Socio-spatiality of an Antiguan Plantationscape

Summary

Caribbean Sugar production during the 18th and 19th centuries expanded rapidly, fueled by increasing proletariat consumption across the globe. In response, sugar planters in 18th century Antigua, West Indies, deforested over 90 percent of the landscape, carving the island into proto-industrialized plantations defined by sugarcane monoculture and labored by enslaved Africans. New World plantation organization was once ascribed as a balance between profit and surveillance: simultaneously maximizing control over the landscape and enslaved labor. However, evidence from Antigua questions aspects of these earlier notions. This paper examines the socio-spatiality of the late 18th century Antiguan plantationscape. Specifically, this research builds upon the analysis of Bates (2015) in Jamaica and Nevis, conducting a diachronic and synchronic analysis of seven different plantations in Antigua owned by the Codrington family, including Betty’s Hope [1655-1944], New Works [before 1710], Cotton Estate [before 1710], Tuitts Estate [before 1750], Rooms Estate [1717-1852], Clare Hall [1814-1848 (at least)], Jennings Estate [1772-1815], and Bolans Estate [1772-1815] to determine whether plantation layout sought to maximize profit or surveillance. Our research shows that Antiguan plantations underwent several transformations aimed at profit extraction at the expense of surveillance, reflecting a much more heterogeneous 18th century island landscape.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 20000