Eric Williams

Who is Eric Williams?

Eric Eustace Williams was a Trinidadian historian and statesman who served as the first Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, leading the country from independence in 1962 until his death in 1981. Born in Port of Spain, he won a scholarship to Oxford University, where he earned a doctorate in history; his 1938 doctoral thesis was later published as the influential book "Capitalism and Slavery" (1944), which argued that the profits of the Caribbean slave trade helped finance the British Industrial Revolution and that economic self-interest, not humanitarian sentiment alone, drove abolition. Returning to the Caribbean, he taught at Howard University before founding the People's National Movement (PNM) in 1956, which he led to electoral victory and eventually to full independence from Britain. As Prime Minister, he pursued industrialization, expanded public education, and supported the growth of the University of the West Indies as a regional institution. He also wrote "From Columbus to Castro: The History of the Caribbean" (1970), a sweeping account of Caribbean history. Williams remains one of the most influential Caribbean intellectuals and nation-builders of the twentieth century.

Sources: Eric Williams, Capitalism and Slavery (1944) · Eric Williams, From Columbus to Castro: The History of the Caribbean (1970) · Encyclopaedia Britannica, "Eric Williams" biographical entry