Identity and autonomy in Tobago: From union to self-government, 1889--1980

The relationship between Tobago and Trinidad can be viewed in the context of identity and autonomy. Tobagonian identity became the buttress of the autonomy movement that developed on the island after union. Tobago was united with its closest, larger and more prosperous neighbor Trinidad by imperial decree in 1889. By that time the Tobago sugar economy had collapsed. This made it extremely difficult for the island's government to meet its financial commitments. The union of Tobago and Trinidad was administrative but not organic.; From the time of union, Trinidadians regarded Tobago as a financial and administrative burden and considered its people rural and backward. Tobagonians also developed negative stereotypes about Trinidadians. The relationship between the two peoples soon became locked into we-they antipathies, which served to enhance Tobagonian identity, which was based on the African culture of the majority of Tobago's inhabitants. Officials and leaders in both islands viewed the problems in the smaller island within an integrationist-separatist continuum. The integrationists held the view that Tobago and Trinidad were one indissoluble state; and that problems in Tobago were no worse than those in rural areas of Trinidad. The separatists charged the central government in Trinidad with neglect and underdevelopment of Tobago. They demanded greater autonomy for Tobago. Some wanted more Tobagonian representation in the corridors of power. Others sought the devolution of government power in an administrative structure managed by Tobagonians. Some separatists also called for separation and independence from Trinidad.; The movement for autonomy in Tobago developed in several stages. It began with initial resistance to the union itself, and culminated in 1980 with Tobago being granted internal self-government accompanied by the re-establishment of the Tobago House of Assembly. This occurred only after key personalities including: James A. A. Biggart, Isaac A. Hope, George de Nobriga, Alphonso P. T. James, Rhodil Norton, Arthur N. R. Robinson and Winston Murray articulated Tobagonians' many longstanding grievances. The disbanding of the Ministry of Tobago Affairs by the Peoples National Movement Government in 1976 was the trigger factor that led Robinson and the Democratic Action Congress to pursue successfully internal self-government for Tobago from 1977.