Arthur Andrew Cipriani

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Captain Arthur Andrew Cipriani (1875-1945) was a Trinidad and Tobago labour leader and politician. He served as mayor of Port of Spain, elected member of the Legislative Council, leader of the Trinidad Workingmen's Association and founder of the Trinidad Labour Party.

Cipriani served with the West Indies Regiment during World War I and was impressed by how the West Indians adapted to the business of modern war. This led him to conclude that the West Indian people were capable of self-government. Cipriani was a planter of Corsican ancestry, and his followers were working class blacks andd East Indians.

C.L.R. James wrote The Life of Captain Cipriani, which was published with financial assistance of Trinidadian cricket player Learie Constantine. One chapter, The Case for West Indian Self-Government, was published by Leonard and Virginia Woolf's Hogarth Press.

[edit] References

Anthony, Michael (2001). Historical Dictionary of Trinidad and Tobago. Scarecrow Press, Inc. Lanham, Md., and London. ISBN 0-8108-3173-2.