I don’t think there is anything wrong if a person would like to use Assad Shoman’s Thirteen Chapters for reference. I don’t think there is anything wrong if a person would like to use X Communication – Selected Writings by Evan X Hyde for reference.
Let us learn something what Assad Shoman has to say about X Communication and its author. “This collection is an important contribution to Belize’s Social History, and is an invaluable tool for the young people of Belize to hear an important voice speak to a part of our recent history which has still to be processed and understood. You will not – cannot – agree with everything Evan writes. But this is not about getting anyone to agree with Evan X, but rather an attempt to make available to Belizeans an important voice that forces us to think about our prejudices and assumptions and to confront the hypocrisies prevalent in our society. Read without prejudice; you will no doubt enjoy it, and you may learn a lot about Belize and about yourself.”
Now, let us learn what Glenn Tillett in Amandala has to say about Assad Shoman’s Thirteen Chapters: “This book is a classic because it passes all the tests of great books, the most important being that it is a living, breathing piece of the history it espouses… Assad Shoman authoritatively explodes several cherished myths about Belize’s history… It will provoke the kind of soul searching debate necessary when a nation seeks to define its identity.”
On Sunday, April 13, 2008, an article was published in the Amandala entitled “Diminish one, diminish all” written by Neil Garbutt. Let me quote one of his paragraphs which says the following: “There is a lesson to be learned from the well-known term ‘The Middle Passage.’ It simply means that there was a beginning, middle, and a conclusion to our voyage. Without in any way minimizing the horrors of the transatlantic Slave Trade (The beginning and the middle), the story of the conclusion, our ancestors’ arrival, and what they did to survive here in Belize, at least the recent three hundred plus years ought to be the primary focus for our Creole youth. It begins there.”
Mr. Neil Garbutt’s proposing thoughts were not only “diminish”: it went into the forgetting box of so many good ideas. I was expecting someone without biased ideas to give it a follow up. But once more I was disappointed. Anyway, let me give it a start up. Mr. Assad Shoman’s Thirteen Chapters says that the Battle of St, George’s Caye on the 10th of September 1798 is a “myth.” Mr. Evan X Hyde in his book X Communication says that it was a “turkey fight.”
On Sunday, October 5, 2008, in an article written by your humble servant, entitled “National Unity” I called it “an indecisive skirmish.” I also called it “a comedy than a battle.” In the book, Colonialism and Resistance in Belize, written by O.Nigel Bolland, he said that, “the evidence has hardly been examined,” and he called them “colonial apologists.” In the book, A History of Belize, written by Narda Dobson, on page 78 says the following: “The Battle of St. George’s Caye has acquired an unjustified predominance in the history of the country.” Not to mention the brutal harsh treatment against the slaves three years before the “shoulder to shoulder” event, it only puts me to think that probably they were masochists in the eyes of the “colonial apologists.” This is a very serious issue that needs to be looked into with one objective – National Unity.
On Sunday, November 2, 2008, an essay was published in the Amandala under the caption, “Confessions to my Maya Brother,” written by Charles X, where he said that, “Nothing can change our Independence Day: That clock cannot be turned back.” And he continued saying, “But the cultural destruction of our African ancestors through slavery was so complete, that our present religious practices are totally reflected and controlled by the culture of our former slavemasters.” Assad Shoman stated: “Until we can celebrate slave revolts rather than slave faithfulness to masters, what hope is there for resistance?” Page 261.
The British know very well that their history as an official settlement in this place we call Belize did not start in 1638. After so many wars between France, England and Spain, a Treaty was signed in Paris on the 10th February, 1763 where Article 17 states that, Britain would dismantle their fortifications in Honduras, and Spain gave permission to cut, load and transport logwood without obstacles and the limits for the British settlement would be marked from the Wallis and New River.
There are records of two slave revolts, from as early as 1765 and 1768. Now, where can we start “The beginning and conclusion of the Middle Passage?”
30th January 2009
Finca Solana
Corozal Town