An Archaeology and History of a Caribbean Sugar Plantation on Antigua

An Archaeology and History of a Caribbean Sugar Plantation on Antigua PDF Author: Georgia L. Fox
Publisher: University Press of Florida
ISBN: 1683401441
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 337

Book Description
This volume uses archaeological and documentary evidence to reconstruct daily life at Betty’s Hope plantation on the island of Antigua, one of the largest sugar plantations in the Caribbean. It demonstrates the rich information that the multidisciplinary approach of contemporary historical archaeology can offer when assessing the long-term impacts of sugarcane agriculture on the region and its people. Drawing on ten years of research at the 300-year-old site, the researchers uncover the plantation’s inner workings and its connections to broader historical developments in the Atlantic World. Excavations at the Great House reveal similarities to other British colonial sites, and historical records reveal the owners’ involvement in the Atlantic slave trade and in the trade of rum and other commodities. Artifacts uncovered from the slave quarters—ceramic tokens, repurposed bottle glass, and hundreds of Afro-Antiguan pottery sherds—speak to the agency of enslaved peoples in the face of harsh living conditions. Contributors also use ethnographic field data collected from interviews with contemporary farmers, as well as soil analysis to demonstrate how three centuries of sugarcane monocropping created a complicated legacy of soil depletion. Today tourism has long surpassed sugar as Antigua’s primary economic driver. Looking at visitor exhibits and new technologies for exploring and interpreting the site, the volume discusses best practices in cultural heritage management at Betty’s Hope and other locations that are home to contested historical narratives of a colonial past. A volume in the Florida Museum of Natural History: Ripley P. Bullen Series

"The Garden of the World"

Author: Dan Hicks
Publisher: British Archaeological Reports Oxford Limited
ISBN:
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 148

Book Description
Studies in Contemporary and Historical Archaeology 3 This study uses the perspectives of what might be termed the 'empirical tradition' of British landscape archaeology that developed in the 1960s and 1970s, especially in industrial archaeology, to explore the early modern history of the 'garden' landscapes formed by British colonialism in the eastern Caribbean, and their place in the world. It presents a detailed chronological sequence of the changing material conditions of these English-/British-owned plantation landscapes during the 17th, 18th and early 19th centuries, with particular reference to the origins, history and legacies of the sugar industry. The study draws together the results of archaeological fieldwork and documentary research to present a progressive account of the historical landscapes of the islands of St Kitts and St Lucia: sketching a chronological outline of landscape change. This approach to landscape is characterised by the integration of archaeological field survey, standing buildings recording alongside documentary and cartographic sources, and focuses upon producing accounts of material change to landscapes and buildings. By providing a long-term perspective on eastern Caribbean colonial history: from the nature of early, effectively prehistoric contact and interaction in the 16th century, through early permanent European settlements and into the developed sugar societies of the 18th and 19th centuries, the study suggests a temporal and thematic framework of landscape change that might inform the further development of historical archaeology in the island Caribbean region. The broader aim of the study relates to exploring how archaeological techniques can be used to contribute a highly detailed, empirical case study to the interdisciplinary study of postcolonial landscapes and British colonialism. In order to achieve this goal, the study draws upon the techniques of what has been called the 'empirical tradition' of landscape archaeology.

Encyclopedia of Caribbean Archaeology

Encyclopedia of Caribbean Archaeology PDF Author: Basil A. Reid
Publisher: University Press of Florida
ISBN: 0813048532
Category : Reference
Languages : en
Pages : 404

Book Description
Encyclopedia of Caribbean Archaeology offers a comprehensive overview of the available archaeological research conducted in the region. Beginning with the earliest native migrations and moving through contemporary issues of heritage management, the contributors tackle the usual questions of colonization, adaptation, and evolution while embracing newer research techniques, such as geoinformatics, archaeometry, paleodemography, DNA analysis, and seafaring simulations. Entries are cross-referenced so that readers can efficiently access data on a variety of related topics. The introduction includes a survey of the various archaeological periods in the Caribbean, as well as a discussion of the region’s geography, climate, topography, and oceanography. It also offers an easy-to-read review of the historical archaeology, providing a better understanding of the cultural contexts of the Caribbean that resulted from the convergence of European, Native American, African, and then Asian settlers.

Plantations of Antigua: the Sweet Success of Sugar (Volume 2)

Plantations of Antigua: the Sweet Success of Sugar (Volume 2) PDF Author: Agnes C. Meeker MBE
Publisher: AuthorHouse
ISBN: 1546239731
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 545

Book Description
Sugar. It sits there, dormant, nestled in a small bowl or serving-size packet, waiting to be spooned into a cup of coffee or tea, spread across some cereal, or dropped into a recipe for cake, pie, or other scrumptious treat in the making. It is so readily available, so easy to use, and so irresistibly tasty. But few people stop to realize the enormous economic, social, political, even military upheaval this simple-looking, widely popular food enhancer has caused in many parts of the world. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, even into the nineteenth century and early decades of the twentieth, sugar cane was a preeminent crop upon which economies succeeded or failed, societies grew, and money flowed like . . . well, sugar! A region particularly impacted by sugar was the volcanic islands of the Caribbean—virgin soil enriched by crushed coral and limestone and blessed by unlimited sunshine. The result was soil so rich for planting that the necklace of island colonies and small nation-states became a massive source of the world’s supply of sugar. Antigua’s 108 square miles, an island of undulating hills and indented coastline, fell into this category.

Historical Archaeologies of the Caribbean

Historical Archaeologies of the Caribbean PDF Author: Todd M. Ahlman
Publisher: Caribbean Archaeology and Ethn
ISBN: 0817320326
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 285

Book Description
New perspectives on Caribbean historical archaeology that go beyond the colonial plantation Historical Archaeologies of the Caribbean: Contextualizing Sites through Colonialism, Capitalism, and Globalism addresses issues in Caribbean history and historical archaeology such as freedom, frontiers, urbanism, postemancipation life, trade, plantation life, and new heritage. This collection moves beyond plantation archaeology by expanding the knowledge of the diverse Caribbean experiences from the late seventeenth through the mid-nineteenth centuries. The essays in this volume are grounded in strong research programs and data analysis that incorporate humanistic narratives in their discussions of Amerindian, freedmen, plantation, institutional, military, and urban sites. Sites include a sample of the many different types found across the Caribbean from a variety of colonial contexts that are seldom reported in archaeological research, yet constitute components essential to understanding the full range and depth of Caribbean history. Contributors examine urban contexts in Nevis and St. John and explore the economic connections between Europeans and enslaved Africans in urban and plantation settings in St. Eustatius. The volume contains a pioneering study of frontier exchange with Amerindians in Dominica and a synthesis of ceramic exchange networks among enslaved Africans in the Leeward Islands. Chapters on military forts in Nevis and St. Kitts call attention to this often-neglected aspect of the Caribbean colonial landscape. Contributors also directly address culture heritage issues relating to community participation and interpretation. On St. Kitts, the legacy of forced confinement of lepers ties into debates of current public health policy. Plantation site studies from Antigua and Martinique are especially relevant because they detail comparisons of French and British patterns of African enslavement and provide insights into how each addressed the social and economic changes that occurred with emancipation. Contributors Todd M. Ahlman / Douglas V. Armstrong / Samantha Rebovich Bardoe / Paul Farnsworth / Jeffrey R. Ferguson / R. Grant Gilmore III / Diana González-Tennant / Edward González-Tennant / Barbara J. Heath / Carter L. Hudgins Kenneth G. Kelly / Eric Klingelhofer / Roger H. Leech / Stephan Lenik / Gerald F. Schroedl / Diane Wallman / Christian Williamson

Sugar Cane Capitalism and Environmental Transformation

Sugar Cane Capitalism and Environmental Transformation PDF Author: Marco G. Meniketti
Publisher: University of Alabama Press
ISBN: 0817318917
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 277

Book Description
Part I. Theory and method -- The Caribbean defined and the scope of archaeology -- Method and theory -- Colonial settlement and emergent capitalism -- Part II. Archaeology -- Nevis history, 1627-1833 -- An archaeology of plantation industrialization -- Decline and adjustment, 1782-1833 -- Part III. Synthesis and conclusions -- Environmental change in capitalism's shadow.

Out of Many, One People

Out of Many, One People PDF Author: James A. Delle
Publisher: University of Alabama Press
ISBN: 0817356487
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 345

Book Description
As a source of colonial wealth and a crucible for global culture, Jamaica has had a profound impact on the formation of the modern world system. From the island's economic and military importance to the colonial empires it has hosted and the multitude of ways in which diverse people from varied parts of the world have coexisted in and reacted against systems of inequality, Jamaica has long been a major focus of archaeological studies of the colonial period. This volume assembles for the first time the results of nearly three decades of historical archaeology in Jamaica. Scholars present research on maritime and terrestrial archaeological sites, addressing issues such as: the early Spanish period at Seville la Nueva; the development of the first major British settlement at Port Royal; the complexities of the sugar and coffee plantation system, and the conditions prior to, and following, the abolition of slavery in Jamaica. The everyday life of African Jamaican people is examined by focusing on the development of Jamaica's internal marketing system, consumer behavior among enslaved people, iron-working and ceramic-making traditions, and the development of a sovereign Maroon society at Nanny Town. Out of Many, One People paints a complex and fascinating picture of life in colonial Jamaica, and demonstrates how archaeology has contributed to heritage preservation on the island.

Archaeology of Domestic Landscapes of the Enslaved in the Caribbean

Archaeology of Domestic Landscapes of the Enslaved in the Caribbean PDF Author: James A. Delle
Publisher: University Press of Florida
ISBN: 1683403177
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 267

Book Description
While previous research on household archaeology in the colonial Caribbean has drawn heavily on artifact analysis, this volume provides the first in-depth examination of the architecture of slave housing during this period. It examines the considerations that went into constructing and inhabiting living spaces for the enslaved and reveals the diversity of people and practices in these settings. Contributors present case studies using written descriptions, period illustrations, and standing architecture, in addition to archaeological evidence to illustrate the wide variety of built environments for enslaved populations in places including Jamaica, the Bahamas, and the islands of the Lesser Antilles. They investigate how the enslaved defined their social positions and identities through house, yard, and garden space; they explore what daily life was like for slaves on military compounds; they compare the spatial arrangements of slave villages on plantations based on type of labor; and they show how the style of traditional laborer houses became a form of vernacular architecture still in use today. This volume expands our understanding of the wide range of enslaved experiences across British, French, Dutch, and Danish colonies. Contributors: Elizabeth C. Clay | James A. Delle | Todd M. Ahlman | Marco Meniketti | Kenneth Kelly | Hayden Bassett | James A. Delle | Kristen R. Fellows | Allan D. Meyers | Elizabeth C. Clay | Alicia Odewale | Meredith D. Hardy | Zachary J. M. Beier | Mark W. Hauser A volume in the Florida Museum of Natural History: Ripley P. Bullen Series Publication of the paperback edition made possible by a Sustaining the Humanities through the American Rescue Plan grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

The Historical Turn in Southeastern Archaeology

The Historical Turn in Southeastern Archaeology PDF Author: Robbie Ethridge
Publisher: University Press of Florida
ISBN: 1683401905
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 259

Book Description
This volume uses case studies to capture the recent emphasis on history in archaeological reconstructions of America’s deep past. Previously, archaeologists studying “prehistoric” America focused on long-term evolutionary change, imagining ancient societies like living organisms slowly adapting to environmental challenges. Contributors to this volume demonstrate how today’s researchers are incorporating a new awareness that the precolonial era was also shaped by people responding to historical trends and forces. Essays in this volume delve into sites across what is now the United States Southeast—the St. Johns River Valley, the Gulf Coast, Greater Cahokia, Fort Ancient, the southern Appalachians, and the Savannah River Valley. Prominent scholars of the region highlight the complex interplay of events, human decision-making, movements, and structural elements that combined to shape native societies. The research in this volume represents a profound shift in thinking about precolonial and colonial history and begins to erase the false divide between ancient and contemporary America. Contributors: Susan M. Alt | Robin Beck | Eric E. Bowne | Robert A. Cook | Robbie Ethridge | Jon Bernard Marcoux | Timothy R. Pauketat | Thomas J. Pluckhahn | Asa R. Randall | Christopher B. Rodning | Kenneth E. Sassaman | Lynne P. Sullivan | Victor D. Thompson | Neill J. Wallis | John E. Worth A volume in the Florida Museum of Natural History: Ripley P. Bullen Series

Plantations of Antigua: The Sweet Success of Sugar: A Biography of the Historic Plantations Which Made Antigua a Major Source of the World's E

Plantations of Antigua: The Sweet Success of Sugar: A Biography of the Historic Plantations Which Made Antigua a Major Source of the World's E PDF Author: Mbe Agnes C. Meeker
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781524687311
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 336

Book Description
Sugar. It sits there, dormant, nestled in a small bowl or serving-size packet, waiting to be spooned into a cup of coffee or tea; spread across some cereal; or dropped into a recipe for cake, pie, or other scrumptious treat in the making. It is so readily available, so easy to use, so irresistibly tasty. But few people stop to realize the enormous economic, social, political, even military, upheaval this simple-looking, widely popular food enhancer has caused in many parts of the world. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, even into the nineteenth century and early decades of the twentieth, sugar cane was a preeminent crop upon which economies succeeded or failed, societies grew, and money flowed like . . . well, sugar! A region particularly impacted by sugar was the volcanic islands of the Caribbean--virgin soil enriched by crushed coral and limestone, and blessed by unlimited sunshine. The result was soil so rich for planting that the necklace of island colonies and small nation-states became a massive source of the world's supply of sugar. Antigua's 108 square miles, an island of undulating hills and indented coastline, fell into this category.