Shared Landscapes and Contested Spaces: The Military Landscapes of St. Kitts and St. Eustatius

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Colonial Forts in Comparative, Global, and Contemporary Perspective", at the 2023 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

Located in the northeastern Caribbean 7 miles apart, St. Kitts and St. Eustatius (Statia) had different colonial histories that led to differing militarization approaches. A former British colony, St. Kitts’ colonial economy centered on sugar cane and the island’s military landscape was constructed to protect these interests. Statia was occupied by several European nations; however, the Dutch have held the island the longest and developed a strong merchant economy through the early 19th century. Statia’s military landscape reflects different European powers and how the Dutch viewed the military’s role in protecting their commercial interests. On St. Kitts, the military landscape’s modern interpretation has shifted from an emphasis on British colonial might to the role enslaved and freed Africans played in the landscape’s creation and maintenance. The Statian government, still a part of the Netherlands, occupies the island’s largest fortification as the center of island government.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Colonial Forts in Comparative, Global, and Contemporary Perspective   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2023

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Nicole Haddow