Alphonso Philbert Theophilus "Fargo" James (c.1908-7 January 1962), born in

Black Rock, Tobago Black is a color which results from the absence or complete Absorption (electromagnetic radiation), absorption of visible spectrum, visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or fi ...

, was a

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

politician. He was elected to the Legislative Council in 1946. He served in the Legislative Council until 1961 when he was defeated by

A. N. R. Robinson Arthur Napoleon Raymond Robinson (16 December 1926 – 9 April 2014; known as A. N. R. or "Ray" Robinson), was the third President of Trinidad and Tobago, serving from 19 March 1997 to 17 March 2003. He was also Trinidad and Tobago's third Prime ...

. James was known as " Fargo", after a brand of trucks, because of his strength and tendency to crush opponents. He was known as being a proponent of Tobagonian secession from Trinidad and Tobago.

Political life

In 1919 James left Tobago for Trinidad, where he worked in the

oil field A petroleum reservoir or oil and gas reservoir is a subsurface accumulation of hydrocarbons contained in porous or fractured rock formations. Such reservoirs form when kerogen (ancient plant matter) is created in surrounding rock by the presence ...

s and later as a stevedore, working for Brighton Lake Asphalt, which produced and exported

asphalt Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term a ...

from the

Pitch Lake The Pitch Lake is the largest natural deposit of asphalt in the world, estimated to contain 10 million tons. It is located in La Brea in southwest Trinidad, within the Siparia Regional Corporation. The lake covers about 100 acres (0.405 squa ...

in La Brea. He initially joined the Trinidad Workingmen's Association led by A. A. Cipriani and later the

Federated Workers Trade Union The Federated Workers Trade Union (FWTU) was a trade union in Trinidad and Tobago that was formed in 1935. It was Registered in 1937 and became the recognised union for some workers in the private sector but also those in the Public Works Departmen ...

led by

Albert Gomes Albert Maria Gomes (25 March 1911 – 13 January 1978) was a Trinidadian unionist, politician, and writer of Portuguese descent, was the first Chief Minister of Trinidad and Tobago. He was the founder of the Political Progress Groups and later led ...

and

Quintin O'Connor Quintin O'Connor (31 October 1908 – 3 November 1958) was a union leader, activist, and politician in colonial Trinidad and Tobago from the 1930s to the late 1950s. He played an essential role in the institutionalization of unionism in Trinidad ...

. James became a union organiser and represented oil and asphalt workers. James became a successful businessman, supplying labour contracts in the oil fields and stevedore services in

Port of Spain Port of Spain (Spanish: ''Puerto España''), officially the City of Port of Spain (also stylized Port-of-Spain), is the capital of Trinidad and Tobago and the third largest municipality, after Chaguanas and San Fernando. The city has a municip ...

. He was elected to the Legislative Council in 1946 representing Tobago. He was first elected on a Butler Party ticket, but after falling out with T. U. B. Butler, he affiliated with

Patrick Solomon Patrick may refer to: *Patrick (given name), list of people and fictional characters with this name *Patrick (surname), list of people with this name People *Saint Patrick (c. 385–c. 461), Christian saint *Gilla Pátraic (died 1084), Patrick or ...

's Caribbean Socialist Party. James later represented the Trinidad Labour Party and the Democratic Labour Party. After being defeated by Robinson in the 1961 General Elections, James retired from politics and died shortly thereafter.

References

*
Alphonso Philbert Theophilus James
from ''

Newsday ''Newsday'' is an American daily newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI", and f ...

Historical Digest'', September 24, 2000.

External links

Images of a bust of A. P. T. James
in Scarborough, Tobago. {{DEFAULTSORT:James, A. P. T. 1900s births 1962 deaths Members of the Legislative Council of Trinidad and Tobago Democratic Labour Party (Trinidad and Tobago) politicians Butler Party politicians Trinidad Labour Party politicians People from Tobago Trinidad and Tobago businesspeople Trinidad and Tobago trade unionists

Political life

Further reading

References

External links