All of History is There

The Trinidadian-born Nobel Laureate V.S. Naipaul was at his most provocative in The Middle Passage (1962), in which he related his travels through the Caribbean. ‘History is built around achievement and creation’, he wrote, ‘and nothing was created in the West Indies.’ A great deal of the Caribbean and, in particular, the West Indies, is dependent on tourism. And for those seeking pristine, palm-fringed beaches, turquoise waters and a sundowner at the end of a lazy day, the past is dutifully erased. I have travelled a lot through the West Indies, fascinated by its history, but when there I am always aware that, unlike perhaps in Europe or Asia, where heritage and history attract millions of visitors, few tourists seek out the past in the Caribbean. It is too painful.