21 October 2011
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Documents that give a rare glimpse into what life was like for Caribbean labourers more than 100 years ago have now been added to the UNESCO Memory of the World Register.
Documents that give a rare glimpse into what life was like for Caribbean labourers more than 100 years ago have now been added to the UNESCO Memory of the World Register.
In collaboration with archives, museums and libraries from countries as diverse as Jamaica to the USA, The National Archives for England and Wales submitted documentary heritage to UNESCO that chronicle the mass movement of West Indians to Panama and include historically significant events such as the construction of the Panama Canal.
The collection brings to light the Caribbean’s connections with Central America and North America and the mobility of people in the region at the time describing the movement of more than 100,000 West Indians who made new lives in Panama. For many, this was the first opportunity to take control of their own lives and seek their destiny abroad.