Archaeologies of Slavery and Freedom in the Caribbean: Exploring the Spaces in Between

by James A. Delle, Lynsey A. Bates (Editor), John M. Chenoweth (Editor)

Overview

“We are reminded that the Caribbean was a more complicated place than we usually imagine.”—Kenneth G. Kelly, coeditor of French Colonial Archaeology in the Southeast and Caribbean
 
Caribbean plantations and the forces that shaped them—slavery, sugar, capitalism, and the tropical, sometimes deadly environment—have been studied extensively. This volume turns the focus to the places and times where the rules of the plantation system did not always apply, including the interstitial spaces that linked enslaved Africans with their neighbors at other plantations. The essays also explore the lives of “poor whites,” Afro-descendant members of military garrisons, and free people of color, demonstrating that binary models of black slaves and white planters do not fully encompass the diversity of identities before and after emancipation. Employing innovative research tools and integrating data from Dominica, St. Lucia, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Barbados, Nevis, Montserrat, and the British Virgin Islands, these essays offer a deeper understanding of the complex world within and beyond the sprawling sugar estates.
 
  Contributors: Hayden F. Bassett | Lynsey A. Bates | Zachary J.M. Beier | Helen C. Blouet | John M. Chenoweth | John F. Cherry | James A. Delle | Kristen R. Fellows | Khadene K. Harris | Stephan T. Lenik | Marco Meniketti | Matthew C. Reilly | Krysta Ryzewski | Jane I. Seiter | Frederick H. Smith | Laurie A. Wilkie
A volume in the Florida Museum of Natural History: Ripley P. Bullen Series
 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781683400035
Publisher:	University Press of Florida
Publication date:	11/15/2016
Series:	Florida Museum of Natural History: Ripley P. Bullen Series
Pages:	368
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Lynsey A. Bates is an archaeological analyst for the Digital Archaeological Archive of Comparative Slavery (DAACS).

John M. Chenoweth is assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Michigan-Dearborn.

James A. Delle, associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Shippensburg University, is the editor of The Limits of Tyranny.

Table of Contents

Contents

List of Contributors
List of Figures
List of Tables

1.         Introduction: The Caribbean Spaces in Between
John M. Chenoweth, James A. Delle, and Lynsey A. Bates

2.         The Role of Caves and Gullies in Escape, Mobility, and the Creation of Community Networks Among Enslaved Peoples of Barbados
Frederick H. Smith and Hayden F. Bassett

3.         “Poor Whites” on the Peripheries: “Poor White” and Afro-Barbadian Interaction on the Plantation
Matthew C. Reilly

4.         Provisioning and Marketing: Surplus and Access on Jamaican Sugar Estates
Lynsey A. Bates

5.         Life Beyond the Village: Field Houses and Liminal Space on a Jamaican Coffee Plantation
James A. Delle

6.         Beyond Sugar: Plantation Landscapes and the Rise of a Free Black Population on St. Lucia

7.         Surveying a Long-term Settlement on Potato Hill, Montserrat
Krysta Ryzewski and John F. Cherry

8.         Dimensions of Space and Identity in an Emancipation-Era Village: Analysis of Material Culture and Site Abandonment at Morgan’s Village, Nevis, West Indies
Marco Meniketti

9.         African Moravian Burial Sites on St. John and Barbados: A Comparison of Spaces Within Lived Experiences and Social Transformations from Slavery to Freedom
Helen C. Blouet

10.       The Archaeology of a Postemancipation Smallholder in the British Virgin Islands
John M. Chenoweth

11.       Postemancipation Shifts: Land, Labor and Freedom on the Bois Cotelette Estate, Dominica, After 1838
Khadene K. Harris

12.       Military Material Life in the British Caribbean: Historical Archaeology of Fort Rocky, Kingston Harbor, Jamaica (ca. 1880-1945)
Stephan T. Lenik and Zachary J. M. Beier

13.       Double Consciousness and an African American Enclave: Being Black and American on Hispañiola
Kristen R. Fellows

14.       Minding the Gaps in the Diasporic Web
Laurie A. Wilkie
               
 

Editorial Reviews

"Highlights sites, themes, and time periods that have often been overlooked by historical archaeologists, and looks particularly at how people maintained space within the oppressive structures of slavery and the relative freedom of post-slavery life in the Caribbean."--American Antiquity "This book marks an important move towards a better understanding of the complexities of Caribbean historical archaeology."--Cambridge Archaeological Journal "Expose[s] the existence of a parallel local economy alongside the plantation export economy . . . [and] shows how historical archaeologists must deal with incomplete records and inadequate documentation."--Choice "Encapsulates the lived experiences of enslaved Africans through a postcolonial and landscape perspective, illuminating new directions for future research of previously overlooked and understudied archaeological assemblages."--Anthropology Book Forum "Some of the lesser known aspects of human bondage are revealed in this new volume, which offers more nuanced and alternative views of slavery and freedom in the region. . . . [and] paves the way for archaeologists to rethink old questions and seek alternative avenues of research in exciting new ways."--Society for Historical Archaeology

From the Publisher