Charles Duncan O'Neal (30 November 1879 – November 1936)Sean Creighton and Peter Freshwater
"Charles Duncan O'Neal"
, ''North East Slavery & Abolition Group ENewsletter'', No. 8, April 2010, p. 15. was a

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...

physician,

political figure A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

and

labor rights Labor rights or workers' rights are both legal rights and human rights relating to labor relations between workers and employers. These rights are codified in national and international labor and employment law. In general, these rights influen ...

activist. He founded the radical Democratic League in 1924 and influenced the shift towards party-focused politics still seen in Barbados today.

Early life

O'Neal was born in St Lucy,

to Joseph O’Neal and Kathleen O’Neal (formerly Pinnie Kathleen Prescod). His father, a blacksmith turned shopkeeper, invested in his son's education. Because of this, O’Neal was schooled at Harrison College, and in 1899 went to study medicine at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

, graduating with an

MBChB Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery ( la, Medicinae Baccalaureus, Baccalaureus Chirurgiae; abbreviated most commonly MBBS), is the primary medical degree awarded by medical schools in countries that follow the tradition of the United Kin ...

on 23 July 1904.

Political career

While still at university, O’Neal became an active member of the

Independent Labour Party The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a British political party of the left, established in 1893 at a conference in Bradford, after local and national dissatisfaction with the Liberals' apparent reluctance to endorse working-class candidates ...

of Kier Hardie. After his graduation he served on the County Council of Sunderland, influenced by his surgical work with coal miners and workers in

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

. When O’Neal returned to Barbados, progressive forces had already begun to agitate for greater rights for the labouring underclass against what had continued to be a plantocratic government. He founded the Democratic League in 1924, along with

Clennell Wickham Clennell Wilsden Wickham (21 September 1895 – 6 October 1938) was a radical West Indian journalist, editor of Barbadian newspaper ''The Herald'' and champion of black, working-class causes against the white planter oligarchy in colonial Barbado ...

. Prior to 1942, voters were required by the Representation of the People Act to have a minimum income as well as at least an acre of land or land that produced a minimum profit. This restricted democratic participation to the wealthy elite, many of them owners of the plantations that still dominated Barbados’

sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalks t ...

economic landscape. However, in the 1920s, villages began to expand, resulting in the rise of a newly enfranchised electorate, mostly from the labour class and of colour. The League's early focus was the increased registration of these new voters, in an effort push through legislation that had been widely opposed by the plantocratic elite. These included compulsory free education, the abolition of child labour and expanded worker protections. As a part of this and with his background in Labour and

democratic socialism Democratic socialism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing political philosophy that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy, with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and workers' self- ...

, O’Neal also worked towards the organization and unionization of the workers, including representing them during strike action. O’Neal was elected to the constituency of the city of Bridgetown in 1932, a seat he held until his death four years later.

Legacy

The Democratic League shifted Barbadian politics away from a paradigm that focused on voting for individual to where the current system, where support of a party over the individual tends to guide voters. Some of the goals of O’Neal's Democratic League were taken up by his opponents in the Barbados Labour Party after his death and some, such as free education, were later to be accomplished by the Democratic Labour Party.Emancipation III: Aspects of the Post-Slavery Experience of Barbados, 1988 One of the two main bridges over the Careenage in the capital-city

Bridgetown Bridgetown (UN/LOCODE: BB BGI) is the capital and largest city of Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Island ...

is named the

Charles Duncan O'Neal Bridge Charles Duncan O'Neal Bridge is a bridge in Bridgetown, Barbados. It is one of two bridges over the Careenage, the other being the Chamberlain Bridge, although unlike the Charles Duncan Bridge it does not take traffic. It is named after Charles Du ...

. By an act of

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

in 1998 O'Neal was named as one of the ten (now presently eleven)

National Heroes of Barbados The Order of National Heroes is the supreme honour within the national honours system of Barbados and was established by the Order of National Heroes Act 1998 by the Parliament of Barbados. Members are referred to as National Heroes, and are ...

. He is currently on the $10 Barbados banknote.

References

External links

africanaencyclopedia.com

Barbadian politicians 1879 births 1936 deaths Barbadian physicians National Heroes of Barbados Alumni of the University of Edinburgh People from Saint Lucy, Barbados People educated at Harrison College (Barbados) {{Barbados-politician-stub