The Heritage of Caribbean sophistication

Anthony Best

Updated October 2021

The essence of Caribbean sophistication

Caribbean lifestyle is a long love affair. The islands ooze quintessential charm and are a well-balanced social cocktail of history, indulgence, and sensuality. For eons, the famed and infamous stepped ashore the blessed and alluring archipelago and landmasses nestled in the Caribbean Sea. Interlopers descended transatlantic carriers of BOAC and Cunard, dressed in fashionable silks and cotton garb, bejeweled, and glistening with a train of attendants in tow. The Caribbean is forever a siren to the senses with its crisp, clean ocean breeze, 300-plus days of sunshine, and an inimitable sense of laissez-faire cool.

The postcard, palm-tree panorama, and the islands’ charm were the backdrop and inspiration to fourteen Ian Fleming titles of our favourite agent on Her Majesty’s Secret Service. The 2008 centenary celebration of the James Bond progenitor’s enduring success and permanency is indicative of the Caribbean’s own heritage of style, liaison, and thrill. It is no accident that in the 2021 release of Daniel Craig’s final outing at 007, No Time To Die, Bond chose to retire to tranquil life in Jamaica after handing in his license to kill.

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In the golden ages of travel and Hollywood, the names of rich and famous boomed Sinatra, Colbert, and Windsor. Today, the names of the famous and infamous modulate in tones of Knowles, Beiber, Depp, and Winfrey. The passing of time has ratified a heritage of divine and diverse Caribbean sophistication.

Caribbean lexicon

Simplistic acceptance of the Caribbean as the three regions of The Bahamas, and the Greater and Lesser Antilles would be like agreeing with naïve rural Americans or millions of Mainland Chinese and Southeast Asians, that the region is one big Jamaica. How can a 7-night discount vacation package represent a territory of over 1 million square miles, 7,000 islands, islets, and cays, 40 million people speaking some 6 official languages and more dialects than in a month of Sundays? Indeed, the anthropological complexity of the Caribbean demands its own lexicon in Richard Allsopp’s Dictionary of Caribbean English Usage. To truly appreciate the Caribbean’s self-styled brand of sophistication requires an embrace, or at least, an appreciation of its keystone: its people, #islandpeople.

The keystone of Caribbean sophistication: Island People

Hard as it may, for a moment, push into the background the vista of pristine Caribbean coastlines bathed in hues of gilded sunsets and braided with iridescent cobalt blue seas. What comes into focus, through a window that is infrequently used, is a glimpse of the Caribbean’s true treasure, Caribbean people, and #islandlife.

The collective characteristic and lifestyles of islanders form the bedrock of a Caribbean society forged from a violent past, that of European quest to conquer, colonisation and control. Explorers in search of El Dorado, touting royal warrants, disembarked from 15th-century vessels with names like La Niña, Santa María, and La Pinta. By the post-WWII era, islanders embarked on their new journeys and struggles towards self-determination, along a jagged path of ambitious independence.

Today, Caribbean sophistication is reflected in the plurality of its people, and its global diaspora. Resonating the best and most discerning qualities of minds, thoughts, aspirations, and desires, they are bounded in strength and multiplicity by DNA and sensibilities. Caribbean sophistication is rooted in the cultures and heritages of African, English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Dutch, Indian, Chinese, Garifuna, and American civilisations.

Self-styled Caribbean sophistication

The Caribbean is opulent and diverse with endless possibilities. Its people are the lustrous example of a self-styled sophistication, characterised in their responses and creativity throughout history and beyond. While other geographic regions have also had their share of violence and inhumanity, unlike other countries, Caribbean people have never forged the type of nationalism where unrest and disquiet have led to a violent, internal, civil war. While we may raise our voices and march in protest, Caribbean people, by and large, are peaceful. The stability and repose in the Caribbean, in part, attract the well-to-do to the beaches, waterfalls, and marinas.

Islanders are vocally opinionated, raucous in laughter, vivacious in lust for life, and colourful in character and creativity. Nationalism and island rivalry are a residue of the insularity of governance of these nation-states. During the colonial era, communication flowed directly to the ruling European centres of administration, with neighbouring islands equally subjugated in a form of apartheid. Despite this, islanders developed camaraderie with those near and far. For example, support for Cuba during the Cold War is evidence of its enduring, effervescent spirit. Caribbean people have a well-developed trait of resilience. No matter how paltry their possessions are, they are supportive and responsive to open-minded visitors like long-lost friends.

Food of the Dominican Republic, Photo by Raul Baz via Unsplash

Authentic Caribbean creativity – music, arts, artisanship, and architecture

Caribbean sophistication is entrenched in its creativity – music, visual and dramatic arts, festivals, dance and movement, artisanship, and architecture – all authentic, and all evolutionary. From Jamaica, the land of reggae, to Guyana, the land of many rivers, the artistic Caribbean sophistication fuels the curiosity of visitors, often seen attempting to mimic the pace and rhythm of simple-complex island life – a pastiche of “island style” or “Caribbean swagger.” Treasuring creativity, culture, heritage, and birthright Caribbean people conceived a symphony of cuisines that combine styles of cooking from ancestral and adopted influences using the abundance of produce from the lands and sea. Jamaica has its ackee and saltfish; Trinidad and Tobago, crab and calaloo; the Dominican Republic, sancocho; Guyana its pepper pot; Haiti, griots, rice, and beans; Martinique its grilled snapper with sauce au chien; Barbados its coucou and flying fish; and the Bahamas its delicious crack conch with peas and rice.

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The landscape has transitioned from cane fields and factories to corporate buildings with globally branded logos. Tourism is now accessible to more than the elite and the very wealthy. The region is now a synthesis of modern and post-colonial – rum shack meets Louis Vuitton. Coastlines are now thickly framed by ultra-luxurious condos and villas. Bygone days of aristocratic nights at the Copacabana, bus rides for a shilling, and afternoon tea in the drawing room have been replaced by wet fete, a two-dollar ride on a ZR van along Barbados’ south coast, and happy hour at a sports bar.

What is enduring, what remains essential to an authentic island experience is to have had the pleasure of spending time in the company of locals and sharing drinks as you learn what is real Caribbean sophistication. The next time you visit and you hear, “let’s go buss a lime”, know that this has nothing to do with citrus fruits. It is a call to action, to follow a band, to experience spontaneity, laughter, jokes, and fun and a true invitation to feast on the best and most authentic of island life experiences. After all, Caribbean sophistication is an encounter with the beautiful enigma that is Caribbean island people.