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Current Conclusions

From 15A

The Indian Presence: 1838–1899

The Indian immigrant community was internally diverse. Most were poor peasants from Northern India. Others were from other parts of India and the British Empire in the Indian subcontinent. A majority were fleeing the consequences of the British Raj, natural disasters, and poverty, to seek a better life. For a long time, there were more men than women. Most were Hindu, many were Islamic, and a few may have been Christian.

A crucial consequence of this development was the complication of race relations in a colony organized by the ideology of racial superiority. The new complication was relations between African and Indian people. Indian indentured laborers and enslaved Africans encountered each other in 1838. Africans were not emancipated until August 1, 1838, roughly four months after the first Indian arrivals. The brutality of continuous labor as practiced in 1838 resulted in the suspension of the Indian indentureship program between 1839 and 1844. When it was reopened in 1845, there were changes to sugar estate work in British Guiana.

The early encounters between Africans and Indians on the sugar plantation were mediated by propaganda constructed from racist fiction, mythologies, stereotypes, caricatures, and the brutalizing and dehumanizing reality of surviving continuous labor. Robert Moore’s essay, “Colonial Images of Blacks and Indians in Nineteenth-Century Guyana,” lays bare the scope of this devastating and lasting consequence of the sugar plantation. Its legacy continues to be reflected in contemporary Guyanese society and ethnopolitical practice.

By the end of the 19th century, the Indian immigrant community was internally stratified. There was a small upper class featuring high-caste religious leaders, professionals (doctors and lawyers), and successful entrepreneurs. There was an emerging middle class drawn from jobs (e.g., sirdhars, clerks, and dispensers) on the sugar estates and in the civil service. A majority of Indians were working people engaged in thirst-generating labor on the sugar estates and in urban environments in hot and humid British Guiana. By the end of the 19th century, the community of Indian immigrants had developed key institutions and were already active in imagining a future for themselves and the colony. In 1950, Dr. Cheddi Jagan, the son of indentured Indian immigrants, along with the descendants of former enslaved Africans and former indentured workers, formed the colony’s first mass political party, the People’s Progressive Party, and promoted a vision of an independent and sovereign Guyana.

The growth of urban and rural workingclass populations engaged in thirst-generating activities spurred investments in the sweet drink industry. Thus, by the first decade of the 20th century, at least 14 bottlers were located near communities dominated by working people, an attractive mass market. Working people became the major consumers of sweet drinks.

The Indian indentureship program ended in 1916, and most of the termexpired Indian immigrants exercised the option to stay in British Guiana. The sweet-drink story reveals the investments of Indians, especially Muslims, in the industry. This includes the establishment of bottling facilities in rural villages and urban working-class communities.

During the 1920s, there was an increase in social activities, such as thirst-creating and social drinking events (e.g., balls, dances, and excursions). Ethnic groups opened social and recreational clubs (Negro Progress Convention, 1920; Chinese Association, 1920; BGEIA, 1924, Portuguese Club, 1924; and St. Andrew’s Association [representing Scots], 1928). The embryonic sweet drink industry serviced this and the primary working-class market segments. Despite the persistent economic depression, the 1930s saw increases in major public activities to commemorate the empire and to build morale in British Guiana. Sweet drink was part of that action. The end of the 1930s ushered in World War II (1939–1945) and the expansion of the major U.S. cola brands (Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola) and their associated practices and messages in the colony.

By the end of 1945, the world was engulfed in another war, the Cold War: “a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies.” In 1953, British Guiana was an early flash point in this war. Peter D’Aguiar, the managing director of DIH, was a vocal anti-Communist. His actions might have cost his company business in the colony’s East Indian communities. According to a confidential source, East Indians boycotted his brands because his actions were seen as being against the native son, Dr. Cheddi Jagan. Research on the folk songs of Indians in rural British Guiana during the early 1960, identified songs disparaging Peter D’Aguiar and recommending voting for Dr. Jagan.

By 1966, Guyana had become an independent state with Forbes Burnham as the prime minister and Peter D’Aguiar as the minister of finance. From the 1970s, Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham was de jure and de facto, the nation’s maximum leader. According to relatives, he was not a “sweet drink” imbiber. His preference was for “homemade drinks.” His death in 1985 marked the beginning of a shift in political ideology and economic practice. When the PPP returned to power after winning the 1992 election, it inherited a changing economy. Formerly state-owned properties, such as Demerara Distillers Ltd. (DDL), had been privatized. DDL’s entry was a key factor in the reenergization of the sweet-drink industry. The changed political–economic landscape demonstrated that the economy was open to international investment and would offer the necessary protections. This encouraged the entry of SM Jaleel and Rudisa into the Guyanese sweet drink market.

Since the 1990s, the Guyana sweet drink industry has shown consistent growth. The annual reports from Banks DIH and DDL show increasing after-tax profits and sustained payments of dividends to shareholders.

The sweet-drink industry is part of Guyana’s social fabric. It is a sensitive barometer of Guyanese life. The companies modernized business practices in Guyana. They have evolved from singleproduct entities to conglomerates that own banks, insurance companies, restaurants, bakeries, shipping lines, and specialized packing plants. In addition to demonstrating integration, and synergy, these companies have been associated with innovative advertising and marketing techniques. They have influenced the aesthetics of the advertising industry through historic marketing, publicity, and marketing campaigns.

The advertising campaigns developed by the local advertising community for the sweet drink industry played a significant role in the development of the post-independence Guyanese identity, which includes a sense of self-efficacy. Freed from the norms and aesthetics of the colonial era, these campaigns (via newspapers, billboards, radio jingles, and cinema slides) presented images (e.g., landscapes, seascapes, buildings, community activities) of the Guyanese experience. This contributed to the mood of self-confidence evident in the society during the early post-independence years.

The leading sweet-drink producers have been characterized as having responsible and forward-looking labor relations

practices. Banks DIH and DDL are unionized. Worker participation in management, first promoted as a national industrial relations practice in the public sector, is alive in the sweet drink industry. The workers’ conditions and benefits exceed the national norms.

The sweet-drink industry has also made an imprint on Guyana’s industrial and commercial architecture. Examples are Caesar Castellani’s bar in Demico House, Wieting and Richter’s Cold Storage and Ice Factory, the art deco design of the old DIH bottling plant opposite Parliament buildings, the traditional cake shops, the modern supermarkets, and the Banks DIH rotunda at Thirst Park.

POSSIBLE FUTURES

The future of Guyana’s sweet drink industry will be influenced by franchising, the ongoing dependence of imported inputs, the soft drink industry in the United States, and public health and environmental issues. Of immediate importance is the industry’s response to public health challenges.

Public Health Concerns

Guyana is part of the region with the highest sweet-drink consumption in the world. According to the results of a global study published in 2015, the Caribbean region drinks more than “twice the amount of an individual does elsewhere.” A recent calculation suggested that Guyanese consumed 1.4 liters (2.959 pints) of sweet drinks per day. This corresponds to an average daily intake of almost 80 teaspoons or 333 grams of sugar: 15 times the daily recommended daily sugar intake. Guyana’s per capita consumption is 135 gallons (511 liters) per year according to 2020 data from Guyana’s Bureau of Statistics. U.S. Centers for Disease Control reports have attributed more than 44 percent of deaths in Guyana to excessive sugar consumption.

Among the responses by the large global brands to consumers’ greater health consciousness, especially concerns about excessive sugar, have been the use of artificial sweeteners, the introduction of diet colas, and the diversification of their nonalcoholic beverage lines. For example, Coca-Cola and Pepsi also produce fruit juices, bottled water, sports drinks, and energy drinks. This diversity was evident in Guyana in June 2021. Nelsonia Budhram-Persaud, a social scientist at the Center for Communication Studies at the University of Guyana, recently commented on risky behaviors associated with

energy drink consumption in Guyana.

Energy Drinks: High sugar and caffeine. Consumers, costs, the poor. These are low-cost, ranging from US$1 to US$3 (Red Bull). There is significant “Red Bull advertising.” In July 2021, the popular brands were XL and Turbo. These are cheaper options to Red Bull. The primary consumers are MALE, students, manual laborers, and night-shift workers. It is sometimes, many times, used in lieu of a MEAL. ABUSE: Energy drinks are used as a mixer with alcohol. There have been deaths from this practice.

Ethics

Another international concern is the cultivation of replacement consumers. In the United States, efforts are afoot to increase consumption among children, African Americans, Hispanics, and other traditionally marginalized populations. A 2017 Healthy Caribbean Coalition study indicated that more than 70 percent of Guyanese school children aged 13 to 15 reported drinking one or more carbonated soft drinks during the previous 30 days. This was identified as a serious risk factor for childhood obesity. In recent years, several Caribbean states, including Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, have restricted the sale of sugary beverages at or near schools. Guyana does not appear to have adopted such a measure. Maybe this could be a task of the recently reconstituted Presidential Commission on NonCommunicable Diseases.

Research and Development

I am not privy to any intra-industry conversations about the future. I would suggest that the industry must address the issue of dependency on internationally sourced inputs, including flavoring, essences, and white sugar. It appears that all sweet drinks in Guyana are based on imported artificial or synthetic flavors. In recent years, Guyana’s agro-processing community has made some admirable strides in bringing new, well-packaged products to the domestic and international markets. The Guyana School of Agriculture and the University of Guyana’s Institute of Applied Science and Technology have been leading actors in this development. Will collaborations between these institutions and the sweet drink industry increase the domestic capacity to produce shelf-stable Guyanese fruit-based flavorings?

The preliminary story of sweet drinks in Guyana is impressive. Along the way in this series, we met a community of influential men who made their mark. It also offered glimpses of a few women, such as Gertrude Gibson, Nora Gobin-Seabra, June Ramsammy, Sharon Sue Hang Baksh, and Kavorn Kyte-Williams.

Women were among the owners of the early bottling plants. Gertrude Gibson, a widow, owned and operated the Verdun Aerated Soda Factory before selling it to Alfred Mohamed. Nora Seabra was part of the Excelsior Aerated Water factory in New Amsterdam. June Ramsammy was the first human resources manager at Banks DIH. Sharon Sue Hang Baksh is currently DDL’s director of technical services, and Kavorn Kyte-Williams is Banks DIH’s company secretary and legal officer. The story of women in Guyana’s industrial development deserves a full account.

International Relations

Guyana’s sweet-drink industry has been part of Guyana’s international trading scene for as long as it has existed. The sweet-drink industry has remained engaged with the international community to obtain raw materials. In recent years, it has actively targeted the diaspora markets. In an interesting twist, Guyana Pride lemonade (bottled in Canada by Bedessee Imports) and Tom Boy (bottled in New York by Alfred Mohamed’s grandson) are now exported to Guyana.

A new generation of carbonation and bottling technologies is becoming available, partially in response to the craft beer, boutique soda, and nonalcoholic drink preferences of millennials and Generation Z in Europe and the United States. Feedback to this series suggests an interest in authentic local flavors, such as soursop, golden apple, and tamarind.

Given the aging population and diabetes prevalence, which invariably require special diets, another product line could be liquid foods. The Guyanese marketplace is already replete with a new generation of “healthy” liquid food drinks (aloe vera and other smoothies). Concerns about deceptive advertising have been expressed.

Is it possible that hot and humid Guyana is poised for a new, potentially healthier, sweet drink to quench our persistent thirst? Could there be an opportunity for a new generation of entrepreneurs, especially women, to try their luck?

Thank you for participating in the serialization of Sweet Drink: A Preliminary Exploration of the Social History of Nonalcoholic Carbonated Beverages in Guyana (1870–2020). Your comments, corrections, and leads have been important and truly appreciated. They will guide the next phase of this project: publication as a book that will include additional photographs and illustrations, an index, and a bibliography.

Thank you, Andre Haynes, Editor, Sunday Stabroek, for this partnership.

Selected Resources

Bahadur, G. Coolie Woman: The Odyssey of Indenture. Chicago: The University Press of Chicago, 2014.

Bernard, D. “Folk Traditions and National Development: A Role for African Folk Music from Guyana.” A paper presented to Soundscapes: Reflections on Caribbean Oral and Aural Traditions Conference, The University of the West Indies, Barbados, June 2005.

Braithwaite, C. “The African-Guyanese Demographic Transition: An Analysis of Growth Trends, 1938–1988” in Themes in African-Guyanese History. Georgetown: Free Press, 1998, pp. 201–234.

Cambridge, V. Musical Life in Guyana: History and Politics of Controlling Creativity. JACKSON: University Press of Mississippi, 2015.

Candlin. K. The Last Caribbean Frontier, 1795–1815. United Kingdom: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012.

De Barros, J. Order and Place in a Colonial City: Patterns of Struggle and Resistance in Georgetown, British Guiana, 1889 – 1924. Montreal: McGillQueen’s University Press, 2002.

Ferguson, T. To Survive Sensibly or Court Heroic Death: Management of Guyana’s Political Economy 1965–1985. Georgetown, Guyana: Public Affairs Consulting Enterprise, 1999.

Gafoor, A. The Evolution of Writing in English by and about East Indians of Guyana 1838–2018. Hertford, HANSIB, 2018.

Hunter, W. A Creole Family: An Unfinished Memoir. Unpublished manuscript in the author’s collection. 2005.

Landowner [John Brummell]. British Guiana. Demerara after 15 years of Freedom. London: T. Bosworth (215, Regent Street), 1853.

McGowan, W. A Survey of Guyanese History. Georgetown, Guyana: Guyenterprise, 2018.

McGowan, W, James Rose, David Granger. Eds. Themes in AfricanGuyanese History. Georgetown: Free Press, 1998.

Moore, B. “The Social and Economic Subordination of Guyanese Creoles after Emancipation” in Themes in AfricanGuyanese History. Georgetown: Free Press, 1998, pp. 141–157.

——————. African-Guyanese Political Disempowerment during the 19th century” in Themes in African-Guyanese History. Georgetown: Free Press, 1998, pp. 235–249.

Moore, R. “Colonial Images of Blacks and Indians in Nineteenth-Century Guyana.” In Bridget Brerton and Kevin A. Yelvington (eds). The Colonial Caribbean in Transition: Essays on Postemancipation Social and Cultural History. Jamaica: Press of the University of the West Indies, 1999, pp. 126–158.

Nauth, D. A History of Indians in British Guiana. London: Thomas Nelson and Sons, Ltd., 1950.

Nehusi, K. A People’s Political History of Guyana 1834–1964. Hertford: Hansib, 2018.

A.W. Perot & Co., Claimants. A Review of the Case of the United States vs 712 Bags of Dark Demerara Centrifugal Sugars. Tried at the September Term of the District Court of the U.S. for the District of Maryland. Baltimore: Lucas Brothers, 1878.

Rodney, W. A History of the Guyanese Working People, 1881–1905. London: Heinemann, 1981.

Rogers, E. Diffusion on Innovations. 3rd edition. New York: The Free Press, 1983.

Rose, J. “The Strikes of 1842 and 1848” in Themes in African-Guyanese History. Georgetown: Free Press, 1998, pp. 158– 200.

Ruhomon, P. Centenary History of East Indians in British Guiana (1838 –1938). Georgetown: The Daily Chronicle, n.d., ca. 1946.

Seecharan, C. India and the Shaping of the Indo-Guyanese Imagination 1890s– 1920s. Leeds: University of Warwick and The Peepal Press, 1993.

————————-. Bechu: ‘Bound Coolie’ Radical in British Guiana 1894– 1901. Kingston, Jamaica: The University of the West Indies Press, 1999.

Stoll, A. “Between a little rock and hard place.” A paper presented to symposium to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Guyana’s independence, National Conference Center, Turkeyen, Georgetown, 2016.

WEEKEND

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2021-10-17T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-10-17T07:00:00.0000000Z

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