Military Sites Archaeology in the Caribbean: Studies of Colonialism, Globalization, and Multicultural Communities

Part of: Society for Historical Archaeology 2020

This collection contains the abstracts of the papers presented in the session entitled "Military Sites Archaeology in the Caribbean: Studies of Colonialism, Globalization, and Multicultural Communities," at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

From the sixteenth to the twentieth century, Caribbean islands and countries served as extractive colonies and strategic bases for expanding European and American powers. Sugar, coffee, and other Caribbean commodities fueled global economies and powered modern capitalism and globalization. European and American interests and conflicts led to the establishment of numerous military sites in the region, including fortifications, encampments, battlefields, shipwrecks, dockyards, and cemeteries. Beyond studies of technology, war strategies and statecraft, military sites are meaningful points of culture contact and social interaction that at different times involved the activities of Europeans, Americans, Caribbean islanders, enslaved and freed Africans, and women and children. Papers in this symposium bring together archival and archaeological evidence to discuss military sites from British, Dutch, Danish, French, and Spanish Caribbean islands and cover topics on colonialism, globalization, community relationships, the contributions of African-Caribbean peoples, and the significance of military life and Caribbean heritage.

Resources Inside This Collection (Viewing 1-10 of 10)

  • Documents (10)

Documents
  • Brimstone, Sea and Sand: The Historical Military Archaeology of the Port of Sandy Point and its Anchorage (2020)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Cameron Gill.

    This is an abstract from the session entitled "Military Sites Archaeology in the Caribbean: Studies of Colonialism, Globalization, and Multicultural Communities" , at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. Sandy Point was an early English town on the Caribbean island of St. Kitts, the first island to be settled by both English and French, and one of the most important sugar colonies in the Eastern Caribbean. Very early in the settlement period Sandy Point rose to...

  • Creating a Militarized Landscape at the Brimstone Hill Fortress, St. Kitts (2020)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Gerald F. Schroedl. Todd Ahlman.

    This is an abstract from the session entitled "Military Sites Archaeology in the Caribbean: Studies of Colonialism, Globalization, and Multicultural Communities" , at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. Brimstone Hill Fortress (1690-1854) on the northwest coast of St. Kitts constitutes a militarized landscape that protected the harbor at Sandy Point, provided covering fire for nearby Charles Fort, afforded refuge for the island’s inhabitants, and suppressed...

  • Danish Defense of St. Croix (2020)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Emily R. Schumacher.

    This is an abstract from the session entitled "Military Sites Archaeology in the Caribbean: Studies of Colonialism, Globalization, and Multicultural Communities" , at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. Although often left out of mainstream narratives of European expansion and empire, the Scandinavian nation of Denmark was an active agent of colonialism from the seventeenth to the twentieth century with possessions in the Caribbean, the African continent, and...

  • Discussant: (2020)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Todd Ahlman.

    This is an abstract from the session entitled "Military Sites Archaeology in the Caribbean: Studies of Colonialism, Globalization, and Multicultural Communities" , at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. n/a

  • Enslavement, Maroonage, and Cultural Continuity Outside the Dockyard Walls: Middle Ground, Antigua (2020)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Christopher K. Waters. Desley Gardner.

    This is an abstract from the session entitled "Military Sites Archaeology in the Caribbean: Studies of Colonialism, Globalization, and Multicultural Communities" , at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. English Harbour, Antigua was home to a Georgian Naval Dockyard used to careen and repair Royal Navy vessels in the Caribbean between 1724 and 1899. The success of these operations relied on enslaved African artisans and labourers. Inside the Dockyard walls, these...

  • Internment camps in the Caribbean during the Second World War (2020)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Claudia Theune.

    This is an abstract from the session entitled "Military Sites Archaeology in the Caribbean: Studies of Colonialism, Globalization, and Multicultural Communities" , at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. The Caribbean was the destination of numerous people who fled from Germany and Austria after the National Socialists took power in 1933/1938. However, after Great Britain entered the Second World War, they were enemy foreigners. In the early summer of 1940, the...

  • Kingston Harbor and the Burgeoning Landscape of World War (2020)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Zachary J. M. Beier. Steve Lenik.

    This is an abstract from the session entitled "Military Sites Archaeology in the Caribbean: Studies of Colonialism, Globalization, and Multicultural Communities" , at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. Nineteenth-century upgrades in naval technology required reinvestment in the defenses of overseas colonies as European nation-states intensified global trade. Paralleling these strategic reallocations of political and economic resources in the context of growing...

  • Land use and evolution of Castillo San Felipe del Morro's Esplanade (2020)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Paola A Schiappacasse.

    This is an abstract from the session entitled "Military Sites Archaeology in the Caribbean: Studies of Colonialism, Globalization, and Multicultural Communities" , at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. Construction of Castillo San Felipe del Morro in San Juan, Puerto Rico began in 1539 and completed by the end of the eighteenth century. This massive fortification, located on the northwestern side of the islet, safeguards the entrance to the bay, and still...

  • Military and Commercial use of Fort Amsterdam, Sint Eustatius, Dutch Caribbean (2020)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Todd Ahlman. Suzanne Sanders. Fred van Keulen. Ashley H. McKeown.

    This is an abstract from the session entitled "Military Sites Archaeology in the Caribbean: Studies of Colonialism, Globalization, and Multicultural Communities" , at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. Fort Amsterdam was a small military and commercial fort on the west coast of the Dutch island of Sint Eustatius in the northern Lesser Antilles. The fort’s primary purpose was to protect Oranje Bay, where ships anchored to bring goods to the Lower Town...

  • Military shipwreck sites in the French Caribbean (End of 17th-Beginning of 19th Century) (2020)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Jean-Sébastien Guibert.

    This is an abstract from the session entitled "Military Sites Archaeology in the Caribbean: Studies of Colonialism, Globalization, and Multicultural Communities" , at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology. The West Indies were considered for a long period as the battlefield of Europe. This situation included a maritime geostrategy characterized by the presence of squadrons and the development of defensive sites like forts, ports and numerous batteries. Effectively,...