Monthly Archives: October 2007

The First Diggers- The “Silver Roll”

Posted on October 30, 2007 by Roberto Reid | 3 Comments

Above we have an old “French Canal”
image from 1886 of a West Indian
excavation crew in the Paso Obispo Cut.
Image thanks to
www.canalmuseum.com

The black employees or the “Silver Roll” labor force, as it was named from the beginning, constituted the bulk of the work force on the US Government’s Canal Zone and canal construction projects at any time in the history of those projects. In fact, it had been so since the inception of the works and into the creation of what would become known as the “Canal Zone” area of Panama. Continue reading →

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Posted in Panama Canal, West Indian Panamanians

Tagged Black-Americans, black-foremen, Cuts, First-Diggers, Gold-Roll, Silver Roll, The-Jamaican-Bosses

In Recognition of Our Technical Help

Posted on October 26, 2007 by Roberto Reid | 1 Comment

Update: We’ve left this post from our days when we were on Blogger. Several of our faithful readers have commented on the neater and more expanded look of our template here on blogspot. Continue reading →

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Posted in West Indian Panamanians

Tagged 3-column-Scribe-template, html-code, Tips-for-New-Bloggers

“The Diplomatic Steal of the Century” 1903

Posted on October 23, 2007 by Roberto Reid | 4 Comments

Phillipe Jean Bunau- Varilla

John Hay 1903

Top: Phillipe Jean Bunau-Varilla
Bottom: John Milton Hay, U.S. Secretary of State
Together they were primarily responsible for the
“Diplomatic steal of the Century” of 1903
Images thanks to www.wikipedia.com

For people of color and the lower classes at the turn of the century in that neglected province of Colombia as Panama was, the times called for innate cunning and craftiness that would transform such a person into a visible yet invisible individual, as the occasion required. However, the form that this adaptiveness would take for the West Indian Blacks and Asian Panamanians to survive such an atmosphere was used to the best of their abilities. Continue reading →

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Posted in West Indian Panamanians

Tagged Bidlack-Mallarino Treaty of 1846, Colon, Hay-Herran-TreatyAspinwall, John-Milton-Hay, Panamanian-elites, Phillipe-Jean-Bunau-Varilla, piracy, Revolutionary-Junta, the-diplomatic-steal-of-the-century

The Changing of Attitudes- Looking for a Bonding Source

Posted on October 19, 2007 by Roberto Reid | Leave a comment

Image

Decades have come and gone since the first and larger groups of eager laborers arrived on the Isthmus of Panama to survive the harshness of the climate and the overpowering burden of laboring daily from before the break of day until long past sundown.

We will soon see, as we enter the canal construction era, that the earlier period brought untold sickness and death among the laborers both on the area of the railroads, banana plantations and the Inter Oceanic Canal projects, all without the proper recompense for time and the type of labor. Whether it took human power or with the assistance of heavy machinery, the planned projects drew from the presence of all groups of coolie labor. Continue reading →

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Posted in Racism in Panama, Silver People of Panama, West Indian Panamanians

Tagged changing-of-attitudes, racial-discrimination, standoffish

Did the Chinese Relate to the West Indians?

Posted on October 16, 2007 by Roberto Reid | 1 Comment

A Chinese Coolie circ. 1900
Image thanks to www.wikipedia.com

Since the earliest days of the rail road and the Banana Plantation development in the Central American and Caribbean region of our continent, the Chinese have appeared alongside the Black West Indian slaves. So close did they labor and relate to each other that studies have shown the African serfs to have adopted some of the nuances of the Chinese culture in their day to day folk ways and even in their outlook on life. Continue reading →

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Posted in Silver People of Panama, West Indian Panamanians

Tagged chinese-coolie, Confucius, expulsions, serfs, slaves

The Christian Values of the Silver People

Posted on October 12, 2007 by Roberto Reid | 2 Comments

Images: Top-One of the first West Indian Catholic
places of worship: Paraiso Catholic Church
courtesy: www.czimages.com
Bottom- St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Santana
was later constructed for the West Indian believers.
courtesy: Mr. George Westerman

Those who would become the Silver People of Panama were and continue to be indisputable believers in Christian values having been indoctrinated since our forefathers appeared on the continent of the Americas to be Jesus loving, Bible spouting Christians. Continue reading →

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Posted in Beji-Nite-Church, Church in Panama, Silver People of Panama

Tagged Beji-Nite-Church, Catholic-Church, Christian-values, evangelical-church, healing, Jesus, spiritual-life, The-Holy-Bible, The-Holy-Scriptures