“The Real Caribbean” is a 1942 Bell & Howell Company black-and-white travel film that begins with a narrator pointing to the location of the Caribbean (southeast of the Gulf of Mexico and the North American mainland, east of Central America, and north of South America) on a map before touting the area as a tourist paradise. Palm trees sway in the island breezes beginning at mark 00:44 and the viewer is given a brief history lesson on the region, beginning with Spanish rule and the Spanish-influenced structures that stood centuries later, as well as those nations that were British colonies. Less than 2% of native Caribbeans are white, says the narrator at mark 01:55. “The mass of the people are descendants of negro slaves hauled in from Africa to work the sugar plantations.” When slavery was abolished, plantation owners hired peasant families from India as “contract laborers” to take over the work. When their years of servitude ended many chose to stay rather than return overseas. French Colonies are identified starting near mark 03:00 followed by Dutch Colonies and American interests such as the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and the Panama Canal Zone (mark 04:45). There are many scenes of the Panama Canal beginning at mark 05:08, followed by scenes from sugar cane fields (mark 07:27) and coconuts, as a boy is shown shimmying up a tree to cut down a bunch (mark 07:50). Various fruits (such as bananas), cocoa, and spices are imported from the islands as well. As a variety of scenes flash across the screen, the narrator explains the islands share similarities but also have many differences including unique problems. The region also has a chain of American naval bases, identified starting at mark 11:08, “which greatly strengthens our defenses. Old Glory guards the freedom of our southern seas.”
Includes footage of Dominica, Trinidad, the Bahamas, Panama, Aruba, Curacao, the Virgin Islands, and other nations.
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