''Knocking Our Own Ting'' is a

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or ...

pamphlet published by Belizean writer

Evan X Hyde Evan Anthony Hyde (better known as Evan X Hyde; born 30 April 1947) is a Belizean writer, journalist, media executive and former politician. He publishes and writes for the nation's largest newspaper, '' Amandala'', and oversees its subsidiaries ...

in 1969 discussing the

Battle of St. George's Caye The Battle of St. George's Caye was a military engagement that lasted from 3 to 10 September 1798, off the coast of British Honduras (present-day Belize). However, the name is typically reserved for the final battle that occurred on 10 Septemb ...

, a naval battle off the coast of

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wa ...

which occurred in 1798. The battle had been celebrated since 1898 on September 10 as St. George's Caye Day, with Hyde's work seeking to question the traditional celebration of the engagement.

Synopsis

Hyde, already exposed to the theories Black Power movement, argued in the pamphlet that celebrating the

tended to divide Belizeans more than unify them. The combatants in the battle – white slavemasters (Baymen) and enslaved Blacks – were the ancestors and forefathers of the

Belizean Creole people Belizean Creoles, also known as Kriols, are a Creole ethnic group native to Belize. Belizean Creoles are primarily mixed-raced descendants of enslaved West and Central Africans who were brought to the British Honduras (present-day Belize along ...

; while their

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

opponents were the ancestors of the

Mestizo (; ; fem. ) is a term used for racial classification to refer to a person of mixed European and Indigenous American ancestry. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also refer to people who are culturally European even though thei ...

s in

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

after intermarrying with indigenous Central Americans. Hyde argued that the celebration of the efforts by both Blacks and whites to defeat the Spanish only served to alienate Mestizos who had

emigrated Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...

to Belize. In Hyde's view, the holiday only served to increase divisions in Belizean society between whites, Blacks and Mestizos. Hyde also questioned the relevancy of the holiday in a multiracial and multiethnic Belize which was significantly different demographically to the region in 1798, when the battle was fought. He concluded that the only celebrations which should occur on September 10 was that of the efforts of the Black soldiers in the battle, rather than any national pride, given that Belize was still a colony.

Publishing

Benex Press issued the first edition of ''Knocking Our Own Ting'' in 1969. It then went out of print until the publication of ''X-Communication'' by Angelus Press in 1995.

References

Political satire Belizean books 1969 books {{Belize-stub