In the middle of Woodford Square, a man with a hearing aid and dark glasses once stood before thousands, turning a public park into a "university." This wasn't some academic retreat. It was the birth of a nation.
If you grew up in the Caribbean, the name Dr Eric Williams feels less like a person and more like a permanent fixture of the landscape, like the Northern Range or the Pitch Lake. They call him the "Father of the Nation." But honestly, the man behind the title was way more complicated—and a lot more controversial—than the statues and schoolbooks let on.
He was a scholar who upended British history before he ever ran for office. He was a politician who could be terrifyingly aloof. And he was a leader who basically willed a modern economy into existence while fighting with everyone from the Catholic Church to the US State Department.
The Oxford Intellectual Who Chose the Streets
Eric Eustace Williams didn't start out as a revolutionary. He was a brilliant, perhaps slightly socially awkward, scholarship kid from Port of Spain. Born in 1911 to a minor civil servant, he was the eldest of 12. Life wasn't easy. His mother, Elisa, baked cakes to keep the family afloat.
But Eric had a brain like a steel trap. He won the Island Scholarship, headed to Oxford, and absolutely crushed it. He didn't just pass; he ranked first in his class.
While at Oxford, he faced the kind of subtle and not-so-subtle racism that sticks with a person. It shaped his worldview. You’ve probably heard of his most famous work, Capitalism and Slavery. It’s basically required reading if you want to understand the modern world.
Before Williams, the British liked to tell a cozy story about how they abolished slavery because they were such "moral and humanitarian" people. Williams looked at the data and called nonsense. He argued that Britain didn't end slavery out of the goodness of its heart; it ended it because it wasn't profitable anymore. Slavery had provided the startup capital for the Industrial Revolution, and once that engine was running, the old plantation system was just in the way.
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This "Williams Thesis" hit the academic world like a sledgehammer. People are still arguing about it in 2026.
Making a Scene at the "University of Woodford Square"
After a stint at Howard University and a frustrating job with the Caribbean Commission—where he realized the colonial powers weren't actually interested in Caribbean progress—Williams famously "put down his bucket" in Trinidad.
He didn't just join a party. He built one.
The People's National Movement (PNM) was founded in 1956. But the real magic happened in Woodford Square. He’d stand there and give three-hour lectures on Greek history, political philosophy, and economics. To the average person on the street. And they listened. Thousands of them.
He wasn't just asking for votes; he was educating a populace to believe they were worthy of running their own country.
Why Dr Eric Williams Trinidad and Tobago Legacy is Still Polarizing
You can’t talk about Williams without talking about the friction. He wasn't a "hug everyone" kind of leader. He was prickly. He was brilliant and he knew it.
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In 1960, he led the "March in the Rain." 60,000 people walked to the US Consulate to demand the return of Chaguaramas, a piece of land the British had leased to the Americans for a naval base without asking the locals. He stood up to the biggest superpower on earth and won. That’s the "hero" version of the story.
But there’s another side.
Critics, like historian Kirk Meighoo, have argued that the PNM built a myth around Williams that ignores his failures. For instance, his relationship with the Indo-Trinidadian community was... well, it was rough. He once famously referred to them as a "hostile and recalcitrant minority" after an election loss. That phrase still stings decades later.
He also faced the 1970 Black Power Revolution. This is the part that surprises people who think of him only as a champion of Black dignity. By 1970, a new generation felt that independence hadn't changed who owned the banks or the land. They saw Williams as part of the old guard. He had to declare a State of Emergency to keep control. It was a messy, tense time that nearly ended his career.
The Oil Boom and the "Pragmatic Socialist"
Williams was a "pragmatic socialist." He didn't want to ban foreign investment, but he wanted Trinidad to get its fair share. When the 1970s oil crisis hit, the rest of the world was panicking, but Trinidad and Tobago was suddenly flush with cash.
He used that money to build the Point Lisas Industrial Estate. People mocked him. They said he was trying to "can topi tambo" (a local root vegetable). But he was building a massive natural gas and petrochemical industry.
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He once famously said that Trinidad’s gas wouldn't be used just to "keep the people of Chicago warm." He wanted value added at home. Because of those moves, T&T became one of the wealthiest nations in the region.
What We Get Wrong Today
A lot of people think of Williams as a radical. He really wasn't. He was an institutionalist. He loved the Parliament. He loved the law. He just wanted those institutions to be run by West Indians instead of Englishmen.
He also stayed in power for a long, long time—from 1956 until he died in office in 1981. Some say he stayed too long. By the end, he was isolated, working from his home in St. Anne’s, rarely seen in public. When he died, it felt like the end of an era because, for many, he was the era.
Real Insights for the Modern Reader
If you're looking to understand the Caribbean today, you have to look at the foundations Williams laid. He pushed for free secondary education for everyone. He believed that the only way to beat colonialism was to be smarter and more organized than the colonizers.
Actionable Steps for History Buffs:
- Read "Capitalism and Slavery": Don't just read the summary. Read the actual book. It’s surprisingly readable for an academic text and explains why the global economy looks the way it does.
- Visit the Eric Williams Memorial Collection: It’s at the University of the West Indies in St. Augustine. You can see his library, his research notes, and even his iconic glasses. It gives you a sense of the sheer volume of work he put in.
- Look Beyond the PNM: To get a full picture, read his rivals too. Check out the writings of C.L.R. James (his one-time mentor and later bitter critic) or Bhadase Sagan Maraj.
Dr Eric Williams wasn't a saint. He was a man of intense intellect and significant flaws who took a colonial backwater and turned it into a sovereign republic. Whether you love him or disagree with his methods, you can't deny that the modern Caribbean was built on his "University" in the square.
The story of independence isn't a straight line. It’s a series of arguments, protests, and messy compromises. Williams was at the center of all of them. Understanding him isn't just about the past; it's about understanding how power, race, and money still work in the world today.