The book examines the post-emancipation rise of Saint Lucia’s peasantry, documenting their central contributions to agriculture, land ownership, and economic diversification between 1897 and 1945.
As part of Saint Lucia’s 47th Independence celebrations, historian Louise Mathurin-Serieux officially launched her new book, On the Shoulders of Peasants, highlighting the critical role of the island’s peasantry in shaping national development.
The book examines the post-emancipation rise of Saint Lucia’s peasantry, documenting their central contributions to agriculture, land ownership, and economic diversification between 1897 and 1945. Mathurin-Serieux’s research combines archival study in Saint Lucia, Trinidad, and London with extensive oral histories across the island, capturing grassroots experiences often absent from official records.
“This work honors all our ancestors who not only survived but thrived, building the foundation of the Saint Lucia we know today,” said Mathurin-Serieux. She emphasized that peasants were not passive actors, but innovators and advocates, forming cooperative systems, petitioning for grants, improving marketing facilities, and advancing small-scale agriculture.
The publication traces transitions from the sugar economy to cocoa, limes, coconuts, and bananas, showing how peasant labor sustained the nation and extended the life of industries. Mathurin-Serieux noted the dual significance of the title: peasants “helped build the economy, and bore the bulk of the consequences when industries collapsed,” highlighting both achievement and sacrifice.
Director of proceedings, Rhyesa Joseph, stressed that the book underscores the link between meaningful independence and recognizing the labor of those who fed and sustained the nation.
On the Shoulders of Peasants is now available locally and has been donated to key institutions, including libraries and archives, serving as a lasting resource that centers ordinary men and women in Saint Lucia’s national history.
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