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MODULE 1
AM Session

What is the theory of plate tectonics?

The Earth’s outer layer is called the crust, and it’s made up of big pieces of rock called
tectonic plates. These plates float on the semi-molten layer of the mantle and are slowly
moved by convection currents

. As they move, the plates interact in different ways:

 Convergent boundaries – where plates collide with each other

 Divergent boundaries – where plates pull apart
 Transform boundaries – where plates slide past each other

These movements are responsible for many geological activities such as earthquakes,
volcanic eruptions, and the formation of mountains.

Movement of the Caribbean Plate: tectonic shoving match

The Caribbean Plate is a small tectonic

plate and it is moving eastwards

 Being impacted by the North

(Westwards) and South American
(Northwest) Plate

 Cocos and Nazca Plate moving East

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Common Natural Hazards/Disasters Impact the Region

Caused by Plate Movements
Earthquakes ▪ 1692 - Jamaica – destroyed 90% of the town of Port Royal

▪ 2010- Haiti – 7.0 – 310,000

▪ 2020 - Puerto Rico

Volcanoes ▪ 2021 – La Soufriere- St. Vincent - active

▪ 1950s.- 1990s – Soufriere Hills – Monserrat

▪ Kick 'em Jenny underwater near Grenada - active

There are about 19 active volcanoes in the Eastern Caribbean

Weather Phenomena
Hurricanes Violent, tropical storm with wind speeds that ▪ Irma – 2017… Dominica, Puerto
exceeds 74 miles per hour Rico
or 118 km/hr and accompanied by heavy rainfall ▪ Maria – 2017….. Puerto Rico
▪ Harvey – 2017…..Puerto Rico
Hurricane season - June 1st – November 30th
▪ Dorian – 2019… Abaco
Islands and Grand Bahama
Floods A flood is an overflow of a huge amount of
water on normally dry land.  Use the same examples
Natural causes Man-Made causes
▪ Heavy/Prolonged ▪ Building homes on
or Continuous the river bank or on
rainfall flood plains.
▪ Constructing new
▪ Topography or
housing settlements
slope of the land without improving
▪ Strong winds in the existing drainage
coastal areas system,
▪ Relief ▪ Deforestation
▪ High tides ▪ Poor land use
▪ Some countries are practices
▪ Urbanization
below sea level ▪ Improper waste
…Guyana disposal
▪ Quarrying
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Droughts Drought is a prolonged period of unusually ▪ 2019-2020- Barbados

low rainfall, leading to severe water shortages ▪ 2014, 2020 – Jamaica
▪ 2010, 2020, 2023 – TnT
Causes: Deforestation, El Niño effect, climate
▪ Severe water shortages, crop
change damage, water rationing

Effects of natural disasters: earthquakes, volcanic eruptions,

hurricane, floods, droughts

Social Impact Economic Impact

▪ Loss of lives ▪ Agriculture, tourism and manufacturing sector may be
▪ Social displacement devastated
▪ Threat of diseases ▪ infrastructure damage
▪ Emotional trauma ▪ job loss
▪ Social unrest ▪ loss of potential earners of foreign exchange
▪ Rise in criminality – looting ▪ Financial instability
▪ Increased in food prices
▪ Increased importation of food
Volcanoes:
Positive Impact :
 Fertile soils
 tourist attractions
 text for artists
 potential geothermal energy source

Past Paper Questions

2003 – 1. Describe how physical landscape has influenced settlement patterns in the Caribbean.
(20 marks).
2011 – 2. Explain THREE ways in which the physical landscape has influenced settlement patterns in the
Caribbean. (20 marks)
2015 – 1.
Examine FOUR ways in which settlement patterns in the Caribbean have been influenced by the
physical landscape (20 marks)
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• Coastal Settlements:

• Majority settled along coastlines due to fertile, flat land ideal for agriculture (e.g.,
sugarcane, tobacco)
• Historical establishment of ports by Europeans for trade (e.g., Kingston, Bridgetown,
Port of Spain)
• Modern tourism development reinforces coastal settlement patterns

• Indigenous Settlement Patterns:

• Settlements located near resources (freshwater, fertile soil, abundant game)

• Strategic coastal positioning provided fish/marine resources and facilitated trade by
canoe
• River proximity supported irrigation for crops (cassava, maize, sweet potato).
• Historical indigenous sites evolved into contemporary fishing communities and
agricultural regions

• Mountainous and Forested Areas (Maroon Settlements):

• Historically strategic for protection and camouflage from European oppression

• Maroons (escaped enslaved Africans) established isolated communities (e.g.,
Accompong, Moore Town in Jamaica)
• Modern Maroon descendants maintain traditional culture, governance, and subsistence
farming (e.g., Suriname, French Guiana)

• Unsuitable Areas for Settlement (Hazard-Prone Regions):

• Avoidance of volcanic areas (e.g., Montserrat, Soufrière Hills eruption)

• Soil erosion-affected regions (e.g., parts of Haiti) undesirable due to agricultural
challenges
• Flood-prone riverbanks avoided, particularly in hurricane and heavy rainfall areas.

• Agricultural Transformation (Guyana):

• Indentured Indian laborers transformed swamps into productive farmland, establishing

rice farming industry
• Over 90% population along fertile coastal belt supports extensive rice cultivation

• Availability of Physical Resources:

• High population density near resource-rich areas due to industry employment (e.g.,
bauxite mining in Mandeville, Jamaica; petroleum refining in Point-a-Pierre, Trinidad)
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• Infrastructure Availability:

• Flat lands ideal for road construction and infrastructure development (water, electricity,
schools, hospitals, police stations).
• Settlements concentrated in areas providing ease, comfort, and accessibility to
employment.

• Fertility of Land and Agriculture:

• Fertile land significantly influences settlements, supporting agricultural livelihoods.

• Western Trinidad, fertile and cultivable, contrasts with less fertile eastern areas.
• Swampy, densely forested, or wind-exposed regions discourage settlement.

Cape 2004
6. Assess the measures that Caribbean countries can realistically undertake to minimize
the dangers posed by earthquakes.

Earthquake-resistant Buildings

• Benefits: Protects lives/property, proven effective

• Limitations: High cost, limited government funding

2. Strict Building Codes Enforcement

• Benefits: Reduces deaths/damage (Chile vs. Haiti)

• Limitations: Difficult enforcement, higher costs

3. Upgraded Monitoring Technology

• Benefits: Better earthquake prediction, timely evacuation

• Limitations: Costly, predictions not fully reliable

4. Selective Land Use (Planning)

• Benefits: Avoids risky areas, lowers damage and casualties

• Limitations: Difficult relocation, limited land available

5. Improved Evacuation Routes and Drills

• Benefits: Efficient evacuations, reduces panic

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• Limitations: Requires ongoing funding, regular practice

6. Educational Awareness Programmes

• Benefits: Increases public readiness, low-cost method

• Limitations: Requires consistent participation, slow behavior change

2010 - 6. “Flooding is caused by a combination of natural or man-made factors.”

Discuss the extent to which flooding is a MAJOR environmental hazard in the

Caribbean.

Environmental Hazard - A substance, state or event which has the potential to threaten
the surrounding natural environment
Nature of Flooding:

• Flooding: natural event occurring when rainfall exceeds land absorption and drainage
capacity
• Increasing frequency of flooding noted in Caribbean

Impact in the Caribbean:

• Most frequent natural disaster

• Major threat during rainy/hurricane season (June-November)
• Historically severe in Haiti, Dominican Republic, Barbados, Jamaica, Antigua and
Barbuda, Belize, etc.
• Triggers government-led relocations (e.g., New Market, St. Elizabeth, Jamaica)

Causes of Flooding:

Natural Factors:

• Topography (land slope, flatness)

• Soil type and geomorphology (river deposits)
• Areas below sea-level (Guyana’s sea walls, canals)

Man-Made Factors:

• Illegal hillside farming (erosion risk)

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• Poor farming practices, deforestation

• Illegal garbage disposal in waterways
• Squatting along riverbanks and gullies
• Illegal construction in flood plains
• Poor drainage infrastructure

Other Environmental Hazards in Caribbean:

• Hurricanes
• Volcanoes
• Earthquakes
• Pollution (oil, industrial, waste)
• Nuclear (improper storage/disposal)

Soil Erosion :
Soil erosion Causes Effects Conservation Measures
The removal Any deforestation activity …. ▪ Flooding ▪ Educational awareness
of the top ▪ Urban development ▪ Poor soil ▪ Legislation
soil by the
▪ Quarrying and mining quality ▪ Reforestation
elements of
weathering – ▪ Overgrazing ▪ Desertification ▪ Afforestation
rain, wind ▪ Excessive logging activities ▪ Landslides ▪ Controlled logging
▪ Poor farming practices…e.g. ▪ Proper farming practices
Slash And Burn  Terracing
 Crop rotation
 Contour ploughing
 Planting shelter belts,

2014 - 2. Using examples, describe FOUR measures that can be taken to minimize the impact of
soil erosion in the Caribbean
 Reforestation/Afforestation
 Farming practices
 Legislation
 Educational awareness
 Controlled logging
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2017- 5. Individuals, more than government, have a responsibility to mitigate the effects of
natural disasters. Discuss the extent to which it is the responsibility of individuals rather than
government to mitigate the effects of natural disasters. (30 marks)

Both are equally responsible for mitigating the effects of natural disasters

Government Individuals
 Risk assessment - Hazard mapping – (maps  Disaster preparedness supplies
reflect spatial distribution, of risk,  Insurance – home, health
magnitude and frequency of a variety of  Adhere to building standards and codes
hazard)  Proper farming/ agricultural practices
 Vulnerability assessment – detailed  Stop littering
inventories of buildings and infrastructure  Conservation practices
 Establishment of disaster agencies
 Use of modern engineering and building
design
 Establish and use scientific warning
systems
 Land use planning
 Secure evacuation shelters
 Education and awareness
 Create and enforce legislation
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Coral Reefs

Corals reefs: Corals are tiny marine animals that typically live in colonies, each of which
is called a coral polyp, they secrete a hard calcium carbonate, which builds
up coral reefs over time
Why are coral reefs so What are some of the How can coral reefs What can be done to
important? threats to coral reefs? sustain the fishing save the coral reefs?
industry?
▪ Habitat ▪ Destructive fishing ▪ Reefs encourage a wide ▪ MPA
▪ Shoreline protection, practices variety of marine life ▪ Legislation
medicine ▪ Sedimentation, and a rich diversity of ▪ environmental awareness,
▪ CO2 control ▪ Pollution fish life ▪ create alternative
▪ Tourism, ▪ Coastal development ▪ It serves a spawning livelihoods
▪ Environmental ▪ Tourism ground for fishes
awareness… ▪ Climate change ▪ It is highly productive
▪ Fishing industry in fish food such as
▪ Employment plankton
▪ Tourism ▪ Fishermen use the reefs
▪ Critical food source to shelter their boats as
the water tends to be
calm
▪ Reefs from the basis for
the livelihood of many
coastal fishing villages

Cape 2005
1. Describe the value of coral reefs to Caribbean society and culture.

Economic Value:

 Fishing Industry:
 Coral reefs support livelihoods in coastal communities
 Provide habitats and breeding grounds for diverse marine species
 Belize Barrier Reef: home to 10 coral species and over 430 fish species

 Tourism:
 Attracts tourists for snorkeling, sightseeing, glass-bottom boat tours (e.g., Buccoo
Reef, Tobago; Coral Gardens, Dominica)
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 Major foreign exchange earner for tourism-dependent countries (Barbados, Bahamas,

Jamaica, Bermuda)

Environmental Value:

▪ Natural barriers protecting coastlines from storms and wave erosion

▪ Reefs reduce wave energy, preventing coastal erosion and property damage
▪ Create calm lagoons, promoting growth of mangroves and seagrass
▪ Protect coastal villages, lowlands, hotels; provide safe harbor for fishing boats

Social and Cultural Value:

▪ Sustain traditional fishing villages and cultural practices (e.g., “pulling seine”)
▪ Fringing reefs critical for fish spawning and commercial fisheries
▪ Increased environmental awareness and legislation for reef protection
▪ Coral sands form scenic Caribbean beaches, enhancing tourism and aesthetics

Medicinal Value:

Corals contain medicinal properties for:

▪ Anti-cancer drugs
▪ Antibiotics
▪ Bone implant models

2021-1. Coral reefs across the Caribbean are in danger of extinction. Examine FOUR ways in which
citizens and/or private sector can help to protect coral reefs. (20 marks)

Citizens

 Good Farming practices and agricultural land use

 Responsible Recreational activities
 Sustainable fishing practices

Private Sector

 Proper waste disposal ; Sewage run-off hotels

 Greater holding; marine based pollution - Cruise ships
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 Sustainable Coastal development practices

Follow-up Questions:
Explain why the Caribbean is described as being at risk from droughts and suggest some ways
drought problems can be mitigated
▪ Human activities that can help trigger droughts –
▪ Deforestation
▪ Soil erosion
▪ Changing weather patterns e.g.- Global warming
▪ El Niño Effect
MITIGATING
▪ Educational awareness on water conservation practices that result in changes in wasteful
habits- washing vehicles with buckets instead of hoes, not watering lawns in times of
drought, change irrigation practices, fix leaky faucet
▪ Legislation: with regards to water usage
▪ Building more water storage facilities – dams and reservoirs
▪ Soil conservation – terracing, crop rotation, windbreaks
▪ Desalination of seawater
▪ Rainwater harvesting
▪ Cloud seeding

Examine coral reefs and their role in coastal protection and sustainability of the fishing
Industry.
Coastal protection Fishing industry
▪ Reefs break the speed of waves ▪ Wide variety of fish
▪ Give rise to seagrass and mangrove ▪ spawning ground
swamps ▪ plankton
▪ calm waters
▪ can support a fishing livelihood
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The Caribbean is unprepared to cope with natural disasters such as volcanic eruptions and
earthquakes. ` Evaluate this statement.

▪ Unprepared: -The Caribbean has a history of disaster management agencies that focused largely
on relief process rather than on proactive strategies. Countries do not have a natural disaster fund,
tend to be reactive rather than pro-activate as it is not consistent with its disaster preparedness
programmes. Inadequate rules and regulations in most Caribbean states there is a lack of
appropriate environmental laws. Regulation and building plans and codes are not enforced.

▪ Prepared: – disaster agency e.g. in Trinidad ODPM, educational awareness programmes,

legislation such as coastline protection, pollution laws and building codes, designated shelters and
evacuation route. In keeping with the need to develop proactive measures in the Caribbean, there
has been the establishment of agencies such as CDERA and CARDIN. CARDIN was established
in June 1999 to provide linkages with Caribbean disaster organizations. CDERA was established
in 1991 and it is a regional intergovernmental agency that is responsible for disaster management.
World Bank developed the Disaster Mitigation Facility for the Caribbean, at the Caribbean
Development Bank, known as the Disaster Mitigation Fund for the Caribbean (DMFC).

Outline FOUR measures that can reduce the impact of hurricane damage in the Caribbean

 Conduct risk assessments and develop hazard maps. These maps help to determine areas
where people should evacuate and where protective measures must be taken.
 Identify locations at risk of flooding and how to reduce the impact of this flooding.
 Reinforce or repair building structures
 Prepare and practice community evacuation plans, shelters.
 Educational awareness programmes
 Early warning system in place understood by your communities. Early warnings can be
delivered via radio, television, mobile phones, or even door-to-door notice
 Have disaster preparedness supplies – canned food, water supplies, candles, battery operated
radio, torchlight, first-aid kit
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What is a social institution?

Social institutions are intangible, they represent the dominant ideas, values and beliefs of
a society which direct the lives, interactions and thoughts of the people.

They determine and guide behavior by signaling what is accepted and what is not

Types of Social Institutions

Family:

Europeans: Africans : East Indians :

▪ Nuclear family seen as ‘ideal’ ▪ Families were unstable on ▪ Extended / Joint family

▪ Male as breadwinner; female plantations (members could ▪ Structure ; Patriarchal

as homemaker be sold or moved) unit ( rule of the father)

▪ Caribbean family forms ▪ Matrifocal families (mother-

viewed negatively as led) common
dysfunctional or inferior ▪ Common-law and visiting
unions typical
▪ Child-shifting common
▪ Strong kinship networks

Impact of the Family

2012 – 1. Examine THREE ways in which the family, as a social institution, impacts on society and
culture in the Caribbean. (20 marks)
Positive Negative
▪ key functions: socialization, procreation, economic  Perpetuate cycles of domestic
and emotional violence

▪ nuclear family is still seen as the ideal family  Lack of parental

involvement can have
▪ Influence family patterns: African families long-lasting negative effects on a
traditionally tend to be matrifocal while East Indian child
families have a patriarchal
 Reinforcement of gender
stereotypes
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▪ General acceptance of interracial and same sex

couples

▪ The traditional ideas of procreation and how

families are formed are changing to include that of
“In vitro” families, surrogate mother, adoptions

▪ those born out of wedlock the same privileges as

those born within marriage

▪ spouses of Common-law unions have rights similar

to those who are legally married.

Education

2010-1. Describe THREE ways in which education facilitated the colonial agenda in the Caribbean.
(20 marks)

2013. 6. Assess the ways in which colonial education impacted the formation of Caribbean society and culture.
(30 marks)

Under Slavery (Before 1838)

 Formal education was primarily for children of Europeans

 Education for enslaved people was limited mostly to religious instruction

Post-Emancipation (After 1838)

Colonial Agenda of Education:

 Promoted British culture and values rather than social mobility for locals
 Used as a tool to control behavior and encourage loyalty to British rule
 Missionaries provided basic education to ex-slaves using the Bible as the main textbook
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Impact of Colonial Education:

▪ Curriculum emphasized British history, geography, literature, values, and customs

▪ Bible teachings promoted obedience, discipline, and respect for authority
▪ Secondary education was limited, expensive, and inaccessible to most Africans and
Asians
▪ Non-European cultures and histories were largely ignored
▪ Poorly funded primary schools were overcrowded, with irregular attendance resulting
in semi-literate graduates
▪ Education mainly produced workers for plantations and service industries
▪ Favored education of boys and men over girls and women

Benefits of Colonial Education:

▪ Established the foundation for modern Caribbean education systems.

▪ Scholarships allowed some middle-class boys to attend secondary schools and British
universities.
▪ Educated men returned as professionals (doctors, lawyers, engineers), forming the early
Caribbean intelligentsia.

2005 – 2. Describe how education as a social institution impacts on Caribbean society and culture.
(20 marks)

(Cape says in answering this question you have to consider education

historically through the stages…….
 primary
 secondary
 tertiary
Our historical legacy, but today it continues to fail the poorest members of the society During
slavery education was largely denied to the Africans. After emancipation education was also denied
to the Asians. Some access was given to a primary education for both Africans and Asians but still
limited.
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Colonial Education

 Colonial Education had an imperil agenda: students were taught about the life of the British
Empire and the curriculum reflected such: English Literature, English, British History and
Geography

 Secondary education – an avenue for upward social mobility was also largely denied to both
Africans and Asians. There were few secondary schools and fees were charged

 Educational qualifications were needed to access white collar jobs, that meant that the majority
of the people in the Caribbean could only aspire to poorly paid manual jobs. Education
became an agent of social stratification. This stratification was aligned along race and class as
the wealthier classes were able to afford investment in extra lessons and resources to help their
children to achieve academic credentials, even if they do not achieve family networks and
influence procure them a well-paying job.

 Religion especially the Christian religion was used by colonial state to exclude persons in the
colonial society. For example, to have access to a job some persons had to be members of the
Anglican or Roman Catholic church.

Contemporary Caribbean Society

Primary and Secondary Education

 Today with universal primary education and increase in provisions at secondary level, social
mobility is evident, but social stratification is again evident in that many students leave
secondary school with little or no qualifications

 With CXC a Caribbean perspective was bought about to Caribbean education with the emphasis
on exploring key topics directly related to the Caribbean experience such as Caribbean History,
Geography and now Cape Caribbean Studies. This form of education works to instill a
Caribbean Identity.
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Tertiary Education

 UWI provides a tertiary education and plays an active role in encouraging regional unity

 Education plays an important role in social stratification as well as an avenue for social
mobility. There is a high regard for education and a tremendous social demand for it.
Governments spend a high percentage of their budgets on it. It has helped to make certain inroads
in disrupting the rigidly stratified society which was

Religion

▪ Christianity dominant religion : Spanish French, British, Dutch

▪ Indentured labourers: Hinduism and Islam
▪ African –Syncretic religions : Voodoo, Kumina, Shango, Pocamania

Impact
▪ used as a means of retaining ancestral links especially in plural societies
▪ help groups maintain solidarity and keep their traditions alive
▪ led to an expansion in education.
▪ acts as a source of comfort and empowerment in the face of adversity
▪ provides the framework that serves as a code of behaviour
▪ religious festivals are government sanctioned public holidays.
▪ influence family patterns by encouraging legal formal marriages
▪ major factor in the establishment of the Justice system
▪ religious is sometimes is oppressive to women
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2007 – 6. Assess the extent to which religion continues to dominate the life of Caribbean people.
(30 marks)

 The history of the Caribbean originally meant that Judeo Christianity was to initially dominate the
colonized region. Judeo Christianity e.g. Roman Catholicism and Protestantism, was important in the
creation of the laws of the region and the establishment of many social institutions and conventions.
 Indigenous and imported African religions were very important and were often used in resistance
strategies, for example, Voodoo for West African enslaved resistance (Haiti).
 Indigenous religious practices and those not of the planter class were suppressed due to colonialism and
so became less significant in the lives of Caribbean people.
 With indentureship and the loosening of imperial control, other established world religions were
introduced into the Caribbean and became part of the Caribbean experience e.g. Hinduism, Islam,
Judaism.
 Religion has always played an integrating and comforting role to a people whose history lies in
oppression.
 Religion have been adapted and syncretized – made over to accommodate the need for expressive
communication with a higher being. The number of people who believe in god is still extremely high,
most people belong to a religion and while membership in some mainstream established churches has
declined, fundamentalist religions (a person who takes their religion so literally) has seen an increase in
members
 Religion still dominates when it comes to certain events – marriages, birth of a child or when someone
dies
 Religious festivals which are often public holidays keep much of the religious traditions alive
 The local development of religious observances in the Caribbean e.g. Rastafarianism. This religion sees
itself specific to peoples of African descent and with Africa as the ancestral homeland of the chosen
people.
 Develop an idea of importance of syncretised religions to Caribbean people e.g. Myalism, Revivalism,
Pocomania, Kumina, Shouter Baptist etc to Caribbean people.
 Many people still go to church or worship on Sundays. However, with the increasing secularization of
social life, Sundays see groceries, malls and other establishments open, which often takes precedence
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 Regular church and religious goers are often the elderly and females and to a lesser extent the youths
who are often not socialized into going to church because their parents fail to pass on the value to them
 In a fast-paced world both parents who work and children who have heavy workloads especially they are
engaged in taking extra lessons use Sundays as a day to rest
 School prayer is a contentious issue especially in multi-religious societies giving rise to ecumenism
(unity of churches)
 Western views frown upon ancestral worship and traditional African-Caribbean spiritual practices, such
as obeah and pocomania causing some young people in Caribbean territories to scoff and turn away
from this heritage

Justice System
STRUCTURE OF THE JUSTICE SYSTEM

PRIVY COUNCIL / CCJ

2006 – 1. Examine at least FOUR challenges being faced by the justice system in Caribbean society and
culture today. (20 marks)
2009 – 2. Examine THREE ways in which the justice system, as a social institution, impacts on society
and culture. (20 marks)
Discuss the view that the justice system in spite of its challenges serves a useful purpose for
Caribbean societies.
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Impact
Benefits Challenges
▪ It allows for the settlement of disputes ▪ Increase in violent crime against women
▪ variety of "court types" making it much ▪ Increase in narcotics, trafficking and drug related
more effective – magistrate, high, court of violence
appeal, Privy Council. ▪ The Pratt and Morgan ruling has imposed a time
▪ Judicial system acts as a deterrent frame
▪ It helps weed out of deviance through ▪ The inadequate numbers of magistrates and judges
prison system. ▪ Racial and socioeconomic bias
▪ corruption and bribery allegations

Caribbean Court of Justice - CCJ

Benefits Criticisms:
 will provide a final court of appeal  As currently structured, the court is designed for
 will have superior knowledge and sensitivity a purely Anglophone CARICOM- English
concerning Caribbean realities speaking
 Because the Privy Council is physically located  Because of the way that judges are selected,
more than 4,000 miles access to justice at the there is not enough randomness in the
Privy Council level tends to be well beyond the  There is the fear that the CCJ will be subject to
financial political interference.
 CCJ is two courts :  foreign investors will not be inclined to accept
▪ Trade court decisions
▪ Final court of appeal
 will foster legal independence and assist in the
decolonizing process within the Caribbean
 may reduce expenditure
 may permit Caribbean courts to explore ways to
secure judgements that are often controversial in
the international justice system:
 will provide job opportunities
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2006 – 5. To what extent do European cultural institutions continue to dominate Caribbean society and
culture
2011 -6. “European cultural institutions continue to impact Caribbean society and culture in the
independence period.” To what extent do you agree with this statement? (30 marks)

Both Sides:

Social Institution European Influence Caribbean Influence

Family Nuclear family… “ideal family” Extended
Single parent
Common law
Visiting Unions
Education British Examination Council CXC
O` Levels - G.C.E. O` Levels - CSEC
A` Levels – Cambridge A` Levels – Cape

Religion Christianity African – Syncretic religions

Hinduism
Islam
Justice System Privy Council CCJ
Court of Appeal
High Court
Magistrate`s Court

Describe how social stratification impacts on the justice system in the Caribbean region

▪ Lower social classes are more likely to be arrested, convicted, and incarcerated for crimes than
are more affluent individuals: Socio-economic bias; blue collar vs. white collar crimes

▪ Corruption and bribery of police and court officials

▪ The majority of inmates within the prison system are members of the lower class

▪ people from lower class are frequently given harsher sentences than those from the elite class
for the same crimes
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▪ Issue is sometimes not if you are innocent or guilty but the accessibility of a good
lawyer….expensive..

▪ If society is rigidly stratified and does not allow for mobility, then growing economic and social
inequality reinforces social stratification and prevents social mobility for disadvantaged people

Discuss the view that while the social institution of education in the Caribbean contributes to
social mobility, it has not been able to help the poor to improve their lives .
How it has NOT… How it Has…
▪ Streaming of students…children of the
wealthier classes go to the better performing ▪ Education is free, many of the poor
schools and those of the lower class go to the have used it to access tertiary
failing schools education …TnT

▪ Children of the lower class often do not have ▪ Government has a lot of welfare
the cultural capital to succeed programmes to assist the poor….free
meals, books, transportation …
▪ It can be argued that the poor often view
education and success
differently…aspirations may be confined to
low-paying jobs

Discuss the efforts made by educational reformers to indigenize education in the

Caribbean……

 CXC replaced the British examination council – set and mark exams
 Exams- GCE and Cambridge replaced by CSEC and Cape
 Syllabus more Caribbean based
 SBAs – research into local issues
 New subjects – Caribbean studies, History
 Textbooks written by Caribbean authors
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