"Argues that in content and orientation islands' educational system during colonial period was geared more to the metropole than to the local situation. Uses career and initiatives of J. O. Cutteridge, British educational official in Trinidad, to portray the occasional absurdity of the system. Highlights religious bodies' meaningful role in building schools and in other educational activities. Concludes that despite problems, education did provide a mechanism for upward social mobility and for overcoming barriers imposed by race, class, or ethnicity. Includes list of island scholars from late-19th century through 1939"--Handbook of Latin American Studies, v. 58.