Sources: Baptismal Registers of the Mission of Santa Rosa, Arima: Book 1 (1820-1835), Book 2 (1835-1840), Baptismal Register of the Church of Santa Rosa, Arima: Book 3 (1840-1852)

It should be noted that all of the above statistics concern missions only, they are not an absolute statement of Amerindian population figures for Trinidad, especially after the missions dissolved. The declines shown demonstrate a decline in the registered populations confined to missions. Individuals who were the product of inter-ethnic unions, say, the child of an Amerindian woman and a Spanish man, were free to leave the mission. In many cases, there was no strict law enforcement system that could prevent individuals from leaving missions. Indeed, given that at the times shown there were no sweeping epidemics or wars, there is no other plausible way to account for the decline of these numbers.

The sudden spurts in population growth on the missions, as shown for 1803, 1805 and 1812, are most probably examples of the already known influx of Island Caribs from St. Vincent and/or Dominica, fleeing natural disasters possibly.

Samples of Entries in the Baptismal Registers of the Mission of Santa Rosa, Arima

This entry, dated 11 September 1820, shows the racial designation of the child in the margin at the left, the last word being “Yndia”, or Indian female. The entry reads: “On the eleventh of the month of September of One Thousand and Eight Hundred and Twenty [1820], I, Father José Candido Martinez, parish priest of this town of Santa Rosa de Arima, certify that on this day I have solemnly baptised a girl child who, as they have informed me, is three months old, and they presented her to me on this same day, to whom was given the name of Maria de la Cruz, legitimate daughter of Pedro Reyes and Maria Lucresia, Indian persons. Her godparents were Juan Francisco Alfonso…who was informed of his spiritual and parent-like obligation, with faith, Fr. José Candido Martinez”. Note the devotional names carried by the “Indians” of the Mission: Mary, of the Cross, Kings (as in the Three Kings).

Often, entries are virtually illegible, not so much because of the style of handwriting, as much as the decaying paper and the fact that ink from entries on the other side of the sheet often ‘burns’ its way through the text one is trying to decipher. Even more difficult to decipher, as with the third sample below, are those entries in books that do not consist of pre-printed forms of the type shown here.

This is an entry dated 06 February 1825, signed by Father Bernardo de Obon, for a ‘natural’ son (born out of wedlock), Josef Julian. The father’s name is not indicated. One can make out the word “Yndios” (Indians) at the end of the third line from the bottom.

It is not clear if the plural here is meant to refer to the parents (where only one is listed, Maria Gervasia), or the godparents (Felipe Santiago Villafana, and, Maria Pasquala Villafana). This sort of confusion could lead one to erroneous extrapolations of the size of the adult Amerindian population of Arima, an estimate I have avoided.

This entry is of interest for its notation “Indians of this Mission” in the year 1840, a time when the mission was in the process of dissolution. The complete entry reads: “On the 4^th of June of 1840, I the undersigned Curate of the Mission of Santa Rosa de Arima, certify that on this day I baptised in this Church a boy child who was born on the 4^th of May, of this year, to whom was given the name José Ysidro, legitimate son of Domingo Dias and of Juana Pascuala, Indians of this Mission. His sponsors were Juan Martin and Juana Felippa, with faith, Joaquín Sanchis”. Another difficulty is establishing a full genealogical record is to be found in the plethora of ‘common’ names such as Domingo Diaz or, as I noted, the popular ‘Juan Urbano’ (John Urban). One has to decide whether one is dealing with the same parent, or another parent, a decision which affects the charting of whom is related to whom, and, the determination of the size of the population.

I am currently in the process of processing and organizing all the data collected from the Baptismal Registers. The aim will be to establish an interactive genealogical database that will allow users to search for names and observe the relationships amongst them.