Madeiran Migration to British Guyana: First Remarks

Abstract

In an article in honour of Harry Hoetink, author of Two Variants of Caribbean Race Relations, Sidney Mintz suggested that white/nonwhite is ‘the global underlying distinction in Caribbean societies, even when it not referred to’ (Mintz 2005, 45). For Mintz, ethnic labels such as ‘Potogee’ (Portuguese) in colonial British Guyana and ‘Jew’ in Jamaica might serve two classificatory purposes: ‘it [the label] not only says members of the group are not simply white; it also seems to imply on social grounds that they are something less than whites’ (Mintz 2005, 47).