Drums and Colours: An Epic Drama

Caribbean poet and playwright's Drums and Colours is an epic encompassing the history of the Caribbean from the days of Columbus to the promises of emancipation and union. Penned for the ephemeral West Indies Federation in 1958, the play emphasizes interracial harmony, anti-colonialism, and peace rather than vengeance. Read in this light, one can understand why some scholars treat Drums and Colours as one of a "conservative" response to the Haitian Revolution, which is one of the more important aspects of the play's plot. 

The Haitian Revolution, like other aspects of Caribbean history, is portrayed as a response to European greed and violence, but is portrayed as excessive or racially exclusive by other West Indians in a later segment of the play, set in Jamaica. Thus, the Haitian Revolution, for bringing about the abolition of slavery, is central to the history of the Caribbean as seen by Walcott, but not inclusive of the multicultural peoples of the region. Furthermore, post-1804 Haiti is represented, as in Walcott's Henri Christophe, as corrupted by greed and violence as Dessalines and Christophe sell Toussaint to Leclerc to seize power for themselves.

In this light, some of the problems of Haiti are seen as part of a pattern in Caribbean history where colonial violence, genocide, and greed work against interracial unity (symbolized by the multiracial Maroon band in Jamaica, the lofty words of George William Gordon, and a multiracial Carnival group in Trinidad) from the earliest days of European conquest, imperial rivalries, and slave resistance. Instances of cross-racial solidarity appear throughout the play, such as the case of a Jew and a slave en route to Hispaniola, and this clearly appeals to a political goal of the West Indies Federation, as well as consolidating the nation. 

Of course, this play also transcends the purposes of political 'propaganda' for its universal contemplation of the meaning of power. Is power only wrought by military means or violence? Is it possible to attain peace? What are the dangers of 'democratic despotism' that Leclerc warns us of during the Haitian Revolution scene? Is a nation better off with a 'strong man' dictator, or with the Enlightenment principles of liberalism? Furthermore, the role of religion in upholding or resisting oppression is a consistent theme given how religion was used to exploit and combat colonial repression, depending on the time and place. These important questions were just as pertinent to the West Indies as anywhere else in the world.