Remembering the Riots of 1935

In another nine days it will be October when we will on the 27th celebrate our 44th year of Independence. We have paid little attention to an important event that happened 44 years before Independence that impacted on and paved the way to Independence.

That event was the ‘riots of 1935’, one among many riots and disturbances that rocked some of the Caribbean colonies in the 1930s. Those of St Vincent would have been the second or third, depending on whether you categorise the activities in Belize as part of those major outbursts.

Nigel Boland makes a strong case for the inclusion of events in Belize. In my book on the 1935 Riots that was published in 2016 I concluded with the following, linking the Vincentian disturbances with the others in the region; “The disturbances throughout the region during the 1930s were key factors in the pace with which the constitutional and political changes leading to adult suffrage came about. These were accompanied by other social changes that were meant to address some of the needs of working people. Local circumstances, as in St. Vincent, would have unearthed the colony’s own players and highlighted matters that were relevant to them.”

Britain, according to Hilary Beckles, decided to punish the Caribbean colonies for the revolts of the 1930s and “refused to fund capital development as a contribution to nation-building.” I recognised the St. Vincent riots as different from that of most of the other colonies that revolted during that time. The St. Vincent riots started in the yard of the Court House during a meeting of the Legislative Council that was dealing with the imposition of taxation measures on the people, And not over labour disputes on the plantation or at the oil fields or docks. In the other colonies efforts had been made to organise workers through workers organisations or incipient unions. There was no such organisation of workers in St. Vincent. The people were angry over taxes and went to the Court Yard to listen to what was happening. Among the early persons, according to the newspapers were fifteen women “armed with small sticks.” Bertha Mutt might have been among those women. Sheriff Lewis, aka Haile Selassie, and other associates were not among the original crowd, but once he got there, he immediately began to issue instructions and to assume a leadership role.

The meeting of the Legislative Council had to be adjourned because of the noise from the crowd that had gathered downstairs. The governor’s attempt to disperse them was met with shouts of “We can’t stand any more duties on our food and clothes”: “We wan’t work”; “We are hungry”; “Something will happen in this town today if we are not satisfied”. The crowd continued to state its dissatisfaction and matters eventually got out of hand when the police were called to the scene. What was interesting here was that the people were taking things into their own hands. It was out of this that George McIntosh emerged as a hero. His mission, at the request of some of the dissatisfied people, was to arrange a meeting with the governor.

When the governor agreed to meet with them later the crowd thought it was a trick and were not prepared to fall for it.

The police were able with their firearms to have the crowd removed from the Court Yard but not before persons had broken into the prison and sticks and other weapons ‘brandished’ over the heads of the governor and administrator and the Attorney General was given two cuffs by one who claimed that he had kicked him. One John Bull was shot by a prominent merchant and Lieutenant in the Volunteer Force. The crowd moved to the middle street where stores were looted. Other incidents took place at the North River Road and over at the Guides Hut. Rioting also took place in Cane Garden and in the Georgetown/Byrea area. The following day it was the turn of Campden Park. It was alleged that John De Sousa a businessman in that area had lent bullets to his friend Syl Defreitas who was a member of the Volunteer Force. Word got out and he was accused of lending bullets to shoot black people. Six persons were killed during the riots and 38 injured, among them 7 police, 1 warder, 2 volunteers and 1 special constable. 25 men and 4 women were convicted. The largest sentences for men were imposed on Martin Durham and Chester Bulze,  both 10 years hard labour. Of the women Beryl Ollivierre and Lydia Laidlow got 5 years hard labour.

The colonial authorities believed that ordinary people could not have organised what they experienced on those two days, so they had to find a master mind and McIntosh was considered that person. McIntosh was defended at his preliminary hearing by L. C Hannays of Trinidad. On the 5 th day Hannays addressed the crowd and said that he didn’t think that farce should continue. Magistrate DeFreitas brought the proceedings to a close. McIntosh was free.

The TIMES newspaper described the reaction of the people – “Breathless the crowd awaited the decision . . . On leaving the Court Yard, he was met by crowds of people some of whom lifted him on their shoulders and bore him many yards. Throughout the balance of the evening there was conspicuously in evidence . . . a spirit of joy on Mr McIntosh’s acquittal.”

This was an important moment in the history of SVG. The political complexion of the country changed, and McIntosh soon began to dominate the politics of the country until the advent of Adult Suffrage in 1951.

l (This will be continued next week when the connexion with the movement to Independence will be made)