Plantation House

Plantation House, Waterloo, Trinidad:
One of the few surviving “Plantation Houses” from the Couva sugar estates, Trinidad which were residences for mainly expatriate senior staff. In 1937 there were two major developments which occurred on these sugar lands. One was the formation of the All Trinidad Sugar Estates Factory Workers Trade Union which for the first time gave representation to many thousands of sugar workers who had revolted in 1935, 1936 and 1937 against slave conditions on the sugar estates. Now, under the leadership of Adrian Cola Rienzi they transformed the nature of the industry.
At the same time, Caroni (1937) was created when Tate and Lyle, a British multi-national company bought our Caroni Sugar Estates (Trinidad) Ltd making a conglomerate which included Waterloo on the Western coast and Brechin Castle in Couva. By 1940 the landscape of its headquarters, Brechin Castle, was changed by the construction of the factory and the four cooling ponds at the back as well as major company offices, the dispensary, Sevilla School, Sevilla Club and residences for mainly expatriate senior staff.
In 1960 Caroni bought out Usine Ste. Madeleine factory which had grown considerably since its founding in 1870. In 1975 the State bought the conglomerate, calling it Caroni (1975) Ltd which continued producing sugar but also went into diversification, producing citrus, prawns, large and small ruminants and rice.