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This article examines the life histories of three women who migrated from the island of Tobago in the period 1950 to 1990. The themes explored include the factors which motivated their move, their lived realities in 'new' lands, the impact of migration on them and their families, and the reasons for return migration. This article argues that from the first half of the twentieth century, working-class Tobago women, through their personal migration efforts, made use of ingenuity, psychological strength and ambition to better themselves and their families. The Caribbean labour migration literature highlights the migration treks of Caribbean men during this period, but Caribbean women travelled in equally large numbers regionally and internationally in a relentless pursuit of wage labour and economic stability. While in some instances, their migration experiences led to the achievement of promised upward mobility, the pain of deteriorating family relations and rejection in a 'new' land, often led to return migration. This argument, which rests upon an interrogation of life histories, newspapers and official documents, presents new insights on a familiar topic, and meaningfully expands the historiography of migration and Caribbean women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies into Afro-Caribbean families focus primarily on the prevalence of matrifocal households or the subordination that characterised women's role in the home. While these themes are critical to understanding the gender dynamics within Afro-Caribbean households, the proliferation of this narrow view of women's roles as mothers or subordinated wives has contributed to an underestimation of the complexities of women's lives within the home. This traditional narrative of Afro-Caribbean women presents a portrait of the home, domesticity and economic security derived from dependence on a man which was unlikely for many Caribbean women. This paper captures the frequently trivialised trauma associated with women's experiences within the private sphere. The paper contends that while the dominant literature positions Afro-Caribbean women as revered heads of their households, many Afro-Tobagonian women endured years of misery within the home due to a culture of domestic violence, financial hardship and the social acceptance of extramarital affairs. This knowledge offers us a peek into the interiority of women's lives and complicates our understanding of Afro-Caribbean women's experiences from 1900 to 1960. This work is undergirded by oral testimonies from Afro-Tobagonians, newspaper articles and official documents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores women's engagement with food production and distribution in Tobago from 1840 to 1940. Scholars such as Raymond Smith have suggested that freedom in the British West Indies meant "the withdrawal of female labor from plantation work." In Tobago, while women fled the estates, they did not abandon working the land. In fact, working the land and selling food was critical to the sustenance and survival of women and their families. Among Afro-Tobagonian women, food became a tool of power and empowerment. Through the production and sale of food, Afro-Tobagonian women asserted control over resources, steered the economic empowerment of their families, and crafted identities as autonomous beings. This article, undergirded by archival documents and oral testimonies, refines our understanding of women's mobility and labor experiences in Tobago, and by extension, the Caribbean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]