Essay - Trinidad Carnival John S.) Trinidad Carnival: the Greatest Show on...

Trinidad Carnival

John S.)

Trinidad Carnival:

The Greatest *****how on Earth

***** Trinidad and Tobago Carnival, celebrated the week before Ashe Wednesday every year, is among the largest ***** most popular in the world. According to the Trinidad and Tobago official website, this annual event is unrivaled in the *****. "There is no experience on earth to compare with ***** *****, the oldest and greatest of *****m all, the mother ***** all Carnivals, often imitated, never equaled" (Trinidad & Tobago Official Website). It would be hard to argue with that. Out of a population ***** a little over one million, ***** 100,000 participants dress up in masquerades, "s*****ging, dancing, and miming" thus keeping the tradition going strong through to ***** present day (Hill 3). Rich in h*****tory ***** a reflection of its history, the Carnival continues to evolve to the present day with such additions as Peter Minsh*****'s dancing mobiles. A symbol of freedom, and a celebration of ***** from slavery, ***** ***** and ***** Carnivals are significant to island as a celebr*****tion of freedom ***** is deeply rooted in the culture ***** the nation, however Carnival is not merely a celebration but also an outlet for commentary on ***** important issues affect*****g Trinidad.

Trinidad's history has had a great influence on its Carnival, as the influence of history through ***** *****s has continuously shaped the *****. Trinidad was discovered by Columbus in 1498 and ruled by Spain for 300 years as an extremely "underdeveloped" possession (Cowley 9). In the late 18th century, Charles III decided to "rejuvenate" the colonies and invited Catholics to settle the colony resulting in French planters bringing slaves ***** work on new estates (Cowley *****). This policy, enacted in 1783, helped to increase ***** small ***** of the **********, yet the island remained sparsely populated, but this did help to entrench a French ***** in Tr*****idad (Cowley 1985). The ***** held "elaborate masked balls" and despite ***** British takeover in 1797, the French culture ***** dominant (Gilkes 2003). This ***** culture was the result ***** ***** slaves being born in French isl*****s and having a combination of an African, *****, ***** Caribbean amalgam ***** ***** was not diluted with the arrival of new slaves ***** Africa (Cowley 10). ********** developments beginning in 1783 marked "a development of ***** consequence in the history of ***** isl*****nd and to the institution of carnival" as the his*****rical development set the stage for ***** creation of Carnival in Trinidad (Hill 7).

As Trinidad began to develop as a multicultural island, the social conditions behind ***** population growth ***** influence the origins of Carnival. As tight regulations kept social and racial cl*****ses separate, those of African descent would create a parallel society that reflected the culture of the white elite class (Cowley 11). Africans ***** use *****s ***** express discontent with social divisions, an example being ***** Sh*****d Estate Revolt of Christmas 1805 as festivals during holidays would be an opportunity for cultural ********** political expression. The ***** significant event,