By Hazel Woolford
On February 23, 1763, Cuffy led a revolution that shook this hemisphere. It undeniably contributed to the outbreak of the Haitian Revolution and the French Revolution. Cuffy was the first African Guyanese slave to attempt to establish a Republic. He gained control of the colony and ruled Berbice for over a year.
His attempts at social cohesion or unity of the Dutch and Africans in the fledgling black republic failed. Cuffy was a high achiever. He succeeded in communicating with the Dutch, with the assistance of white sympathizers. Cuffy recognized the importance of self-sufficiency. Their farms gave the revolutionaries a sense of security. However, the Cuffy-led republic did not have a strong military base, economic stability or the international ties to defend themselves against a growing and restive Dutch enemy.
Prof Emeritus Alvin Thompson, a historian, wrote: “The slaves, attempting to shake off the thraldom of slavery, decided to beat their ploughshares into swords and exact their pound of flesh from the master class. The fact that the revolt was ultimately unsuccessful was not due simply to the ineptitude of the slaves, but to overwhelming odds they were up against.”
The quest for freedom, and political independence, was not lost on succeeding generations. The leaders of the 1823 Demerara slave rebellion continued the struggle, with limited success. However, when the African-Guianese Hubert Nathaniel Critchlow organized the first registered trade union in the Commonwealth Caribbean, he laid the foundation for Guyana to be led to political independence on May 26, 1966.
Hubert Nathaniel Critchlow was born on December 18, 1884. He died on May 14, 1958. His father, James Nathaniel Critchlow, was a dock labourer foreman with Booker Brothers. James was a Barbadian. Critchlow’s mother, Julia Elizabeth (née Daniels), who was born in Essequibo, was a housewife.
Hubert was never married, and had two sons. He was educated at Bedford Wesleyan primary school. At the age of 14, Hubert was apprenticed to the Demerara Foundry. While working there, he made a toy cannon for his own enjoyment. Subsequently, he went to work with a cigarette packaging firm as a cigar maker. But the low wages, intolerable working conditions, and long hours of work were very discouraging. Hubert became a bottle washer, and later a stopgap office boy with the Booker Brothers. He later became a dock worker on the Booker Brothers wharves. He also worked as a gold miner and electric car motorist.
Hubert was an athlete: a cricketer and footballer. In 1925, while in England, he was invited to become a professional cricketer, but refused the offer. Hubert represented the Malteenoes Cricket and Football Club. He was an excellent singer, and a member of the St. Barnabas Choir. Towards the end of his life, he became a member of the Salvation Army.
On November 28, 1905, Hubert led the dockworkers of the Sanbach Parker wharf on strike in protest against the poor working conditions. By this protest, the “Father of West Indian Trade Unionization” had begum his career as a trade unionist as well as politician.
He established the British Guiana Labour Union on January 11, 1919. The British Guiana Labour Union was the first labour union to survive in the colony, and became the first registered trade union in the colony on July 21, 1922.
Early in 1924, the Union had requested equal wages for Indian labourers. The Union was strongly opposed to ‘piece –work’ on the estates, since it was stated that the managers could easily exploit the labourers. When the dock workers of Georgetown went on strike, they did not only obtain the support of the urban working class, but also the workers on the sugar estates. In fact, the strike had later escalated into a general strike.
On April 1, 1924, the Union led a demonstration through the streets. The members of the Union wore red hibiscus flowers in their hat bands as a show of solidarity with the estate workers. They became disorderly when the ‘centipede’ or ‘apache’ gang joined the procession. They invaded private houses and business premises.
On the following day, workers from Diamond, Farm, Providence and Peter’s Hall sugar estates on the East Bank of Demerara began to march to Georgetown accompanied by brass band music. According to Ramprashad, an engineer who gave evidence before the Ruimveldt Commission of Inquiry, the crowd comprised of all Indians in front: boys, women and young men. “They told us that they were going to see Mr. Critchlow in Georgetown,” Ramprashad said.
The members of the establishment accused the Union of incendiary behaviour. It was suggested that the handbills, which were circulated by the Union, were emotive and contributed to the Indians’ decision to strike.
However, the Union responded that a high percentage of the Indian workers did not read nor write English, and in some cases, did not speak the language. Secondly, the administration of the estates suggested that the Indians who did not proceed on strike were intimidated and prevented from working.
During the riots, 12 persons were killed, including two women. The two women were not active participants in the riots. In the case of the woman Sanichari or Beeput, the evidence was inconclusive. She was giving water to a wounded man in the gallery when she was shot. There were two bullet holes in the room in which her body was found. Her feet were also muddy “as if she had recently crossed the trench”. Since, it was observed that she had not participated in the riot; the Stipendiary Magistrate Reid left it an open incident.
The other female, Jasoda, was inside her house when she was shot. The coroner concluded that her death was a regrettable accident of the kind that almost invariably accompanies the use of firearms with crowds and the surprising thing is that, with so many thickly populated ranges in the vicinity, there were not more deaths of this sort.
Hubert participated in active politics since 1925. He supported Theophilus Marryshow, the “Father of West Indian Federation”, in his struggle for the region to become a united political unit. He supported and campaigned in the local government elections for the candidate in the Lodge constituency.
In 1943, Governor Sir Gordon Lethem arrived in British Guiana and introduced a new Labour Ordinance. Hubert was appointed the first labour representative to the Legislative Council in 1944. Hubert was hailed as “British Guiana’s Greatest Social Reformer”. He was widely celebrated in the African-Guianese community. In 1947, Hubert and his fellow trade unionists launched the British Guiana Labour Party.
In a very real sense, Hubert was actively involved in the early political life of Forbes Burnham, Cheddi Jagan, Janet Jagan and, Ashton Chase, who had fought for the political independence of Guyana.
Hubert Critchlow delivered his last Labour Day address at the May Parade of 1957. On May 14, 1958 he died. He achieved many successes for the workers. His “don’t fight, let me negotiate” underlined his bargaining with employers. These included the establishment of the eight-hour day, higher standards of living, abolition of night work in bakeries, Rent Restrictions Ordinance, Workmen’s Compensation Ordinance, Picketing Ordinance, Non-Contributory Old Age Pension Scheme, Universal Adult Suffrage, relief for the unemployed in the days of depression, housing scheme, free breakfast for school children, and the Friendly Society Ordinance.
At a meeting held at Bourda Green on April 30, 1933, Hubert had boasted, “There is not a man that can deny that Hubert Critchlow is a pioneer of labour in this country. If you want to prove it, read the Centenary Book.”
Thousands of workers turned out to bid farewell to the pioneer of trade unionism in the Commonwealth Caribbean. The funeral procession was led by the BGLU with draped banner, and the Invaders Steel Band. The PPP members were next to follow with red, black and yellow banners, and among them were Mrs. Janet Jagan, Minister of Labour, Health and Housing; Mr. Ram Karran, Minister of Communications and Works; and Mr. Brindley Benn, Minister of Education and Community Development. After the funeral service, the cortège passed through the streets of Georgetown.
Hazel Woolford is the registrar of the Guyana Institute of Historical Research.
