1) In what year did Jamaica definitively gain its independence from Britain?
Jamaica gained its independence from Britain in 1962.
2) Who was Marcus Garvey and what was his historical significance?
Marcus Garvey was a Jamaican labor activist. He was an advocate for black pride who left Jamaica for the United States to find more people to follow his idea of black people taking pride in their African ancestry. His organization attracted thousands of followers and the FBI after he created trade vessels that went between the United States and Arica.
3) Provide a brief description and summary of Rastafarianism.
Rastafarianism was a spiritual movement that took place in Jamaica. It originated after Emperor Haile Selassie I was crowned in the 1930s. Its ideas revolved around Selassie being holy and divine.
4) Which major stylistic changes took place when ska evolved into rocksteady?
Ska had a faster tempo with lots of Jazz elements. Ska bands were also bigger in terms of size. Horns would be the lead instruments with piano, bass, and drums backing them up. Rocksteady was simpler music compared to Ska because many of the instrumentalists weren’t trained in jazz. Unlike Ska, the bands were smaller and the horns weren’t the center of attention. Instead, the guitar, bass, and piano were.
5) Which major stylistic changes took place when rocksteady evolved into roots?
Roots, also known as reggae, took place when Jamaica started getting more technologically advanced. Horns went further into the background while more elaborate arrangements with guitar, bass and piano were made. Instead of having a clean sounding guitar, the guitar would now be slightly distorted. The drumming would also take more influence from Africa than it had before as hand drumming became more prominent in the music.
6) Describe the toasting and sing-jay styles.
Toasting is a form of music that originated in Africa. It revolves around chanting over music. Originally, and anciently, the chanting would be done over drumming. More modernly, it is done over genres like ska and reggae in Jamaica. Sing-jay is a lot like toasting, but instead of just talking and chanting, there is singing mixed in with it.
7) Describe the bashment style.
Bashment is a later form of Reggae which originated in the late 1970s. It came to because roots reggae was becoming more basic musically with an increased prominence on rhythm. Usually these tracks would be recorded before the singer would get there and would often be used for multiple songs. Lyrical content also changed becoming more explicit and violent over time.
8) In what year did Trinidad definitively gain its independence from Britain?
Trinidad gained its independence from Britain in 1962
9) What is the population breakdown of Trinidad, i.e. ethnic percentages?
Though the percentages have changed since the 1990s, Trinidad’s ethnic population went from being mostly Indian to African to mixed to white. Unfortunately, I don’t remember exact percentages from the book.
10) What is the main source of Trinidad's economic wealth?
Trinidad’s main source of economic wealth is oil.
11) Provide a brief description and summary of Calypso.
Calypso is a Trinidadian style of Afro_Carribean music. It originated in the 1800s and had influences from French and African styles of music. Calypso has harmonized voices and makes use of steel drums. A good example of a song that sounds like calypso would be under the sea from the Disney movie The Little Mermaid.
12) Which major stylistic changes took place when Kalinda Calypso evolved into Soca?
Soca is more of a party type of music than calypso. Typically Soca doesn’t have as many lyrics as calypso does and has a heavier beat. Lyrically calypso is also deeper than Soca. Soca is also much more repetitive than calypso and has different instrumentation.
13) What is the steel pan and in what context is it generally performed?
The steel pan is also known as a steel drum. It is a pitched drum which could be compared to the marimba. While they do have different timbres, they have the same basic sound. Generally, the steel drum is used in calypso music.
14) Describe the Chutney style.
Chutney is a form of music that originated in Trinidad. Lyrically, the songs were originally religious. Musically, chutney is simple and is typically up tempo. It derives from Bhojpuri music and creole culture. Chutney is typically performed at weddings and instrumentally it consists of the harmonium, a type of organ, dholak, a hand drum, and dhantal, a handheld metal rod that gets hit.
15) In what year did Haiti definitively gain its independence from France?
Haiti gained independence from France in 1804.
16) What were the circumstances surrounding this event? In what ways did this unique situation impact Haiti's future identity?
Taking place slightly after the French Revolution, the Haitian Revolution was slave rebellion. The French Revolution is largely to blame for the Haitians rebelling as it was the beginning of a new era for human rights. I believe this impacted Haiti’s future identity because it was the first black republic in the world.
17) What is the predominant religion in Haiti practiced by the vast majority of its inhabitants?
Roman Catholicism is the most “subscribed” to religion in Haiti, but many of the country’s inhabitants practice a religion called Haitian Vodou which combines West African traditions with Roman Catholicism. Many inhabitants believe that Roman Catholicism and Haitian Vodou can be practiced at the same time.
18) Describe the Rara style.
Rara originated in Haiti. It’s a type of carnival music and lyrically is always performed in Haitian creole. Haitian Vodou is often something that occurs throughout the songs performance. Rara is performed in a marching band style. Typically, rara is played with wind instruments made from bamboo. It also has drums, guiros and maracas as accompaniment.
19) What is the main language spoken in Haiti and what are some of its distinct characteristics?
There are two languages that are spoken in Haiti the first, and probably the most obvious from Haiti’s history, is French. The second is Haitian Creole. Haitian Creole is a language that is frowned upon to speak if you’re in the elite class. Haitian Creole is made up of influences from Portuguese, English, and Spanish.
20) Describe the Compas style.
Compas is a type of meringue music. Instrumentally it is made up of brass instruments. Saxophone is typically what leads the band and helps provide a beat in which people can dance to. Lyrically, compas can be written in creole, French, Spanish, Portuguese, or English, all of which are languages “native” to the Caribbean. It rose to prominence in the 1950s.