First Indian arrived in Trinidad in 1595, new book says

A new book by historian Tony Martin, Emeritus Professor of Africana Studies at Wellesley College in the Unite States, says East Indian Immigration to the Caribbean began in 1595.

However it was not organised or planned as was the case with the formal movement of Indians to the region that began in the 19th century with the full cooperation of the British Government and the colonial governments in the West Indies.

According to the book, "Caribbean History: From Pre-colonial Origins to the Present," Martin makes the point that the first Indian immigrant to the Caribbean arrived in Trinidad on February 17, 1595. 

That's 243 years before Indian immigration to the Caribbean began with Indians arriving as indentured labourers to work in plantations Guyana in 1838 and to Trinidad in 1845. 

These are the earliest dates traditionally acknowledged and celebrated in “Indian Arrival Day” and similar observances in the region. 

Martin presents an account of Trinidad’s first Indian immigrant as one of two apparently enslaved Indians who arrived on an English pirate ship engaged in exploring the “Wild Coast” of South America (Guyana) in search of El Dorado, the legendary empire of gold.

The book states that the Indians had been captured during a round-the-world voyage between 1584 and 1586 by English adventurer, Thomas Cavendish. 

The English fortune-seekers made Trinidad their base for a few months as they explored Guyana. It was in Trinidad that the region’s first Indian jumped ship and made a dash for freedom. 

Martin's account makes no further mention of the fate of the lone Inidan and suggests that he may have joined the indigenous Caribs and Arawaks, or perhaps even made contact with the Spaniards, who had recently occupied Trinidad. The only certain thing is that he escaped to Trinidad and his English enslavers left without him, the book says.

Caribbean History: From Pre-colonial Origins to the Present is published by Pearson.