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Hello, my name is Decs Male Teachers, and I am the Bennett Muskies Fellow in Atlantic History at Exeter College, Oxford.

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I am from Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean and I've been based in Oxford for the past two years.

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I want to talk to you about eminent historian as head of government, Dr Eric Williams.

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But first, let me take you to Oxford through Williams's eyes.

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The place perhaps most associate of Williams and Oxford is St. Caspian's college.

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The college is still too easy to what's the east of Oxford on the back of the river to live.

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Perhaps one of the most characteristic aspects of the college is the fact that it is not enclosed by tall walls, but rather has an open design.

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All this would have been a bit unfamiliar to Williams, however, who arrived at Oxford in 1932.

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St. Catherine's College was not yet a formal college. It was no as an Catherine society,

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which was an association that enabled students to be members of the university without the other half above the college,

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thus avoiding the prohibitive cost of an office with college. Now back to Williams.

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Dr Williams left Trinidad and Tobago to independence from Britain and became the first prime minister of the country in 1962.

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He was not only influential in the early development of the country, but also in the wider Caribbean region.

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He made foundational contributions and efforts to what's Caribbean integration?

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Even more significantly, Dr. Williams is perhaps best remembered locally for his scholarly contributions

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as an Oxford trained Caribbean historian who studied at St Patrick's College,

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where he completed a B.A. in history 1955 and later did fail in history in 1958.

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His most influential work, Capitalism and Slavery, first published in 1944,

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stemmed from his D from dissertation entitled The Economic Aspects of the Abolition of the West Indian Slave Trade and Slave Capitalism and Slavery,

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with its several major theses and subspecies, opened up the study of Connexions between slavery,

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the Atlantic slave trade and its impact on European economies.

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It inspired debates that persist to the present date. Even one of the book's fiercest critics.

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Historian Seymour Dresher, categorises it as a classic,

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noting that if one criterion of a classic is its ability to reorient almost basic way

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of viewing an object or concept Eric Williams has studied supremely passes that test.

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Williams says work has had a tremendous impact on the way in which we understand the British

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Empire to make capitalism and slavery made a significant argument about the accumulation of goods.

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No wealth in Britain based on Perugian slavery as well as slavery.

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Tremendous impact on British society, culture and politics in the 18th century.

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Most recently, the University College of London's Legacies of British Labour Leadership Project has highlighted the continued significance

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of capitalism and slavery and significantly expanded of Williams's initial research beyond Wiggins's scholarship.

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He played a significant role in the Caribbean decolonisation process.

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In fact, Williams was one of three Oxford educated independence leaders in the Caribbean, along with Norman, Madelene and Graffy Adams.

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Williams, Manley and Adams all provide a good avenue to consider the relationship between Oxford and decolonisation process in the Caribbean.

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As a Caribbean historian with some interest in connexions between history and public policy and societal development.

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I am especially interested in Williams as the politicians Scotland reading capitalism and slavery helped me to develop a

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rabid passion for history and for conducting my own historical research through his work on a relatively distant past.

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Dr Williams caused a generation of Caribbean people to charge and feel motivated by their heritage.

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In the same vein, I hope to encourage Caribbean people to appreciate the significance of having a better understanding of their history,

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with the aim of inspiring greater regional pride and empowering them to forge a stronger future in the region.

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For those to come. Thank you very much.