Peter Hitchen

Labour Control in Belize, Jamaica and the United States of America: History Dissertation Prizewinner Peter Hitchen

The award winning thesis focussed on Post-Emancipation systems of labour control using a comparative analysis of the United States, from 1865 to 'Redemption' in 1877, & the British Caribbean colonies of Belize & Jamaica, from Emancipation in 1838 until Crown Colony rule, 1871 for Belize, & 1866 for Jamaica. The purpose being to highlight the differences & similarities, & further an understanding of why certain historical phenomena occurred in 1 or 2 regions & not in another. The fundamental argument being that there was no simple step from slavery to freedom. That the local oligarchies in each region attempted to prevent, the former 'Negro' slaves from attaining full freedom, economically or politically, after Emancipation; tackling the extent to which they were prepared to go with coercive tactics to achieve their aims, using a variety of primary/secondary sources. Thus, the transition was not from slavery to freedom but from one system of labour controls to another, maintaining a de facto slavery.