Built on African Principles: How the enslaved formed domestic life on St Nicholas Abbey plantation

MA ARCHITECTURE HISTORY AND THEORY STUDIES 2020

BUILT ON AFRICAN PRINCIPLES HOW THE ENSLAVED FORMED DOMESTIC LIFE ON ST NICHOLAS ABBEY PLANTATION SHAWN ADAMS - WORD COUNT:5000

“Architectural history, as written and taught in the Western world, has never been concerned with more than a few cultures.�

Bernard Rudofsky - Architecture Without Architects

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to thank everyone that helped me produce this body of work. A very special thank you goes to Maria Giudici and Georgios Eftaxiopoulos for their invaluable guidance and feedback throughout this project.

ABSTRACT

1 New World – Racialized slavery in which White slave masters forcibly brought Black African slaves to British owned colonies across the Caribbean and Americas.

The violent displacement of African slaves in the New World1 resulted in alternate notions of, community, kinship and domesticity throughout the Caribbean. Former slave settlements such as the one located at St. Nicholas Abbey, Barbados, provide us with insight into how alienated slaves redefined their concept of home in the New World. This paper will examine the former slave settlement at St. Nicholas Abbey, from the 17th century, in order to unpack the ways in which the enslaved formed domestic life. By using St. Nicholas Abbey as a case study, the paper will investigate how new modes of living were influenced by African practices and will trace the development of slave settlements and how they informed housing in Barbados.

1

ST. NICHOLAS ABBEY Established by Colonel Benjamin Berringer in the 17th century, St. Nicholas Abbey (also known as Nicholas Abbey) was once one of Barbados’ largest and most celebrated sugar cane plantations (Fig. 1). The majority of the plantation is situated in the eastern quadrant of St. Peter and partially pokes into the north-western corner of St. Andrew (Fig. 2). The site can be approached from the coast of Speightown by taking a winding road which curves upwards to the northeast. In 1648, the plantation covered 195 acres of land but later grew to 222 by 1686.2 In 1693 the acreage had increased to 318 and today the site covers 409-acres of land with 220 of this divided into arable fields. Despite the acreage of St. Nicholas Abbey fluctuating over the years, the total number of slaves on the plantation didn’t drastically change. In the 17th century there were approximately 157 slaves and by the 19th century there were around 180.3 One may deduce that the name St. Nicholas Abbey could be a reference to the Christian Bishop who helped the impoverished.

However, considering the horrific exploitation and brutality slaves faced on the plantation, it is clear that the site was not named after the Bishop of Myra.4 To understand the origin of the name, one must first trace the plantation’s line of ownership. After the death of St. Nicholas Abbey’s founder Benjamin Berringer in 1661, the site was passed to his wife and then later on to their son John Berringer. John died in 1693 leaving the land to his daughter Susanna Berringer.5 In 1718 after Susanna got married, the property was acquired by her husband George Nicholas as a result of marital laws.6 George went on to name the site Nicholas Plantation. While the origin of this part of the name is pretty clear, the source of the words ‘Saint’ and ‘Abbey’ are quite vague. The word ‘Saint’ is said to have been added to create grandeur,7 while ‘Abbey’ most likely comes from ‘Bath Abbey,’ the location where the plantation’s former owners Sarah Cumberbatch and Charles Cave got married after 1811.8

2 Jerome S. Handler, ‘Plantation Research in 1987: Ethnographic and Historical’, in Searching for a Slave Cemetery in Barbados, West Indies: A Bioarchaeological and Ethnohistorical Investigation (Illinois: Southern Illinois University, 1989). p.43.

3

Ibid.

Born in the third century, St Nicholas was the Bishop of Myra and was known for his generosity towards those most in need.

4

Many sources state that John Berringer either died in 1693 or 1694.

5

6 7

Handler, Op. cit., p.43.

Ibid.

8 St. Nicholas Abbey, Owners History <http://www. stnicholasabbey.com/The-Plantation/Owners-History/> [accessed 18 April 2020].

Site Boundary

Figure 1 - Aerial view of St. Nicholas Abbey (The white line demarcates the current site boundary)

Figure 2 - Aerial view of the St. Nicholas Abbey estate

2

One of the reasons St. Nicholas Abbey is so unique is because the site housed two windmills.9 Over 50% of the near 1,000 plantations in 18th century Barbados lacked a mill, 405 had a single mill and only 70 had two.10 This suggests that the sugar production at Nicholas Abbey greatly exceeded that of many plantations on the island. While the site also had, an overseer house and other out houses the centrepiece of the plantation was its three-storey Jacobean Mansion House (Fig. 3).11 Constructed in 1658, the house was originally built to serve as a home for Benjamin Berringer, his wife and their three kids. While slave owners lived in lavish, durable buildings, slaves were relegated to precarious settlements.

The New World viciously removed African slaves from their native countries and threw them on foreign ground without even providing them with adequate housing.

9 Handler, ‘Plantation Research in 1987: Ethnographic and Historical’ p.43.

10

Ibid.

Mansion House – also referred to as Plantation House, is the home of the plantation owner.

11

3

Figure 3 - St. Nicholas Abbey Jacobean mansion house.

NEW WORLD The New World imposed alien ways of living on violently displaced Africans across the Caribbean (Fig. 4), giving birth to slave settlements on British colonies such as Barbados. The 166 square mile island of Barbados lies on the eastern fringe of the Caribbean Sea (Fig.5).12 However, as small as its territory may seem, the island’s worth greatly exceeded its size, as it was one of England’s most lucrative agricultural export colonies.13 As a result, the Barbadian plantation system was frequently emulated across the New World.

“Countless thousands of captive Africans and their descendants lived and died on Caribbean sugar plantations during the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.”14 Barbados was originally uninhabited when English colonists arrived in 1627.15 During the 17th century, British slave drivers transported thousands of enslaved Africans to Barbados by ship, with the majority of slaves coming from West African forest areas.16 It took several months to reach the West Indies from Africa and during this journey, the enslaved were chained below deck and forced to sleep in their own excrement. Survivors of this inhumane transatlantic voyage would go on to work intense 14-hour shifts producing crops on the island. By 1684 there were approximately 46,500 African slaves and only 19,500 white Europeans living in Barbados.17 As a result, Barbadian society was not a community with slaves like the Roman Empire, but instead a slave society,18 as African people were the majority.19 It should be noted that poor white Europeans ventured to the Caribbean to work as indentured servants, often inside the Mansion House. While these servants worked for a fixed amount of time to pay the debts incurred by travelling to the New World, African slaves were seen as property and would work on plantations for their entire lives.

12 Robert H Schomburgk, The History of Barbados (London: Taylor & Francis Ltd, 1998). p.8.

Russell R Menard, Sweet negotiations: sugar, slavery, and plantation agriculture in early Barbados (London: University of Virginia Press, 2014). p.112.

13

Jerome S. Handler and Diane, Wallman, ‘Production Activities in the Household Economies of Plantation Slaves: Barbados and Martinique, Mid-1600s to Mid-1800s’, INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY, 18.3, (2014), p.441.

14

15

Menard, Op. cit., p.1.

16 Stephanie Bergman and Jerome S Handler, ‘Vernacular Houses and Domestic Material Culture on Barbadian Sugar Plantations, 1640-1838’, Journal of Caribbean history. 43, 1, (2009), p.22.

17 Abdul Mohamud and Robin Whitburn, Britain’s involvement with New World slavery and the transatlantic slave trade (21 June 2018) <https://www.bl.uk/restoration-18thcentury-literature/articles/britains-involvement-with-newworld-slavery-and-the-transatlantic-slave-trade> [accessed 17 April 2020].

18

Ibid.

19 Hilary Beckles, A History of Barbados (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990), p. 32.

Figure 4 - 18th century map of the Caribbean region, made by the British map-maker Louis Stanislaw de la Rochette - held in the British Library. British colonies are outlined in pink, Spanish yellow and French blue.

Figure 5 - Section of Louis Stanislaw de la Rochetteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s map showing Barbados and its neighbouring countries

4

In the 17th century, Barbados’ economy initially revolved around crops such as tobacco and cotton. However, fickle profits quickly resulted in the unraveling of these industries.20 This led to a significant shift from small-scale cultivation of mixed produce, to large commercial production of sugar.21 Sprawling plantations where gangs of slaves worked in the fields rapidly retired small farms. Big plantations such as St. Nicholas Abbey were defined by planter’s22 aim of producing as much sugar as possible without working slaves to the point of death. On these estates, slave masters did not distinguish between male and female tasks and allowed women to work alongside men. During the 17th century, women made up the majority of the slave population, which meant planters didn’t need to frequently import slaves from Africa as the birth rate exceeded the mortality rate.23 However, Africans slaves were seen as unskilled field laborers who were unable to produce sugar effectively. Therefore, shortly after the Island’s colonization, a small group of Arawak Indian slaves from Guyana (formerly known as Guiana) were imported to teach Africans how to cultivate tropical crops and assist in the development of the plantation.24 As a result, slave communities were an amalgamation of tribes, cultures and identities with new societal relationships and social patterns.25 Estranged slaves “without historical ties or associations, sharing no common customs or values, were suddenly thrown into intimate contact.”26

Jerome S Handler, ‘The Amerindian Slave Population of Barbados In the Seventeenth and Early Eighteenth Centuries’, Caribbean Studies, 8.4, (1969), p.38.

20

21

Handler and Wallman, p.446.

22

Planter – the owner of a slave plantation.

23 Karl Watson, Slavery and Economy in Barbados (17 February 2011) <http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/ empire_seapower/barbados_01.shtml> [accessed 18 April 2020].

24 Handler, ‘The Amerindian Slave Population of Barbados In the Seventeenth and Early Eighteenth p.38.

Gary A Puckrein, Little England: Plantation Society and Anglo-Barbadian politics 1627-1700 (London: New York University Press, 1949). p.74.

25

26

Ibid., p.73.

Figure 6 - Schematic drawing of the slave ship - 808 edition of The History of the Rise, Progress, and Accomplishment of the Abolition of the African Slave-trade by the British Parliament, Thomas Clarkson.

The human cargo are shown lying down with no space between one another and men are segregated from women.

The drawing depicts 482 enslaved men, women, and children, the number permitted by law for a ship of that size.

6

Figure 7 - “Stowage of the British Slave Ship ‘Brooks’ Under the Regulated Slave Trade Act of 1788.” Plymouth Chapter of the Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade

NEGRO YARD On plantations the enslaved were allocated an area to form their own settlement, as slave masters didn’t provide them with housing.

While planters decided the location, slaves had to construct and organise the internal arrangement of these settlements themselves.

“Shelter was regarded as the slave’s own problem . . . [and he] was left to build, repair, and furnish his hut with such materials as he could find for himself.”27 Barbadian, slave settlements were often quite similar to hamlets or small villages and consisted of huts and small plots of land for crop cultivation. Commonly known as “Negro yards,”28 these settlements were usually considered tight and clustered by Europeans.29 However, there arrangement related to many African cultural inclinations. “Slaves were not following European practices but rather their own cultural notions of arranging space.”30 These seemly chaotic settlements were “influenced by their African pasts and conditions in the New World.”31 Slaves arranged their settlements like groups of people as opposed to groups of buildings, with social relationships acting as the main driver.32

27

Bergman and Handler, p.3.

28

Also referred to as Negro Town, Negro Village.

29 Henry Fraser and Bob Kiss, Barbados chattel houses (Port of Spain: Toute Bagai Publishing, 2011). p.12.

Jerome S Handler, ‘Plantation Slave Settlements in Barbados, 1650s to 1834’, in In the Shadow of the Plantation: Caribbean History & Legacy (Kingston: Ian Randle Publishers, 2002). p.130.

30

31

Handler and Wallman, p.442.

Handler, ‘Plantation Slave Settlements in Barbados, 1650s to 1834, p.130.

32

Inside the Negro Yard, households were formed, kinship was established, children were born, and religious rituals took place.33 Practices such as food preparation, tending to the ill, caring for small children, repairing of homes and naming of the young all happened inside these settlements. “Games and gambling, tobacco and alcohol consumption, musical activities, gossiping and visiting among kinsmen and friends also took place within the communities.”34 Within the Negro Yard, slaves had an array of cultural roles which were independent of the labour related plantation tasks. These included responsibilities associated with, music, haircutting, dentistry, storytelling and midwifery.35 A crucial role formed within slave settlements was the “Negro doctor” or Obeah person who was involved in the diagnosis and curing of illnesses.36 In addition these doctors were involved in solving problems and disputes within the community.

33

Ibid., p.144.

34

Ibid., p.145.

35

Ibid.

36

Ibid.

St. Lucy Lamberts Bourbon Alleyndale

Castle

Hopeland

Existing“Negro Yard” St. Nicholas Abbey Former“Negro Yard” Lewis

St. Peter Cleland Prospect

Four Hills Rock Hall

St Andrew Mangrove

Turner’s Hall Cambridge Bissex Parks

St James

St. Joseph

Lancaster

Malvern

St. Thomas Claybury

St. John

Voucluse Ashford Todds

Guinea Thicket

Kendal Drax Hall

St George

Holton

St. Philip Constant

Brighton

St. Michael

Grove Stepney

Boarded Hall

Hanson

Yorkshire Staple Grove Lowthers Searles

Christ Church Newton

0

5000m

Figure 8 - Map of Barbados showing recorded Negro Yard locations - drawn by the Author

8

At St. Nicholas Abbey, a pasture area borders the Negro Yard as the site slops north-west towards the tenant field (Fig. 9). The 5-acre former slave settlement is wedged between grassland and the mill yard. In the 17th century, the mill yard contained the Mansion House, storerooms, boiling house, workshops, stables and curing house.37 Negro Yards were often located adjacent to the mill yard so that planters could observe slaves once they had finished working for the day. Ponds acted as the main source of water for the enslaved and were located near to slave settlements. At St. Nicholas Abbey, there are various ponds to the north and south of the Negro Yard. Historical sources suggest that slaves shared these pools of water with livestock, implying that planters saw slaves as animals.38 Additionally, these ponds would be used for cleaning in the Negro Yard.

It is likely that slaves simply called their settlements ‘Yards’39 and planters added ‘Negro’ to the name in the late 17th century.40 Nonetheless, the Negro Yard formed the centre of social life and cultural interactions for slaves on St. Nicholas Abbey.41 Since Barbados had hundreds of plantations from the 17th century, it was easy for Africans to interact with other slave communities. The enslaved would “travel several miles, after their daily labour is over, to dance” in other Negro Yards42 “Many leisure-time or recreational activities were not confined to the settlements, and despite laws designed to curtail their movements, slaves left their communities and attended markets in town or the countryside.”43 Speightown which is walking distance from St. Nicholas Abbey, would allow for slaves to interact with other slaves, freeman and other white people in the area. In addition, on the weekend, slaves would be able to buy/trade goods and foodstuff at the nearby market.44

37 Handler, Plantation Slave Settlements in Barbados, 1650s to 1834, p.124.

38

Ibid., p.135.

39 Today many Caribbean people still use the word yard. It is commonly used in place of house or home. An example of this would be Caribbean patois where West Indian people say, “I’m going mi yard.” (I am going home).

40 Handler, Plantation Slave Settlements in Barbados, 1650s to 1834, p.125.

41

Handler and Wallman, p.443.

Michael Craton, Testing the Chains: Resistance to Slavery in the British West Indies (New York: Cornell University Press, 2009). p.258.

42

43 Handler, Plantation Slave Settlements in Barbados, 1650s to 1834, p.144.

Camille Chambers, Afro-Barbadian Foodways: Analysis of the use of Ceramics by Freed Afro-Barbadian Estate Workers (Master Thesis. College of William & Mary: 2015). p.29.

44

North Crab Hill

North God Hole

South Crab Hill

Gays South God Hole

Tenant Field

Pond

Nursery

Moore Hill Negro Yard

Parsons Field Burnt Ground

Water Source Mill Yard

Ten Acre

House and Mill Yard Still Pond

Porch Door Mount Groves

Mile Stone Pond

Horse Pond Gully

Sour Grass West Lime Kiln

North Turban

Grassland

Clarke Hill

Ben Jones

Water Source

Cherry Tree

South Turban

Woods

Bowen Wood

Six Acre Merricks

East Lime Kiln

Sandy Hill

Five Acre Merricks Chandlers

Welchtown Merricks

Cleland Merricks

Johnson Bottom

0

200m

Figure 9 - Plan of St. Nicholas Abbey - drawn by the Author

9

Planters believed that revolts and uprisings were often hatched during dances and social gatherings in the Negro Yard, implying that they were unique spaces for rebellion. Paintings often illustrate these dances as colourful social affairs; however, the reality would have been much bleaker due to the overall treatment and conditions slaves lived in (Fig. 10 and 11). Nonetheless, these social gatherings hugely worried planters, resulting in laws being passed in the 17th century with allowed slave masters to regularly search Negro Yards for weapons, fugitives and signs of suspicious activity.45 In 1688 an Act was passed to restrict the movement of the enslaved altogether. This resulted in slaves only being able to attend the Sunday market with permission from their masters.46 As a result, slaves created their own cultural and spiritual forms of resistance from slave masters such as drinking rum.47 Despite historical records inferring that slave settlements were peaceful areas of solidarity, there were various interpersonal conflicts which happened within them. These conflicts would arise from feuds over material goods to the disappearance of food. â&#x20AC;&#x153;More generally, disagreements or conflicts within the communities could evolve into verbal arguments, physical assaults, or even murder.â&#x20AC;?48

45 Handler, Plantation Slave Settlements in Barbados, 1650s to 1834, p.127.

46

Chambers, p.5.

47

Ibid., p.6.

48 Handler, Plantation Slave Settlements in Barbados, 1650s to 1834, p.145.

Figure 10 - Agostino Brunias - Dancing Scene in the West Indies (1764â&#x20AC;&#x201C;96) Oil paint on canvas illustrating African life on sugar plantations in the West Indies.

Figure 11 - The Old Plantation, ca. 1785-1790 - Original painting in Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum, Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia

10

THE SLAVE HOUSE The 17th century Negro Yard at St. Nicholas Abbey was very precarious. Therefore, despite archaeological excavations, it is nearly impossible to pinpoint the exact location of slave houses. These vernacular homes were typically single storey structures heavily influenced by West African and Amerindian forms (Fig. 12) such as the Ajoupa hut, and Guinea forest hut (Fig. 13 and 14). Slave houses were small, rectangular, wattle-and-daub structures with thatched roofs. While thatching in the 17th century was prevalent in Britain, it was also very common in Western Africa. Slave houses had pitched roofs made from large flexible palm leaves or sugar cane branches found on plantation fields. The roof would often protrude over the doorway providing respite from the sun and rain.49 Walls were constructed by using four forked wooden stakes which would be driven into the ground to work as framework for reed twigs that interlaced around posts (Fig. 15 and 16).50 The interior and exterior walls were plastered with mud or clay daub and the floor was usually made from dirt or packed earth (Fig. 17 and 18).51 Since beds were rare, slaves often had to sleep in hammocks or on the dirt floor in their work rags. Houses contained little furniture, few tools and usually a stool or chair.52 These items would be crafted by the slaves themselves. Like many African cultures, dishes and containers were created from gourd, calabash or local clays and coconut shells were used as drinking. Red-ware pottery played an important role in domestic life as the process was a tradition passed down by males. The majority of this pottery was hollow ware predominantly made by men,53 with women acting as peddlers.54 During the slave trade, forests were greatly depleted in order to make room for plantations. Consequently, slaves were prohibited to use wood unless it was necessary for the repair of plantation equipment. Timber was reserved for windmill parts, barrels and wagons.55 Thus, early slave houses rarely used any wood. Due to lack of durable materials, slave huts needed constant maintenance and were frequently replaced because of fires. Whenever a fire broke out, a bell was rung to alert all of the slaves so that damaged areas could be repaired collectively.56 This is interesting because during the 17th century construction in African societies was viewed as a collective process. Hence, it is incredibly likely that slaves not only repaired houses as a community but also built them collaboratively.

49

Bergman and Handler, p.4.

50

Ibid.

51

Ibid.

52

Bergman and Handler, p.12.

53

Ibid.

54

Chambers, p.7.

55 Handler, Plantation Slave Settlements in Barbados, 1650s to 1834, p.136.

56

Ibid., p.145.

Figure 12 - Elevation and plan of 17th century West African huts - Drawn by Author

Figure 13 - Architectural form of West African hut

Figure 14 - Architectural form of Guinea forest hut

11

Daub

Daub

Woven wands

Frame

Figure 15 - Daub and wattle technique - drawn by the Author

Figure 16 - Daub and wattle weaving technique employed by slaves - drawn by the Author

Figure 17 - Construction technique of slave houses

Figure 18 - Wall construction technique of slave houses

Figure 19 - Palm leaves

12

While these houses could have been a source of empowerment for slaves, they often lacked any decorative features. In 1789, Governor Parry reported that slave houses were approximately 9 x 3.5 metres. with the total area ranging from 250-375 square feet.57 Within each plantation, slaves with higher ranks (given by slave masters) inhabited slightly bigger houses. However, distinctions in housing sizes only became apparent during the later stages of slavery. “Regardless of size or house type, houses were generally partitioned into rooms.”58 Often only providing two or three rooms max, houses were divided by partitions (Fig. 20). Generally, one room was for an adult couple (male and female) or single adult59 and the other for general use and a space for children to sleep.60 Higman writes that “generally in the British West Indies three to six slaves occupied each house”61 This would suggest that one family may include one to four kids within their household. It should be noted that these children may not have biologically been that of the male adult in the house but that of the slave master.62 As a result, these homes are often referred to as mother-child units.

Nonetheless, planters encouraged nuclear families and allowed slaves to form their own family units within the Negro Yard. Slave masters saw this an opportunity for slaves to produce more slaves.

They encouraged fertility by giving goods to slaves and material rewards for conceiving children.63 It should be stated that African slaves were rarely able to travel to Barbados with kin and even less likely to live with them in Negro Yards. As a result, Africanborn slaves were alienated from their original lineage and forced to create new family networks in the Negro Yard and within the home.

57

58

Bergman and Handler, p.11.

Ibid.

High mortality rates of men resulted in high levels of widowhood and often the mother being the single adult in a household.

59

60

Bergman and Handler, p.11.

61

Handler and Wallman, p.443.

NA, General History of the Caribbean, Volume III, The slave societies of the Caribbean, ed. by Franklin W Knight (London: UNESCO Publishing, 1997). p.87.

62

63

Ibid., p.90.

Figure 20 - Plantation Scene and Slave Houses, Barbados, 1807-08 John A. Waller, A Voyage in the West Indies (London, 1820)

13

Planters would decide who would acquire what skill and how food and clothing allowances would be distributed.64 Slaves received most of their food through rations provided by slave masters, which was often distributed on a weekly basis.65 To supplement these rations, slaves were given small plots of land alongside their houses to grow yams, maize and raise small animals such as chicken. “Each negro cultivates a garden of his own.”66 Slaves would usually tend to these plots of land during the weekend. There were two types of plots on plantations, one adjacent or surrounding slave houses in the Negro Yard and another named the ‘Negro garden’ or ‘Negro ground’ which was located on the outskirts of the plantation grounds.67 This Negro garden was an area where families were able to cultivate crops for themselves outside of the Negro Yard. Before windmills were introduced, food such as corn was ground within the home, by rubbing together stones.68 African slaves mainly ate plantain and yams while Afro-Barbadians69 would later eat stew.

In its basic form, stew was a combination of meat, vegetables and spices cooked together. A traditionally African meal, this is an example of African culture remaining within the slave settlement in Barbados. Slaves in St. Nicholas Abbey developed meals due to the availability of ingredients and cultural influences of eating. Dishes such as pepperpot were developed by slave communities gathering meat and starches.

At St. Nicholas Abbey archaeologists found iron fragments which may have been used as farming equipment and as cast-iron pots.70 These pots most likely were used outside over open fires as there were no fireplaces inside slave houses. In Negro Yards cooking and eating happened collectively outside of the home following common African practices at the time (Fig. 21).71 “The charcoal or fuel wood Barbadians used for cooking was imported or locally produced from trees or brushwood in the rural areas or plantations.”72 Cooking was a social affair as opposed to family-based activity, “this would encourage sharing and the communal consumption of foods.”73 Historian Ronald Hughes stated that slave settlements were located downward to the west of Mansions Houses so that they would avoid the smoke of outdoor fires.74 However, this isn’t the case at St. Nicholas Abbey, which suggests the smoke from the Negro Yard wasn’t particularly a problem on the plantation.

64

Puckrein, p.75.

65 Handler, Plantation Slave Settlements in Barbados, 1650s to 1834, p.133.

66

Craton, p.257.

67 Handler, Plantation Slave Settlements in Barbados, 1650s to 1834, p.133 68

Bergman and Handler, p.14

Afro-Barbadian refers to second generation slaves who were born from African parents on Barbados.

69

70

Chambers, p.28.

71

Bergman and Handler, p.16.

72 Handler, Plantation Slave Settlements in Barbados, 1650s to 1834, p.136.

73

Chambers, p.34.

74 Handler, Plantation Slave Settlements in Barbados, 1650s to 1834, . p.127.

Figure 21 - Depiction of outdoor eating practices - drawn by the Author

14

REDEFINING THE MINIMUM In the 17th century, African slaves were stripped of their names75, branded and issued a new identity.76 These slaves were from various parts of Africa and spoke a warren of different languages making communication between them increasingly difficult. As a result, slaves sang in order to communicate with one another.77 Music and dance were integral to slave societies and the enslaved sang while working and inside the Negro Yard. However, in the 18th century as the total amount of African born slaves decreased and Afro-Barbadian slaves increased, the black population were able to communicate better with one another. While singing would continue in the fields and in the Negro Yard, slaves would now be able to clearly express their thoughts to each other. This contributed to the early development of Barbadian identity.78 A result of better communication was an increase in slave uprisings. Now slave masters would have to listen to the demands of the enslaved in order to avoid revolts.

As a result, conditions for the enslaved largely improved in the late 18th century. Slave masters began intervening in the construction of slave housing, providing better materials such as stone and timber and assigning enslaved plantation carpenters and masons to help with the construction of slave houses.79 Wood and stone houses would slowly phase out wattle and daub houses. In the 19th century more of these houses would be constructed based on English cottages. The Amelioration Act of 1798 improved conditions for slaves, forcing plantation owners to provide clothes, food and medical treatment for slaves. Planters would now have to redefine the minimum80, as living standards from the 17th century would no longer be acceptable. Despite this, uprisings continued to happen across the New World, eventually leading to the emancipation of slaves. After emancipation81 many slave settlements were pushed to the periphery of plantations and former Negro Yards were usually converted for agricultural use.82 At St. Nicholas Abbey, part of the slave settlement moved upwards slightly towards the North of the site (Fig. 22). According to archaeology reports and excavation of grass areas at St. Nicholas Abbey, stone mounds are the remnants of slave houses that were destroyed in the 20th century (Fig. 23).83

75 It should be noted that West African practices meant that Africans usually carried multiple names which were given to them throughout their lifetime and through various naming ceremonies. However, New World slavery stripped Africans of this.

76 The Abolition Project, On the Plantations (2009) <http:// abolition.e2bn.org/slavery_69.html> [accessed 20 April 2020].

77 Jerome S. Handler and Charlotte J. Frisbie, ‘Aspects of Slave Life in Barbados: Music and Its Cultural Context’, Caribbean Studies, Vol. 11.4, (1972), p.15.

78

Watson.

79

Bergman and Handler, p.22.

80 Planters provided slaves with the bare minimum in terms of food, clothing and free time in order to maximise sugar production on their plantations without having to invest much into them.

81 “ Bussa’s Rebellion” named after the West Afrcian slave Bussa, was the largest slave revolts in Barbadian history (14-16 April 1816) which contributed to the British Governement passing the Slavery Abolition Act in 1834.

82 Handler, Plantation Slave Settlements in Barbados, 1650s to 1834, p.125 83 Digital Archaeological Archive of Comparative Slavery, St. Nicholas Abbey Workers’ Village (2014) <https://www. daacs.org/sites/st-nicholas-abbey-workers-village/#features> [accessed 18 April 2020].

New Negro Yard Excavation Site Original Negro Yard Site Boundary Workers complex Mansion House and garden Gully

500m

0 Figure 22 - Negro Yard relocation at St. Nicholas Abbey after Emancipation - Redrawn by Author

0

5m

Figure 23 - Excavation Locations - Location of slave settlement at St. Nicholas Abbey after Emancipation - Redrawn by Author

15

Figure 24 - Slave hut at Nicholas Abbey

Figure 25 - Pre-emancipation slave house, Barbados

Figure 26 - Wattle-and-daub thatched houses Barbados.

Figure 27 - Thatched wood slave house, Barbados.

Figure 28 - Thatched Houses, Barbados

16

Despite, planters providing better conditions for slaves from the 18th century, the enslaved were still denied the right to own property.

“Plantation workers were obliged to rent land in a tenantry from the plantation on which they worked.”84 Slaves and free people were part of tenantry systems on plantations and were able to rent small plots of land. Laws allowed labourers the right to construct dwellings; however, plantation owners had the right to evict tenants at any point. As a result, houses were constructed to be transportable in the event slaves had a dispute with planters. These movable structures were named ‘chattel houses’ and viewed as moveable property (Fig 29). Paintings suggest that chattel houses were built towards the late 18th century but became popular due to Emancipation in 1838. Chattel houses were directly influenced by slave houses in Negro Yards and employed many African principles. Similar to slave hut the front facade was symmetrical, with the door in the centre and flanked by equally spaced windows. Roofs were often made of corrugated iron sheets. However, as the dimensions of chattel houses changed, the style of roofs also changed. Earlier roof styles gave way to four-sided roofs. In the 19th century many chattel houses started to have more of a ‘flat top’ roof with a minimal slope.

However, with the turn of the 20th century, the roofs became steeper, with only two sides, and small louvred windows were added to improve the ventilation of these homes.

Today in Barbados chattel houses are still evident however now the foundations are permanent as in most cases the homeowners own the plots of land that their houses are situated on. Furthermore, modern chattel houses tend to have a greater degree of permanence, as they are often connected to the electricity mains, and may either have a permanent septic tank or be connected to a public sewer system. Many people build additions to their chattel houses, making their home look significantly different to slave huts. Once slavery was abolished, cargo ships coming to Barbados replaced African slaves as cargo for ballast brick and timber. Therefore, chattel houses were increasingly made from timber. Often wood was pre-cut in standard lengths between 3.5 to 6 metres. Ultimately, the chattel house is an example of how African design in the Negro Yard would go on to influence domesticity and house design in Barbados.

Henry Fraser and Ronnie Hughes, Historic houses of Barbados, 2nd edn (Bridgetown: Barbados National Trust, 1986).

84

1400mm 2500mm 820mm 2950mm

5000mm

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7800mm

Figure 29 - Typical chattel house elevation and plan - Drawn by Author

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TO CONCLUDE Enslaved Africans entered a strange and hostile New World in the 17th century. However, while their lives were brutally tragic, they still managed to keep hold of many African traditions. The British empire denied slaves of many rights, but by allowing them to construct their own settlements, the enslaved were able to embed African ways of living into their societies. Slaves invested a lot of time, effort and emotion into their settlements, so by unpacking plantations such as St. Nicholas Abbey, one can begin to understand the ways in which the enslaved formed domestic life. African traditions, such as outdoor eating, communal building and dancing all existed inside slave settlements. In addition, Negro Yards show that slaves were able to develop kinship relationships and form families inside the household. As time passed the mix of African cultures would converge to form what we know today as Barbadian identity.

Many aspects of the Negro Yard and slave houses at St. Nicholas Abbey can be found throughout the Caribbean, as the British Empire emulated this system across their other West Indian colonies. Henceforth, the Barbadian plantation system hugely influenced Caribbean domesticity. This can still be seen today in the form of the chattel house. Ultimately, the tens of thousands of Africans that were violently displaced created a distressing but rather unique way of life in the New World. Nonetheless, slaves redefined their concept of home, kinship and societal structures in Barbados by using their African principles.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;The enslaved developed their own lifeways/cultures, influenced by their African pasts and conditions in the New Worldâ&#x20AC;?85

85

Handler and Wallman, p.442

Figure 30 - Movable home - Drawn by Author

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Beckles, Hilary and Shepherd, Verene, Caribbean Slavery in the Atlantic World: A Student Reader (Kingston: Ian Randle, 2000).

Beckles, Hilary, White servitude and black slavery in Barbados, 1627-1715 (Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1989).

Benitez-Rojo, Antonio, The Repeating Island: The Caribbean and the Postmodern Perspective, Second Edition, ed. by Stanley Fish and Frederic Jameson, trans. by James Maraniss, 2nd edn (London: Duke University Press, 2001).

Bergman, Stephanie and Handler, Jerome S, ‘Vernacular ¬¬Houses and Domestic Material Culture on Barbadian Sugar Plantations, 1640-1838’, Journal of Caribbean history. 43, 1, (2009).

Berry, Daina Ramey, Sexuality and slavery: reclaiming intimate histories in the Americas / edited by Daina Ramey Berry and Leslie M. Harris. (Georgia: The University of Georgia Press, 2018).

Browne, Randy M, Surviving Slavery in the British Caribbean (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2017).

Chambers, Camille, Afro-Barbadian Foodways: Analysis of the use of Ceramics by Freed Afro-Barbadian Estate Workers (Master Thesis. College of William & Mary: 2015).

Craton, Michael, Testing the Chains: Resistance to Slavery in the British West Indies (New York: Cornell University Press, 2009).

Drewett, Peter L, Amerindian Stories: An Archaeology of Early Barbados (Bridgetown: Barbados Museum and Historical Society, 2002).

Fernandez Pascual, Daniel and Schwabe, Alon, The Empire Remains Shop (New York: Columbia Books on Architecture and the City, 2018).

Fraser, Henry and Hughes, Ronnie, Historic houses of Barbados, 2nd edn (Bridgetown: Barbados National Trust, 1986).

Fraser, Henry and Kiss, Bob, Barbados chattel houses (Port of Spain: Toute Bagai Publishing, 2011).

George Gmelch, Behind The Smile: The Working Lives of Caribbean Tourism (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2003).

Gragg, Larry, The Quaker community on Barbados: challenging the culture of the planter class (London: University of Missouri Press, 2009).

Handler, Jerome S. and Lange, Frederick W, Plantation Slavery in Barbados: An Archaeological and Historical Investigation (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1978).

Handler, Jerome S, ‘Plantation Slave Settlements in Barbados, 1650s to 1834’’, in In the Shadow of the Plantation: Caribbean History & Legacy (Kingston: Ian Randle Publishers, 2002).

Handler, Jerome S, ‘Plantation Research in 1987: Ethnographic and Historical’, in Searching for a Slave Cemetery in Barbados, West Indies: A Bioarchaeological and Ethnohistorical Investigation (Illinois: Southern Illinois University, 1989).

Handler, Jerome S, ‘The Amerindian Slave Population of Barbados In the Seventeenth and Early Eighteenth Centuries’, Caribbean Studies, 8.4, (1969).

Handler, Jerome S. and Frisbie, Charlotte J. ‘Aspects of Slave Life in Barbados: Music and Its Cultural Context’, Caribbean Studies, Vol. 11.4, (1972).

Handler, Jerome S and Wallman, Diane, ‘Production Activities in the Household Economies of Plantation Slaves: Barbados and Martinique, Mid-1600s to Mid-1800s’, INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY, 18.3, (2014).

Kriz, Kay Dian, Slavery, Sugar, and the Culture of Refinement: Picturing the British West Indies, 1700-1840 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2008).

Menard, Russell R, Sweet negotiations: sugar, slavery, and plantation agriculture in early Barbados (London: University of Virginia Press, 2014).

NA, General History of the Caribbean, Volume III, The slave societies of the Caribbean, ed. by Franklin W Knight (London: UNESCO Publishing, 1997) Puckrein, Gary A, Little England: Plantation Society and Anglo-Barbadian politics 16271700 (London: New York University Press, 1949).

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Thompson, Krista A, An Eye For the Tropics: Tourism, Photography, and Framing the Caribbean Picturesque (Durham: Duke University Press, 2006).

Winter, K, ‘Jeffrey Brace in Barbados: Slavery, Interracial Relationships, and the Emergence of a Global Economy’, Nineteenth-century contexts, 29.2-3, (2007).

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WEBSITES Barbados, Go, About Barbados: History Of Barbados (2012) <https://barbados.org/history1. htm#.XhJCqC2cYb1> [accessed 5 January 2020].

Digital Archaeological Archive of Comparative Slavery, St. Nicholas Abbey Workersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Village (2014) <https://www.daacs.org/sites/st-nicholas-abbey-workers-village/#features> [accessed 18 April 2020].

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Mohamud, Abdul and Whitburn, Robin, Britainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s involvement with New World slavery and the transatlantic slave trade (21 June 2018) <https://www.bl.uk/restoration-18th-centuryliterature/articles/britains-involvement-with-new-world-slavery-and-the-transatlantic-slavetrade> [accessed 17 April 2020].

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Watson, Karl, Slavery and Economy in Barbados (17 February 2011) <http://www.bbc.co.uk/ history/british/empire_seapower/barbados_01.shtml> [accessed 18 April 2020].

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Front and back Illustration Source: Drawn by Author Figure 1 Aerial View of St. Nicholas Abbey Source: Google aerial image edited by author Figure 2 Aerial View of St. Nicholas Abbey Source: Google aerial image edited by author Figure 3 St. Nicholas Abbey Jacobean mansion house.

Source: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/ee/3d/09/ee3d09f7e697d90e6c08595afd9b7fbc.jpg Figure 4 18th century map of the Caribbean region, made by the British map-maker Louis Stanislaw de la Rochette - held in the British Library. British colonies are outlined in pink, Spanish yellow and French blue.

Source: https://www.bl.uk/britishlibrary/~/media/bl/global/west%20india%20 regiment/collection%20items/a-general-chart-of-maps_k_top_123_14. jpg?w=608&h=342&hash=DF57CE2ECD25937AED478F850702213D Figure 5 Section of Louis Stanislaw de la Rochette’s map showing Barbados and its neighbouring countries Source: https://www.bl.uk/britishlibrary/~/media/bl/global/west%20 india%20regiment/collection%20items/a-general-chart-of-maps_k_ top_123_14.g?w=608&h=342&hash=DF57CE2ECD25937AED478F850702213D Figure 6 Schematic drawing of the slave ship - 808 edition of The History of the Rise, Progress, and Accomplishment of the Abolition of the African Slave-trade by the British Parliament, Thomas Clarkson.

Source: https://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/ filestore/4/3/0/3_16763400b2a779b/4303lrs_048e54310cee06b.jpg Figure 7 “Stowage of the British Slave Ship ‘Brooks’ Under the Regulated Slave Trade Act of 1788.”

Plymouth Chapter of the Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade Source: https://www.americanhistoryusa.com/static/images/atlantic-slave-ship-postimage.jpg Figure 8 Map of Barbados showing recorded Negro Yard locations Source: Drawn by the Author Figure 9 Plan of St. Nicholas Abbey Souce: Drawn by the Author

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Figure 10 Agostino Brunias - Dancing Scene in the West Indies Oil paint on canvas illustrating African life on sugar plantations in the West Indies.

Souce: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/images/work/T/T13/T13869_10.jpg Figure 11 The Old Plantation, ca. 1785-1790 - Original painting in Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum, Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia.

Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/31/SlaveDanceand_Music. jpg/600px-SlaveDanceand_Music.jpg Figure 12 Elevation and plan of 17th century West African huts â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Source: Drawn by Author Figure 13 Architectural form of West African hut Source: https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.semanticscholar. org%2Fpaper%2FRammed-Earth-Architecture%27s-Journey-to-the-High-of-Golebiowski%2F638a 2e5701e6598da708d0e4a6b89b8fa87c7f01%2Ffigure%2F79&psig=AOvVaw3AUsP-gUO57VADvjW83J_&ust=1587427787181000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAIQjRxqFwoTCOj8 ib_b9egCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD Figure 14 Architectural form of Guinea forest hut Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/GRAY%281825%29_ p030_%28GUINEA%29_TALABUUCHIA%2C_MOUTH_OF_RIO_NUNEZ%2C_a_hut_in_the_village. jpg Figure 15 Daub and wattle technique Source: Drawn by the Author Figure 16 Daub and wattle weaving technique employed by slaves Source: Drawn by the Author Figure 17 Construction technique of slave houses Source: http://bcc.edu.bb/Images/pic8c.jpg Figure 18 Wall construction technique of slave houses Source: http://bcc.edu.bb/Images/pic8.jpg Figure 19 Palm leaves Source: https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/proxy/W345erjNK_rWxRgK6zEZ7jFzItqyusPpI2sFIjR 2Kx4N7NpqCsC1bvu9l8mPdoM5LM8eqbd44g-gXQ

Figure 20 Plantation Scene and Slave Houses, Barbados, 1807-08 John A. Waller, A Voyage in the West Indies (London, 1820) Source: http://slaveryimages.org/files/large/34d0d37aa5a2cdff5b35d14e4b09a957c35cabd3. jpg Figure 21 Depiction of outdoor eating practices Source: Drawn by Author Figure 22 Negro Yard relocation at St. Nicholas Abbey after Emancipation Source: Redrawn by Author Figure 23 Excavation Locations - Location of slave settlement at St. Nicholas Abbey after Emancipation Source: Redrawn by Author Figure 24 Slave hut at Nicholas Abbey Source: https://www.stnicholasabbey.com/SiteAssets/Slave-Villages_PLTN_TheEstate_ SlaveHutTyrolCot_1200x800.jpg Figure 25 Pre-emancipation slave house, Barbados Source: http://www.slaveryimages.org/files/ large/51286373290300650593f8d38d20bb934756a345.jpg Figure 26 Wattle-and-daub thatched houses Barbados.

Source: https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/proxy/Qf174J409b9RbTHRTnqSdXTtmqLh_Q_ JAcSppyr7wErcuU1y93DJyXterauZ6XF9tGD0S1ZRJVa9 Figure 27 Thatched wood slave house, Barbados.

Source: http://www.slaveryimages.org/files/ large/367c376ec1a2d9c31ba8ac2adb32bbfc14acdc56.jpg Figure 28 Thatched wood slave house, Barbados.

Source: http://www.slaveryimages.org/files/large/ df1ad48a97a33d9ce6cd7874a5297d653e3ead8d.jpg Figure 29 Typical chattel house elevation and plan Source: Drawn by Author Figure 30 Movable home Source: Drawn by Author

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ARCHIVE A collection of photographs, maps and paintings

Many of the paintings, illustrate activities that happened on plantations on other coutries, highlighting the similarities between West Indian slave plantations.

Map of the the Caribbean George Gmelch , Behind The Smile: The Working Lives of Caribbean Tourism (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2003).

Physical map of Barbados Adapted from Vernon and Carroll, 1966 and Watts 1968.

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Ligonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s map of Barbados circa 1640 Richard Ligon, A True and Exact History of Barbados (London, 1657)

Map of Parishes George Gmelch, Behind The Smile: The Working Lives of Caribbean Tourism (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2003).

Map of Barbados Source: Vincent Harlow, A History of Barbados, 1625-1685. p335

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The Island of Barbadoes. Divided into its Parishes (1736) - Herman Moll

PAINTINGS

Free Woman of Color, Barbados, late 1770s - Agostino Brunias

Sugar Plantation Mill Yard, Barbados, 1881 - Lionel Grimston

Ten Views in the Island of Antigua, in which are represented the process of sugar making, and the employment of the negroes William Clark

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Villagers Merry Making in the island of St. Vincent, with Dancers and Musicians, A Landscape with Huts on a Hill - Agostino Brunias

The Dance Of The Handkerchief is a painting - Agostino Brunias

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West Indian Man of Color, Directing Two Carib Women with a Child ca. 1780 - Agostino Brunias

Dance at Plantation, Trinidad, 1836 - Richard Bridgens

Stick Fighting, Dominica, West Indies, 1779 - Agostino Brunias

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PHOTOGRAPHS

Archival photos inside of St Nicolas Abbey Collection of archival photos inside of the St Nicholas Abbey plantation house, located in Saint Peter, Barbados. Colonel Benjamin Berringer built the house in 1658.

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Archival photos inside of St Nicolas Abbey Collection of archival photos taken from inside of the St Nicholas Abbey plantation house, located in Saint Peter, Barbados. Colonel Benjamin Berringer built the house in 1658.

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â&#x20AC;&#x153;Slaves Wantedâ&#x20AC;? Advertisement for the Island of Barbados - Lascelles Slavery Archive

Sugar Plantation Barbados, Carting Sugar Canes To The Mill - W. L. Johnson & Co. Ltd., Barbados. No. 15

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SHAWN ADAMS MA ARCHITECTURE HISTORY AND THEORY STUDIES 2020