Provisioning Antigua and Beyond: How Herding and Farming Transformed Barbuda, West Indies

Summary

The island of Barbuda was farmed by English settlers from the 1660s onwards. The Codrington family of England held the lease to the island from the 1680s-1870, and they introduced a variety of plant and animal species, some of which continue to thrive on the island. Sugar cane was never grown on this dry, low lying island and instead, lime and charcoal were produced along with other subsistence crops for export. Herding became an important part of the economy and, as a result, water management transformed elements of the landscape which continue to be used by the residents of the village of Codrington. Archaeological surveys and intermittent excavations, combined with recent environmental and palaeoecological analyses suggest the extent of Barbuda’s transformation since the 17th century. Results of recent research will be discussed alongside an examination of current environmental challenges faced by the local population.

Cite this Record

Provisioning Antigua and Beyond: How Herding and Farming Transformed Barbuda, West Indies. Allison Bain, Sophia Perdikaris, Rebecca Boger, Amy Potter, Reginald Murphy. Presented at The 81st Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Orlando, Florida. 2016 ( tDAR id: 403807)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

min long: -90.747; min lat: 3.25 ; max long: -48.999; max lat: 27.683 ;