On the Trail of the First Interpreters in Early British Colonial Trinidad: An Exploration of Relevant Historical Aspects

Abstract

With practitioners becoming increasingly of interest to translation historians, this study explores the presence of translators and interpreters in the sociocultural milieu of early British-ruled Trinidad. As an erstwhile Spanish colony with a significant Francophone influence, early 1800s Trinidad was a multilingual entity. The selected case studies track the presence of translators and interpreters at two key contemporary events: the Capitulation of 1797, which established British rule over the island, and the famous 1806 London-based torture trial of the island’s first British governor, Sir Thomas Picton. Adopting a postcolonial lens, the information presented is based on the examination of relevant early nineteenth-century sources. Noting the understudied nature of this geographical area and historical era, the insights outlined in this exploratory study aim to provide a useful starting point for further discussions of the ideological context surrounding translators and interpreters in multilingual colonial Trinidad.