A local female author has launched an insightful new book that highlights the critical role of Saint Lucia’s peasantry in nation-building, garnering rave reviews in the process.
As part of Saint Lucia’s 47th Independence celebrations, historian Louise Mathurin-Serieux officially unveiled her book – On the Shoulders of Peasants.
This publication details the significant contributions of the island’s peasantry to agriculture, land ownership, and economic diversification from 1897 to 1945.
Through a combination of archival research in Saint Lucia, Trinidad, and London, as well as extensive oral histories collected across the island, Mathurin-Serieux sheds light on grassroots experiences often overlooked in official records.
“This work honors all our ancestors who not only survived but thrived, building the foundation of the Saint Lucia we know today,” she remarked.
The author emphasizes that peasants were not merely passive participants but innovators and advocates, forming cooperative systems, petitioning for grants, improving marketing facilities, and advancing small-scale agriculture.
The book traces the transition from a sugar-based economy to one focused on cocoa, limes, coconuts, and bananas, illustrating how peasant labor sustained the nation and extended the life of these industries.
Mathurin-Serieux also highlights the dual significance of her title: peasants “helped build the economy and bore the bulk of the consequences when industries collapsed,” reflecting both achievement and sacrifice.
Rhyesa Joseph, the director of proceedings, emphasized that the book underscores the vital connection between meaningful independence and recognizing the labor of those who fed and sustained the nation.
On the Shoulders of Peasants is now available locally and has been donated to key institutions, including libraries and archives, serving as a lasting resource that focuses on the lives and contributions of ordinary men and women.