Caribbean History
Theme 5
Adjustments To Emancipation
Past Paper Questions
2010- 2021
Year: 2010
The Problem of Labour
(a) Explain THREE reasons why the planters of Guyana and Trinidad feared that the freed
Africans would not continue to work on the sugar plantations once slavery was abolished. ( 9
marks)
(b) Examine FOUR measures adopted by some planters to secure a supply of labour on their
plantations between 1838 and 1876. (16 marks)
Total 25 marks
Freed Africans and the urge for Education
(a)Explain THREE reasons why the recently freed Africans were so keen to become
educated. (9 marks)
(b) Examine FOUR reasons why some colonial legislatures were so reluctant to provide
education for the recently freed Africans. (16 marks)
Total 25 marks
Year: 2011
Indian Immigration Scheme: Causes and Challenges
Imagine that you are a Stipendiary Magistrate serving in the British Caribbean in the second
half of the 1800s. Write a letter to your Chief Justice in Britain explaining the factors which
contributed to the large scale importation of Indian labour into the Caribbean, and some of
the difficulties faced by these immigrants up to 1876. Your answer should explain at least
THREE of the factors responsible for the importation of Indian immigrants and THREE of
the difficulties they faced
Total 25 marks
Contributions of Free Peasants to the Caribbean
Imagine that you are a Baptist preacher stationed in Jamaica in the 1880s. Write an essay
explaining the economic contribution of the free peasants to the Caribbean society between
1838 and 1876. Your answer should explain at least SIX economic contributions
Total 25 marks
Year: 2012
Problems Facing the Sugarcane Industry
Imagine that you are a planter in any named English-speaking Caribbean territory. Write a
letter to the Governor discussing some of the problems facing the sugarcane industry between
1838 and 1854
Total 25 marks
The Crown Colony Government Replacing the Old Representative System
Imagine that you are the Colonial Secretary in Jamaica in the 1860s. Write a letter to the
Colonial Office arguing the case for the adoption of Crown Colony Government on the
island, in place of the Old Representative System.
Total 25 marks
Year: 2013
The Success of the Indian Immigration Scheme
You are the owner of a sugar plantation in the colony of British Guiana during the period
1838 to 1876. Write a letter to your banker explaining why Indian immigration has been so
successful in British Guiana. You should discuss FIVE of the following factors which
contributed to the success of the system of Indian immigration: push factors, pull factors, role
of the Colonial Office/British Government, role of planters, physical environment and other
forms of control.
Total 25 marks
The Social and Economic Impacts of Free Village Settlements
Imagine that you are a journalist in the English speaking Caribbean around 1850. Write an
article for The Guardian newspaper examining the social and economic impact of the
formation of free village settlements in the British Caribbean. You should examine at least
FIVE points from any TWO of the following areas: labour, markets and trade, financial
institutions, immigration, social impact.
Total 25 marks
Year: 2014
The Effects of Indian Immigrant labour in Guyana
The year is 1876 and you are the colonial governor of Guyana. Write a report in which you
discuss at least FIVE effects of Indian immigrant labour on the sugar industry in Guyana.
Total 25 marks
Contributions of Peasantry to the British Caribbean
You are a newspaper correspondent covering the West Indian Royal Commission of 1897.
Write an article for your newspaper explaining the contribution of the peasantry to the
economy of the British Caribbean between 1838 and 1876.
Total 25 marks
Year: 2015
Factors Affecting the British Caribbean Sugar Industry
You are a journalist in the English speaking Caribbean in the 1850s. You are assigned to the
newspaper, The Economic Update. Write an article for the paper highlighting the factors
affecting the sugar industry in British Guiana OR Jamaica between 1838 and 1854.
Your article should focus on labour, capital, technology and free trade.
Total 25 marks
The Attitude to Labour in the Post Emancipation Period
You are the Governor of Barbados after 1845. Write a letter to the Colonial Office describing
the attitudes to labour by land owners/employers and free persons in Barbados in the
immediate post-emancipation period.
Total 25 marks
Year: 2016
Effects and Contributions of Indian Immigration Labour
The year is 1876. You are a planter who has inherited a plantation which engaged in the
large-scale importation of Indian labour after 1838. Write an article for your local newspaper
explaining TWO ways in which Indian immigrant labour affected the fortunes of the
Caribbean sugar industry between1838 and 1876, and THREE contributions of the Indian
immigrant to Caribbean culture.
Total 25 marks
Crown Colony: The Improvement of Education and Health
You are a former governor who has returned to England and are discussing recent changes in
the British Caribbean with a long-time friend. In your conversation, explain TWO reasons
why crown colony government replaced representative government in some British
Caribbean territories in the second half of the 1800s, and THREE measures taken under
crown colony government to improve education OR public health during this period.
Total 25 marks
Year: 2017
Reasons for the Importation of Indian Immigrants
The year is I 897. You are a Member of Parliament and a die-hard advocate of imported
contract labour in the British Caribbean, giving a speech on this topic to the House of
Commons. In your speech, analyse FIVE reasons for your continued support of the
importation of Indian indentured workers.
Total 25 marks
Replacing the Old Representative System
You are the Colonial Secretary for the British Caribbean territories in 1866. Write a letter to
the British Caribbean Govemors examining FIVE reasons which justify Britain's replacement
of the Old Representative System of Government with the Crown Colony System.
Total 25 marks
Year: 2018
Controlling Labour- Question 9
Social and Economic contributions of Peasantry- Question 10
Year: 2019
Threats facing the Sugar Industry- Question 9
Impacts of Chinese and Madeiran Immigrants- Question 10
Year:2020
No Paper 2 was given
Year: 2021
Chinese indentureship-Question 9
Contributions of Peasants in the BWI-Question 10