Creole Economics: Caribbean Cunning under the French Flag

Epilogue: Imagining the Future of Creole Economics

plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose. (the more things change, the more they stay the same) French maxim Epilogue imagining the future of creole economics Everything that weighs on the contemporary moment of widespread, cross-class earning off the books suggests this phenomenon cannot be reduced to economics alone. The Patricks, Michels, Edouards, and the occasional Charlottes who earn undeclared income are also intent on asserting their autonomy and cleverness as they stiff the French state. Their schemes and their pride tell the more complex story about how economic life in Martinique is conditioned by creole values and identities. Part of this story, as we have seen, is tied to Caribbean histories of slavery , in which creole adaptations for cunning and individualism enhanced survival and a sense of dignity. These adaptations have been stoked with fuel from another part of the story that is specific to Martinique and its creole economics 210 close relationship to France. For despite the island’s integration and assimilation to France, metropolitan French continue to withhold their acceptance of Martiniquais as truly French. In this gap, in which tropical people descended from slaves are limited in their ability to claim Frenchness, creole identities offer both a refuge from rejection and an assertion of difference. Creole economics thrives on such assertions of creoleness as it animates the social world of men in Martinique. It is here, among men, where the creole débrouillard lives and where the exercise of personal autonomy and freedom from a boss carry the most meaning. Just as courting other women on the side is assumed as a right by many men, so the pursuit of undeclared income is seen as reflecting masculine liberty and entitlement. Coloring the stories of individual men are differences that distinguish a man’s skills, his social networks, his resources, and the particular types of opportunities that are within his reach and ability to exploit. By operating in the cracks, out of sight, and on home ground, men in Martinique practice creole economics unimpeded. Below the radar of the French state, they are able to elude its authority and display local styles of cunning without appearing to compromise their Frenchness. But the tensions that have sustained creole economics amidst Martinique ’s Frenchness may now be shifting. By the late 1990s, the longstanding denigration of creole language and culture in middle- and upper-income households in Martinique had begun giving way to a surge of popular interest in creole history and identity. This interest is apparent in the revival of storytelling traditions in urban areas; in an explosion of arts and cultural events celebrating creole dance, theatre, and music; in new museums dedicated to island history; in new emphases on creole preparations at fine restaurants ; and in high-end, custom-tailored clothing incorporating traditional patterns. Even in Martinique’s spectator-oriented Carnaval, I witnessed a new dress craze for parade participants and spectators alike: the ubiquitous display of madras, long associated with traditional Sunday dress. In urban areas of the island, the use of the Creole language is in stronger evidence than it was ten years ago, during my early fieldwork on the island. At that time, one heard Creole spoken primarily in low-income households and neighborhoods, in market areas of town, around bus terminals, and in large public gatherings such as Carnaval or open-air concerts. Today, it remains true that the language one typically hears on the streets and in the shops, businesses, and government offices of downtown Fort-de-France is Epilogue 211 French rather than Creole. But there are important signals that Creole is commanding new respect. Two major radio stations are now broadcasting entirely in Creole. Many radio channels inject Creole banter into their French-dominated programming, and Sunday talk shows or interviews usually feature at least one program in Creole. On major network TV, Creole is heard increasingly from those people interviewed by news reporters. Special television programs now air exclusively in Creole, and there is a new presence of Creole in TV advertising. Driving around town, I am no longer surprised to see billboards with Creole-only messages, or retail marquees with Creole invitations to shop. Increasingly, local festivals, concerts, and art exhibitions are presented and promoted entirely or partly in Creole. Another indication of the surging popular interest in creole culture is signaled by growing interest among many in traveling for...