Saint Vincent formed an alliance with the other newly independent east indies islands and it worked surprisingly well with a stable currency and good neighbor relations. That doesn’t mean that the people are doing great and they don’t perceive there leaders as gone Barbados. 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.
This is the rare small island British Commonwealth stamp that actually means to be used on the island. As such the Queen and say a cool old English airplane are dispenced with. With that diference we probably just lost the Commonwealth collecters. For those of you still with us, I will explain why this stamp is more interesting. It actually opens a window to the actual island, both the achievements and failures.
Todays stamp is issue A148, a fifty cent stamp issued by the independent republic of Saint Vincent in 1987. It was part of a 19 stamp issue in various denominations that display the same value coinage of the East Caribbean Dollar that had successfully supplanted the colonial currency. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 35 cents. There are overprinted versions that were used for revenue and these stamps are not generally part of the normal Commonwealth farm out issues. Hence the actual instead of to order cancelation. So far it hasn’t helped the value, but maybe in a 100 years.
Saint Vincent was first occupied by Carib Indians. They were unfriendly to European explorers and for many years the issue wasn’t pressed. Over the years though several slave ships ran aground and the Africans were welcomed and intermarried with the Indians swelling their numbers. Eventually the British set up outposts on Saint Vincent but had to fight several wars with the Black Caribe to get a foothold at least on the coasts. The often active Volcano at the center of the island, not so much. Sugar cane plantations were started and further slaves brought in. A British Caribbean dollar was introduced that was fixed to British Sterling.
The end of British Empire slavery saw the end of the planters prosperity and many left the island, although some tried to keep the plantations going with contract laborers brought in from India and Portugal. The freed slaves were not having much luck keeping the crops planted and poverty grew. The island also faced frequent hurricanes and even eruptions from it’s volcano. As the British faded local leaders from the islands upper classes tried to fill the void offering socialist economics and banana planting. On such leader was Ebenezer Joshua who worked to unionize the sugar caine workers and replace British institutions with Caribbean ones.
His biggest success though was also his biggest failure. The Eastern Caribbean dollar has been successful in replacing the old British one and has maintained a fixed USA dollar peg for over 40 years, that’s a better record than China for example. That does not mean the people of the island are not stuck uneconomically growing sugar cane, now without slavery but with no one doing well at it. This dichotomy was graphically pointed out in an 80s Johnny Cash song “Joshua gone Barbados” that you can hear here, https://youtu.be/nN5ui3QOYAk. I recommend it, a great song. Here are some of the lyrics.
Joshua Gone Barbados
Cane standin’ in the fields gettin’ old and red
Lot of misery in Georgetown dreamin’ layin’ dead
Joshua head of the government he said strike for better pay
Cane cutters are strikin’ but Joshua gone away
Joshua gone Barbados staying in a big hotel
People on St Vincent got many sad tales to tell
The sugar mill owner told the strikers I don’t need you to cut my cane
Bring me another bunch of fellas your strike be all in vain
Get a bunch of tough fellas bring ’em from Zion Hill
Bring ’em in a bus to Georgetown know somebody could kill
Sunny Child the overseer I swear he’s an ignorant man
Walkin’ the the canefields pistol in his hand
Joshua gone Barbados just like he don’t know people on the island got no place to go
Police givin’ protection new fellas cuttin’ the cane
Ebenezer Joshua was at a conference about the currency. He was thrown out in the next election. Whether rightly or not I am not the judge put the song does a great job as to why.
Well my drink is empty and I may pour another and listen again to that haunting song. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.