The human being is the only one in nature with the capacity
to create his own conditions of existence. He has therefore
been able to accustom himself to living in every type of natural
space, from the hottest to the most frozen.
Thus, geographical determinism is one more factor that works
on the formation of the human condition in the face of which
we have to find some type of response that enables us to make
our habitat in the medium concerned.
Starting from these conditions, culture plays a role: this
is the expression of human talent, which ultimately allows
us to interiorise the physical environment to our way of being.
The Caribbean is a geographical space determined by the existence
of the sea that bears its name, made up of a string of countries
located on Terra Firma, from Mexico to the northern part of
South America, with the Antilles in front, an interminable
rosary of islands going from East to West.
In one and all, the native populations had more or less a
common origin, as even the first inhabitants of the islands
had moved from the continent, reproducing their lifestyles.
The lifestyles of all were interrupted by the colonial process,
which imposed essential changes on the societies of those
original peoples, leaving us a Caribbean fashioned according
to metropolitan interests.
We already know the eventful history of this geographical
space, where at different times the processes of conquest
and colonisation brought together people from Europe, Africa
and Asia, who along with the natives of the region, generated
a particular process of demographic development visible in
today’s population rainbow.
Although each metropolis that intervened in the region worked
in its own interest and the approach to colonisation varied
according to the particular historical moment in Europe, what
is certain is that they left a trail of common characteristics
in the countries of the Caribbean, which today serve as a
base for identifying cultural affinities.
However, these affinities were grouped together in spaces
that were politically differentiated according to the metropolitan
actor in each case. Hence one often speaks of the different
Caribbeans: French, Spanish, Dutch and British.
These borders remained closed up to the end of the 19th century,
preventing contact from one to the other Caribbean. This is
the explanation for the historical distance imposed upon us
for four centuries.
However, as patterns of freedom have flourished and been imposed,
Caribbean people have understood the need to get closer to
each other, availing themselves of the affinities of their
historical formation, more than the differences imposed by
the colonial past.
One can perceive the will to break with the Caribbean left
to us by colonisation, which is a Caribbean in which distance
prevails. This is a distance built on the basis of differences
generated among the metropoles on converting the Caribbean
into the “imperial frontier” where they settled
their contradictions.
We inherited a Caribbean of “indifferent neighbours,”
often in conflict, without their own mechanisms of communication,
lacking a regional institutionalism that could promote exchange.
But this is not the Caribbean we want.
We are not obliged to live with the fateful notion inherited
from colonialism.
The human condition of the Caribbean being empowers him to
construct a new definition of this most diverse and plural
space, united by history and traditions. It is time to overcome
the negative perceptions created in the past and to look towards
the united future that awaits us.
Dr Rubén Silié Valdez is the Secretary
General of the Association of Caribbean States. The views
expressed are not necessarily the official views of the ACS.
Feedback can be sent to: mail@acs-aec.org
