As one of the Souls on Fire of the early 19th century Romantic Movement, and as an alienist, Dr. Philip fought and won the first civil rights case in the New World on behalf of the free coloured people in Trinidad-an achievement that with emancipation benefitted the former slaves, and in the long run the entire population-while exploring the effects of colonial prejudice on the psyche of his people.
Book Third is a biopic of Maxwell Philip, another descendant of the Philip family in Trinidad. He became "The Representative Man", a political and legal luminary of Port of Spain of the mid-19th century. In a delightful plot the author lets C.L.R. James "discover" Maxwell in his interviews with Captain Arthur Andrew Cipriani in the 1920s.
About the Author:
Born in 1942, Gérard A. Besson is an independent researcher and scholar in the area of History of Trinidad and Tobago. His oeuvre comprises many titles, both non-fiction and historical novels as well as works about folklore. Besson is the recipient of the Hummingbird Medal Gold of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and of an honorary doctorate of the University of the West Indies. He is the founder and chairman of Paria Publishing Company Limited.
Other works by Gérard A. Besson:
Fiction:
Tales of the Paria Main Road (Creative Advertising 1973); A Diary of Dreams (Paria Publishing 1988); The Voice in the Govi (Paria Publishing 2011); From the Gates of Aksum (Paria Publishing 2013); Roume de St. Laurent ... A Memoir (Paria Publishing 2016); Philippine Vols 1 and 2 (Paria Publishing 2024).
Non-Fiction:
A Photograph Album of Trinidad at the Turn of the 19th Century (Paria Publishing 1985 and 2024); From Colonial to Republic (Republic Bank, with Selwyn Ryan 1987); Folklore and Legends of Trinidad and Tobago (Paria Publishing 1991); The Book of Trinidad (Paria Publishing, with Bridget Brereton 1991 and 2010); The Angostura Story (Paria Publishing 2000); The Angostura Historical Digest (Paria Publishing 2002); Scotiabank - The First 50 Years (Paria Publishing 2004); The History of Ansa McAL in the Caribbean (Paria Publishing 2006); The Cult of the Will (Paria Publishing 2010)
ISBN: 978-976-8244-55-0
460 pages
Paperback
Available on Amazon
Jerry was always very interested in J.B. Philip and in 1987, published "Free Mulatto" as one of the early publications by his publishing house, Paria Publishing, which he founded in 1981.
We found an essay by his good friend Bridget Brereton in our archives, which we reproduce below. She wrote this in early February 1988 as a newspaper article for the Trinidad Express.
Jerry's dedicated hi last book, "Philippine Book Second and Third", to Bridget, who truly can be described as his mentor and muse, and Paria Publishing's greatest friend and helper.
(PARIA PUBLISHING CO.,1987)
By Bridget Brereton
Dept. of History, UWI, St Augustine, February 1988.
Students of the social and political history of Trinidad and Tobago, and of the Caribbean, will welcome the recent re-publication of a long-neglected classic of the early nineteenth century, Jean-Baptiste Philippe's Free Mulatto, which first appeared in 1824. Paria Publishing, in the latest addition to a most impressive list of Trinidadiana, has just brought out what will clearly be the definitive edition of this work.
The history of this book is most interesting. It was written by Philippe, the son of the wealthiest coloured planter and slave-owner in Trinidad in the first years of the nineteenth century, a European-trained doctor who took on the leadership of the campaign by the island's free coloureds for civil rights and legal equality with the whites. Because of the political repression of the day, and because of the extreme frankness with which he 'names names', Philippe felt it necessary to have his book printed in London under a pseudonym, 'A Free Mulatto'.
It was written as an address to the Colonial Secretary, Lord Bathurst, and it was printed rather than published—that is, very few copies were produced, it may never have been bound as a book, and ostensibly it was intended only for Lord Bathurst himself, though clearly copies found their way back to Trinidad. Hence its rarity.
There were at 'least two attempts in the second half of the nineteenth century to re-issue the book: in 1862 subscriptions were opened for its publication, but, it seems, this plan came to nothing; then in 1882 a local firm, Allers and Blondel, put out a limited subscription edition with a new publishers' preface. In the edition under review this preface is reprinted with the suggestion that its author (it is unsigned) may be J.J.Thomas. I think that we can accept this as confirmed, for at least two contemporary newspapers refer to the preface as being his work.
It seems that Allers and Blondel put out a very small number of books, for the 1882 edition appears to be almost as rare as the original. Indeed it represented a real act of courage; people at the time were nervous about the effects of re-publishing. As one newspaper put it, "It would have been better to give a rest to the old soreness and references to obnoxious persons, whose children at least walk and move daily in our midst, till these had quitted this mortal stage"; and Thomas himself, in his preface, acknowledged the existence of these doubts.
The extreme rarity of Free Mulatto as a result of its chequered publishing history makes the appearance of this new and complete edition a truly important event. Its value is greatly enhanced by the inclusion, not only of the 1882 preface by Thomas, but also of a most informative introductory essay by Carl Campbell, the foremost academic authority on the history of Trinidad's free coloured community in the period 1783 to 1838.
Campbell brilliantly draws together the few facts known about Philippe's life with the social and political history of the free coloured community whose leader he was between 1816, when he returned from Europe, and his early death in 1829. Indeed, the essay is really a kind of summary or distillation of Campbell's extensive researches into the history of the free coloureds which, up to now, have only been published in scholarly journals not normally accessible to those outside university circles. This makes the essay, short though it is, indispensable for an understanding of Philippe and his times.
The preface by Thomas is interesting in its own right as a historical document and as a hitherto unknown sample of the writings of that extraordinary Trinidadian. Written in the heavy, literary and impressive style characteristic of Thomas, the preface dismisses the fears expressed by many about the possible effects of re-publication as unworthy of patriots. Thomas unequivocally claims Philippe as "the great Patriot of our country" and calls on all "Creoles" to venerate him as such.
The text itself is a lengthy and elaborate presentation of the free coloured case for legal equality with whites, with numerous appendices which illustrate in detail the various arguments by reproducing documents or expounding particular points. Philippe's style is rather ornate and self-consciously literary, but it cannot conceal the genuine passion, indeed the rage, which clearly lies behind the formal well-rounded sentences and Latin tags. The work is fascinating not only for the mass of information on the free coloureds and their situation which it contains, but also for the vivid glimpse of an intensely interesting personality.
There is no doubt that Philippe makes his case superbly and leaves his reader completely convinced of the justice of his cause. The special situation of the Trinidad free coloureds, expressly given rights and guarantees by the Spanish Crown, rights which were confirmed by the British king when the island changed hands in 1797, is clearly and amply documented. Indeed, the case was overwhelming, and the British government duly moved to cede legal equality to the free coloureds between 1826 and 1829 (the final grant of full equality was proclaimed just days before Philippe's premature death).
But what is likely to strike the modern reader forcibly is that Philippe writes as the slave-owner that he was. As Campbell points out, there is no call for emancipation of the slaves, though there is at points in the argument a concern that they be decently treated. Indeed, one of the burning grievances the book details was that coloured slave-owners like Philippe were forced to "lend" their slaves to the local commandant for "free" work on local roads, wharf development and so on, without compensation to their owners. No concern for the slaves can be detected in this discussion, only for the aggrieved slave-owners.
Campbell is right to ask whether this flaw may not prove to be an obstacle to a general acceptance of Philippe as a national "hero". But perhaps we should be as generous as J.J. Thomas, himself the son of ex-slaves, and recognise the inevitable limitations imposed by class and by the times on Philippe's capacity in the 1820s to identify with the slaves. His leadership of the free coloured cause required great courage in the face of real dangers, and equality for the coloureds was probably a necessary prelude to emancipation.
We can afford to agree with Thomas that Philippe deserves to be remembered as a true patriot; and we owe a debt of gratitude to Paria Publishing Company for allowing us to make his acquaintance.
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Bridget Brereton, Alice Besson, Giselle Laronde-West and Dominic Besson at the launch of "Philippine" (Photo courtesy Paper Based Bookshop) |
From the Booklaunch
The "Philippine" trilogy was launched on 22 November, 2024, at Paper Based Bookshop's "Tea and Readings" event at the Chancellor Hotel, St. Ann's.
Speaking on behalf of Paria Publishing were Prof. Emerita Bridget Brereton, who delivered remarks about the book; the author's son Dominic Besson, who read a passage from Book First; and the author's wife Alice Besson, who spoke about the making of the novels and why they had been dedicated to Peter Redhead and Bridget Brereton.
Prof. Brereton's speaking notes:
"This long novel, Philippine, which Gerry was working on up to his last days, is about actual historical people, the remarkable Philip family of Grenada, Carriacou, Petite Martinique and Trinidad, in the 1700s and the 1800s. Book 1, the longest of three, tells the story of the very unusual marriage between a French immigrant to Grenada, Honoré Philip, and Jeanette, an African-born formerly enslaved woman. The adventures of the couple and their many children, free coloured people, are told in Book 1. Book 2 is about Jean-Baptiste Philip, their grandson, the campaigner for civil rights for Trinidad’s free coloureds and author of the famous book generally known as A Free Mulatto, written in 1824. And Book 3 takes up the story of Michel (Michael) Maxwell Philip, a famous lawyer and public figure in 19th-century Trinidad.
So this is a fictionalised narrative of real historical figures living in the Caribbean (and elsewhere) during the 1700s to 1800s. Gerry did a huge amount of research, and he tapped into research by Grenadian Peter Redhead, to whom the first Book is dedicated. The novel reflects Gerry’s lifelong passion for the history of Trinidad and the Caribbean during the era of revolution and war, roughly the 1770s to 1820s, and his fascination with the mixed-up, multi-cultural people who lived there. In many ways it follows on from his earlier forays into fiction, especially Roume, the novel that preceded this one.
What is the art of the historical novel? You do as much research and reading about your subjects and the world they lived in as possible. But then it comes to areas of their lives, often including their thoughts and beliefs and passions, where the historical sources may be silent. You’re then free to use your imagination and create episodes, scenes and narratives…BUT they must be plausible, they can’t conflict with what is known about the people and the times. Gerry’s immensely creative and fertile mind enabled him to do this brilliantly.
To illustrate: Book 3 deals with Michel Maxwell Philip, born around 1829. Some sections narrate his growing up and education and life, here, in Britain, and then back in Trinidad as a barrister. But Gerry’s brilliant idea was to have sections set in 1929 involving a young CLR James, the labour leader Captain Arthur Cipriani, and Philip’s daughter Mrs Ethel Broadway. James wrote a biographical sketch of Philip which was published in the Beacon magazine in 1931; he was also working on a biography of his hero and mentor Cipriani (published in England in 1932). Gerry imagines the young James hearing about Philip, the famous barrister of the 1850s to 1880s (he died in 1888), from Cipriani, who in turn heard about him from his older family members. And he imagines James conducting interviews with Mrs Broadway, Philip’s older legitimate daughter. She’s a prim and proper Victorians lady and she doesn’t like James, but as time goes on she reluctantly and gradually reveals inside information about her long dead father. So through the interaction of James, Cipriani and Mrs Broadway in 1929, Philip’s story emerges—alongside narrative chapters of Philip’s life set in the 1800s.
I remember telling Gerry more than once that not in a thousand years would I ever have thought of this narrative device, moving between the 1800s and 1929 and bringing in James, Cipriani and Mrs Broadway…this was the creative mind of the novelist. He was very pleased when I said this—my reward was his dedication of Book 3 to me, an honour I’ll always cherish."
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