering monuments of modern times while, at the same time, bringing into being the modern country of Panama, we must pause and take note of the all important historical backdrop. Our focus shall be on the West Indians and “Antillanos” and their participation in some of the struggles for freedom. Continue reading →

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The Saga of the United States Canal: The Great Fear in the Colonialist Mind

Posted on June 7, 2007 by | 1 Comment

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The great fear of the colonialist mentality which we would attribute to the Europeans and to the Yankees, because of centuries of their proclivity towards exhibiting such behavior against people of color in this hemisphere, would have continuity against other people of color in other theaters of the planet far into the conclusion of the 20th century. Continue reading →

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Posted in Panama Canal, Silver People of Panama

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The Saga of the United States Canal Begins

Posted on June 4, 2007 by | Leave a comment

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As we get closer to our story of how the American Canal and Canal Zone was built, and how such constructions led to the creation of segregated areas for the Black Westindian worker, we will pause to review the scenario. The 1900′s would find the Westindian population in Panama employed in the far off provinces, engaged, mainly, in the cultivation of bananas. Continue reading →

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Posted in Bocas del Toro, Panama Canal, West Indian Panamanians

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The Beginnings of the Next Great Exodus

Posted on June 2, 2007 by | 1 Comment

New York City skyline in 1932 but, by the 1940's it would become a familiar sight to Panamanian West Indians.

The first great economic depression for the newly emerging West Indian working men since the slavery days ending in 1833 initiated a period of quiet struggle for cultural identification for the entire West Indian populace. For most West Indians it was also a way of gaining that assertion of human rights, using their right as freedmen and laborers to accentuate their rights as bonafide citizens.

These rights as working men however, would not be part of the human experience for the Hispanic branch of the African people in the Panamanian theater, in which, up until the 19th century, the Diaspora had remain enslaved. Continue reading →

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Posted in Silver People of Panama, West Indian Panamanians

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