Post war Britain wanted colonies to move toward independence. To that end, a new group of local leaders were trained, in this case at Oxford. That the result was such a rebuke of the UK deserves study. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.
Todays stamp will be fairly familiar to British Commonwealth collectors. Not so much in the particulars but in the theme. The sun was setting on the empire and the new young Queen wanted to show what Britain had done for the colonies. In this case it was the admittedly impressive treasury building built in 1936-1938 on the site of the former treasury office that had burned. It was also the site that the British Governor had declared slavery over in 1831.
The building was built in the art deco style and originally also contained the central post office. After independence in 1962 the building was renovated to house the new central bank of Trinidad and Tobago. Both the original construction and the 60s renovation were paid for by the UK and done by local architect Anthony C. Lewis. In 1986, the building began to house offices of the government finance ministry. It is now listed as a Trinidad heritage site.
The stamp today is issue A28, a 6 cent stamp issued by the Crown Colony of Trinidad and Tobago on September 24th, 1960. It was part of a 14 stamp issue in various denominations. According to the Scott Catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents used.
The plan for the British West Indies was to form a independent federation of islands that would have Dominion status. Canada was to take over for Britain somewhat in looking after the islands. This fell apart when Jamaica withdrew. 10-1=naught was the quote from one of the local leaders of the time.
The independence movement was being lead by an Oxford trained history PhD named Eric Williams. His education was paid by Britain and he chose not to serve in World War II. He felt himself much persecuted and espoused the discredited idea that Britain had abolished slavery not out of doing what was right but instead because it had become unprofitable. He was allowed still to run for Prime Minister and ruled uninterrupted for 19 years until his death. His term was characterized by much corruption and racial agitating. Or perhaps he was just persecuted by those horrible British.
In any case a black power movement arose against Williams and students struck and the army mutinied. He restored order by arrests and police killings and resolved to remove from government those not black. Whites of course were already out but long present Indians and Chinese were still working in government. Well not for long. The black power movement, however was understandable. Expectations were high with independence and much oil revenue. When things got worse not better it must have been a big disappointment. Williams agreed to resign but then reneged and stayed in power another 10 years till his death. I bet his rivals felt a little persecuted themselves.
Well my drink is empty and so I will open the conversation in the below comment section. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.