The Eric Williams Memorial Lecture Series honours the memory of Dr. Eric Williams, the first Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago. The lectures are conducted annually, and it is the Central Bank’s flagship event. The series was initiated by the Board of the Central Bank under Governor Victor Bruce, to commemorate the life and contribution of Dr. Williams to Caribbean civilisation and international enlightenment on the impact of the Transatlantic slave trade.
Dr. Williams was a well-known scholar and statesman. As a Caribbean historian, he was the author of several books, and was particularly well known internationally for the ground-breaking work, “Capitalism and Slavery.” He was famous for his public outreach, especially for the lectures he gave at Woodford Square in Port of Spain, which he dubbed the University of Woodford Square.
The Eric Williams Memorial Lecture Series is part of the Bank’s ongoing commitment to education and national development and has attracted intellectuals from Latin America, the Caribbean and North America. The lectures cover a wide range of issues related to the economic, social, cultural and political development of Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean.
