Dickson Igwe. Photo: VINO

OK. One of the conversationalists, a prominent businessman, was convinced that there were elements in society, in the Virgin Islands, who wanted to see a class based society: a social hierarchy based upon wealth and power so to speak.

The reason these “Glitterati” saw social class as a virtue, the Great man was unsure. But he was certain that this idea of social class in the territory was something that was clearly desired by some leading players in the social economy. But the Community Stalwart was also certain about one other thing; that class would never be accepted as a social norm in this country, as it is in the UK and elsewhere.

This Story Teller was in deep thought after that unscheduled meet. He knew a story would be forthcoming. He, however, had a caveat on the matter of social divisions being unacceptable on these islands.

There is a clear social division in this country among a specific sub set. It is based on economics. It is also based on the fact that the major businesses in the Virgin Islands that critically impact tourism and financial services are foreign owned. The enormous disparities in earnings between senior management in the financial services industry and a number of resort businesses, and local employees much further down the ladder have created two parallel worlds.

At the top, senior managers and their families live a type of separated life. Their children attend expensive private schools. These men and women also belong to specific social clubs that they regularly attend and where they “mingle and mix.”

However, many of these executives are also expatriates. They spend some years in this country and then return to their countries of origin. This makes their contribution to any social class hierarchy in the Virgin Islands transient. The preceding is a norm that can be easily discerned by those who are aware and alert to these matters.

Well, one thing this Observer agreed with the two men at the table about was that a structured social class model would be very difficult to establish in these paradise islands. Why?

Well, the demography that supported a class system in larger more complex countries did not exist in this territory. And what class system did exist at present was very tenuous indeed, very brittle, hanging on a very thin thread; yes, this was his deeper observation of social class in Virgin Islands community.

This Old Boy is of the opinion that social class divisions in a small homogeneous society such as the Virgin Islands cannot be a good thing. This community is too small for class warfare as is the norm in the exponentially larger UK. The VI is made up of several large families. These families are further connected with each other by strong blood links. That is not the best foundation for a social class hierarchy based upon wealth and power.

Now, great wealth disparities clearly exist in the Virgin Islands. However, a well defined social class structure, as in the classic example of England’s social class heritage, cannot survive in the Virgin Islands. Those that would like to see a Virgin Islands divided by social class will find that the effort to create social strata based on wealth, education, ethnicity, or nuance, will fail.

The reason why is very simple. The antecedents that created social class in the classic sense in a number of Anglo Saxon Societies, especially on the European Continent, simply do not exist on these islands.

These islands possess a very fluid demographic. Add to that demographic great inward migration and marriage with outsiders, then, a great number of Virgin Islanders move to the US after college and university. Therefore, establishing a stable social class structure becomes very difficult indeed. And unlike the other larger islands of the Caribbean such as Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Barbados, where there has been a longer and more complex history of race and society, these Virgin Islands emerged from slavery with a much more unitary historical narrative. 

Here, like elsewhere, large numbers of slaves adopted the names of their plantation owners. However, there was a great homogeneity of culture and tradition after slavery. This homogeneity has led to the rich cultural heritage the country possesses today.

Virgin Islanders post slavery were Africans who were sturdy and very resilient. They gained control of the land after their slave owners returned to England. Christianity was a driving force with regular church attendance, and the ubiquitous prayer meeting. The Methodists and Anglicans built the first schools. Virgin Islands culture developed around religion and church.

The slaves who possessed Caucasian features such as a lighter complexion, straight hair, blue eyes, narrow nose, and thin lips, and who were the progeny of sexual liaisons between forbears and the powerful white planter, became the new administrators. These were the educated mulattoes, Creoles who took over power from the white plantation classes.

They took over the social economies of the capital cities and towns throughout the Caribbean post slavery and became a major component of the ruling class in the West Indies after the independence movements of the 1950s and 60s.

To be continued…

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