Kidnapped and trafficked; enslaved pearl divers in the Caribbean

desmond@carib101.com

It is entirely logical that the peoples of the Caribbean and of West Africa would be better swimmers than Europeans. The Tainos and Kalinago of the Caribbean as well as the peoples of the West African coast depended on the sea for a large percentage of their sustenance.

Consequently, as people who spent a significant amount of time on the ocean, or on large rivers in dugout canoes they had to, of necessity, become adept swimmers, since those vessels are more likely to capsize than large ships.

Additionally, the Native Americans of the Riverain areas of northern South America, and the peoples of the islands of the Caribbean traditionally began teaching their children to swim as soon as they could creep efficiently. It is very likely that the peoples of West Africa followed a similar practice. On the other hand, Europeans, who used much larger vessels did not face the same risk and therefore did not feel the same need to become proficient swimmers.

Living in a part of the world where the water was always warm enough for swimming, Native Americans and West Africans had the opportunity to hone their swimming skills to a much higher level than Europeans who lived in an environment where swimming was only possible six months of the year. So, it should come as no surprise that first the Spaniards, then the English forced captured, or kidnapped: Native Americans and Africans to dive for pearls in Margar- ita (Margarita, Coche, Cubagua), Panama and The Bahamas because they recognized that the enslaved peoples’ swimming abilities were superior to their own.

The Lucayans were the first indigenous Americans encountered by Christopher Columbus. When the Spaniards arrived in the Bahamas archipelago, they quickly subjugated the peaceful Lucayan people. When pearl fisheries were discovered, and having observed that the Lucayans were very skilled at diving, the Spaniards began using them as pearl divers in a de facto slave system literally working many of them to death.

The Guaiquerí/Waikeri of the Margarita islands (Margarita, Coche, Cubagua) had initially welcomed the Spaniards as they provided valuable protection against Kalinago attacks. However, they met the same fate as their Lucayan cousins of the Bahamas when the Spaniards discovered the pearl beds there. When the pearl fisheries of the Bahamas and handed me a tissue box. “It sounds like you are very hard on yourself.”

“I am hard on myself. I take full responsibility for everything that has happened to me. I have made some really stupid mistakes, and they have cost me everything. Now here I am sitting in front of you without two nickels to rub together, a messed-up relationship, I don’t even have my own space, all because of my stupidity.”

She sat there without saying a word. I looked back down at my hands. I felt vulnerable and raw. Had I said too much to this woman? This was the point right? When I looked back up, she was still looking at me, so now I just felt uncomfortable. Finally after what seemed like forever, she spoke,

“You seem to be very hard on yourself Simone. I think that in our next session I want to start there. Let’s book you back in for two Mondays from now.” were exhausted, the Spaniards in 1508 began kidnapping and trafficking large numbers of Lucayans to Cubagua where they were enslaved and forced to dive for pearls.

Like that, my first therapy session was done. I was not sure how I felt about it.

The Spaniards ruthlessly drove the Guaiquerí divers to the extent that their health suffered and this physical exertion in combination with the newly introduced diseases led to a rapid decline in their numbers. To supplement the available labour supply on the Margarita islands, the Spaniards conducted slaving raids on Trinidad and the Venezuelan coast leading to several violent clashes with the native peoples. Bartolome de las Casas, who spent time in the pearl fisheries in the early sixteenth century decried the working conditions of the divers and explained that there was “No life as infernal or desperate” than that of the pearl divers.

How to make your own cannabis infusions at home!

To begin you will of course need some dried cannabis flowers. Cured cannabis is ideal but not completely necessary. Of note here is that not only bud can be used to make infused products. If you’ve just finished trimming your plants after harvest, what would end up as waste can be reclaimed in this process. Any tiny buds and “sugar leaf” (small leaves close to the buds covered in THC crystals) are not worth smoking but valuable for infusing. Obviously, they will not produce an end result as tasty or potent as using actual bud but are still very effective.

with approximately 60mg of THC.

destroy all the THC in your cannabis!

lars that you would end up spending in overpriced licensed dispensaries. All you’ll need is some simple materials and a reliable heat source and you’re on your way!

The amount of cannabis to use for your home infusion is up to you. Without lab testing, it’s impossible to know the exact potency of your infusion but a simple calculation can at least give you a ballpark figure. Once you have determined the THC percentage of the strain you are using (which is relatively easy to look up), you can use this info to calculate the strength of what you’re making. Every percent is equal to 1 mg of THC per 1g of dried flower. So, if you used 3g of flower that had a THC content of 20%, your infusion would end up

Your next choice is what type of medium you will be using to infuse with your cannabis. THC molecules will bond to any type of fat molecule. Butters and oils are your best option. Coconut oil has the highest fat content of all oils and is versatile enough for baking and cooking. Keeping track of how much oil or butter you’re using is necessary to derive a dosage per serving. Once you’ve figured out the size and number of servings you want, the THC is divided evenly amongst them. Please be aware that the most THC you will infuse using the simple methods will be about 6070% of the original amount, so there will be some drop off in potency.

The following step is perhaps the most critical in this process. In order to give your infusion, the affects you wish it to have, your cannabis must have its THC activated. This process is called decarboxylation or “decarb” for short. The best way to do this is by putting all the cannabis you wish to use on a flat tray in an oven at 110 degrees C (230 degrees F) for 20-30 mins. Be careful because overdoing this step can

Now that your cannabis is ready to infuse your chosen medium, you will create a small pouch using cheesecloth. Place your lightly broken up cannabis inside and tie it off tightly. If you wish to remove some of the grassy taste and colour from your cannabis before infusing, you may blanch it by placing it in boiling water for 1-2 mins and then quickly placing it into an ice bath. Most of the chlorophyll, which is the cause for this taste and colour should be leached out while retaining its THC.

Place your oil or butter into a pot with twice the amount of water and bring it to low to medium simmer. Place your cannabis pouch into the liquid and allow it simmer for 3-4 hours. Once complete, remove the pot from the heat and place it in the fridge to cool after taking out the cannabis pouch. Once cool, your medium will have hardened and separated from the water. Simply scrape any residue from the underside and your homemade Infusion is ready to use! Remember your dosages and consume responsibly!