The Political Economy of Tradition: Sponsoring and Incorporating the Caribs of Trinidad and Tobago

In analyzing the state's political economic management of ethnic diversity in Trinidad, with specific reference to the case of the indigenous Santa Rosa Carib Community, the author sets forth an outline of the “political economy of tradition”: (1) the politics and economics of the state associating economic values with particular cultural representations and (2) legislated recognition and financial rewards for groups engaged in public cultural display. How the Caribs themselves manage this process, and the contradictions introduced by forms of state sponsorship that led the Caribs to become incorporated as a limited liability company, are also issues central to this study.