Nestled in Belmont are vestiges of the historic Rada compound-a 19th Century community of free Africans reputed for resistance and cultural retention. Starting August 5, this compound and other significant historic sites will be included in Belmont Heritage Tours hosted by the nongovernmental organisation Freetown Foundation.
Freetown Foundation president Elton Scantlebury said even though the tours celebrate Belmont as the first emancipated village in Trinidad, they have not been organised in commemoration of Emancipation celebrations or the 50th anniversary of Independence. He said the purpose is to encourage sustainable change in the Belmont community.
"The tours are important because its history and its something you can taste and something you can feel which may not be written in the history books. "We are defining our past according to our standards so that we can take all its elements and analyse them for our young people to benefit."
According to Scantlebury learning the history of Belmont could be "empowering" for both young and old, and those living inside and outside of Belmont. He said Belmont was referred to as Freetown because this was the area many formerly enslaved people chose to settle after Emancipation. He also noted that this was the area where many people rescued from slave ships after 1807 were granted land.
Historian Gerard Besson writes that the Rada compound was founded by Jean Antoine or Papa Nannee and consisted of people freed from Portuguese slave ships originally from Dahomey or Benin in West Africa. "The compound created by him in Belmont Valley Road consisted of a chapel, called a vodunkwe, a covered area for dancing and several shrines, one of which was dedicated to Papa Legba and another to Ogun, both deities of the Dahomean people ... Newspapers of the day, such as the Chronicle, described the Rada people as industrious men and women who saved their money and ran a private bank to provide funds for those in need," writes Besson on his website, Caribbean History Archives.
Cultural and political icons as well as architectural heritage and social institutions such as the St Jude's Home for Girls and St Francois RC Church will be the main focuses of the tours. Referring to Belmont as the "hub of steelband" and the "birthplace of Carnival culture," Scantlebury said he considers the tours groundwork towards the organisation's ultimate goal of establishing a Belmont community museum and research centre-the acquisition of which he believes vital to broadening understanding of history.
"There's a disconnect between generations. Parents and grandparents tend to only talk about those who achieved according to societal standards, but the even the so called 'badjohn' was also a protector of the community. "There were other areas where he contributed and we should appreciate that," he said.
Independent heritage and natural resource management consultant, Jalaludin Khan, who will guide the tours in conjunction with Scantlebury, said a museum dedicated to the African heritage of T&T was long overdue. "There is no museum dedicated to the significant contribution of our African ancestors and we as a society need to learn about the freedom and history of all our peoples," said Khan.
In preparation for the museum, the organisation is currently working on a United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) Memory of the World project through which they conduct interviews with elders in the community and collect artifacts such as photos from residents. Former president the late Sir Ellis Clarke is also included in the memory project according to Scantlebury, who said Clarke, a Belmont native, was one of the first patrons of the organisation.
• For more information or to schedule a tour: Elton Scantlebury, 359-2147 or 778-9898 or freetownfoundation@hotmail.com