Perception of history as a fable

Evading the history of slavery

The children were used to celebrate the Queen just because it was a general convention, without really needing to think about it, which is apparent from their surprise after they heard some of the older villagers praise the Queen for freeing them. The boys were struggling to understand how exactly, or from which were their ancestors freed. One of the younger boys comes to a conclusion that their ancestors must have been locked up in some kind of jail and then freed by the grace of Her Majesty. (Lamming, In the Castle of My Skin, 57)

One of the other boys, however, is not satisfied with this explanation. He is familiar with prisoners and the concept of corporal punishment, and he gathers that it is not the same case as the one the old woman he overheard was referring to.

“She was talking about something different. Something bigger.” (In the Castle of My Skin, 57)

The boy then asked the teacher to explain to him the meaning of slave, but the teacher’s explanation has left him puzzled.

“He didn’t understand how anyone could be bought by another. He knew horses and dogs could be bought and worked. But he couldn’t understand how one man could buy another man.” (Lamming, In the Castle of My Skin, 57)

Upon further questioning, the head teacher dismisses the boy’s enquiry, claiming that slavery is of no importance, because it happened a “long, long, long time ago” and implies that the old woman is not remembering the facts correctly. Later, he even goes as far as lying to the children, twisting historical facts for the sake of preserving the illusion of the great good Queen and England.

“It had nothing to do with the people in Barbados. No one there was ever a slave, teacher said. It was in another part of the world that these things happened. Not in Little England.” (Lamming, In the Castle of My Skin, 57)

One of the other teachers, when inquired about the meaning of “being freed”, answers only with a vague reply that the old people are not remembering the facts correctly and that he did not need to be freed by anybody, since he was always free. The authority he possesses made the children instantly believe that what he said was true, without even questioning the teacher for a more elaborate explanation. (Lamming, In the Castle of My Skin, 57)

The tendency to keep the Caribbean population in the dark regarding the colonial past of their country and the inhumane treatment that their ancestors had to suffer is apparent from the teachers’ explanations. It can be attributed to the intention to preserve illusion of England as allies to Barbados, or Little England, according to the hypocritically honorable name that, it seems, was coined to inspire a false sense of loyalty in the inhabitants of the island.

As a result of this, the children perceived slavery as something that is so distant from their world that it does not seem real to them. They even chuckle at the thought of a man owning another man as property, completely unaware of the bitter truth about the history of the island that was hidden from them.

“They had read about the Battle of Hastings and William the Conqueror. They happened so many hundred years ago. And slavery was thousands of years before that. It was too far back for anyone for anyone to worry about teaching it as history. That’s really why it wasn’t taught.” (Lamming, In the Castle of My Skin, 58)

The fact that they are kept from learning about the history of slavery and all the atrocities that have been committed against their ancestors by the colonizers also presents a different concern than mere ignorance. It is utterly difficult for a nation to establish its own distinct identity, when its people are purposely lied to about their history and cultural heritage. The intent of the English to preserve their influence over their former colonies presented a huge obstacle in the way of establishing a distinct Caribbean identity.