The effects of slavery and the colonial attitudes of the British Empire that once dominated the country became evident through the racism in Trinidad continued for many years after the emancipation of the country. "Although rooted in the material history of colonialism and slavery, the dominance of this tiny (historically heterogeneous but increasingly coherent) minority of Europeans and European descendants was inseparable from beliefs about the prestige of white skin. In the British Caribbean, as in much of the modern colonized world, whiteness was synonymous with political, economic, and social privilege and maintaining this equivalence was an official priority and an elite preoccupation. In order to maintain this racial segregation, white men had a crucial responsibility: whenever their sexual partners were nonwhite, the exercise of discretion was paramount." Integration of blacks and whites was frowned upon, which allowed for the reinforcement of the repression of the black people and community. The effects of racism are evident throughout Lovelace's novel, namely through his portrayal of Miss Cleothilda (the "queen"). She is the only mulatto woman of the Calvary Hill, and as such, has declared herself as being above the other residents of the Hill. When she begins to date Philo, a black man, the other residents of the Hill begin to see Miss Cleothilda in a new light: as humble and as an equal to everyone else.