Anguilla Beyond the Beach: 3000 Years of Island Heritage By Lillian Azevedo
The One-Page History of Anguilla By Lillian Azevedo
Copyright©2012
All rights reserved, no part of this publication, The One-Page History, may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author, Lillian Azevedo.
2
Table of Contents Acknowledgements
4
Shipwrecks
30
Timeline of Anguilla
5
Artificial Reefs
31
History
6
Marine Archaeology on Anguilla
32
Anguilla before Columbus
7
Treasure Hunting/ El Buen Consejo
33
Fountain Cavern
8
Migration and Santo Domingo
34
Settling Anguilla
9
The Warspite
35
Anguilla between Columbus and the Revolution
10
Boat Racing
36
The 1656 ‘Carib’ Attack
11
Off Island Cays
37
Piracy
12
Industries
38
Smuggling
13
Cotton Production 1670-1730; 1850-1950
39
The 1745 French Invasion at Crocus Bay
14
Sugar Production c1730-1800
40
Contemporary Account of the 1745 French Invasion
15
Salt Production 1600s-1983
41
The 2 French Invasion of Anguilla
16
Mining 1860-1890
42
The Anguilla Revolution
17
Fishing
43
Plantations
18
Boatbuilding
44
The Planter’s House
19
Tourism
45
Wallblake House
20
Natural History
46
Building a Plantation
21
Hurricanes and Weather (Climate)
47
Life on a Plantation: Planters
22
Hurricane Donna
48
Life on a Plantation: Slaves and Servants
23
Cattle, Goats, Sheep and Chickens
49
Fresh Water – Anguilla’s Staff of Life
24
The ‘Giant Rat’
50
Slavery on Anguilla
25
Exploring Anguilla and Additional Resources
51
Life in the 1800s
26
Introduction to Anguilla Heritage Trail
52
Life in the 1900s
27
Heritage Trail Map
53
The Sea
28
Additional Reading and On-line Resources
54
Maritime Heritage
29
nd
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Forward On behalf of the Anguilla Archaeological and Historical Society, it is with great pleasure that I write the foreword to this book, The One-Page History of Anguilla, I must begin by complimenting Lillian Azevedo on this great publication. This book is a valuable addition to the growing compendium of books on Anguilla’s history. From her background in cultural anthropology and archaeology and as a diligent researcher, Lilli has compiled a text that touches on all the significant periods of Anguilla’s cultural and natural history. The book will be a valuable resource for those involved in promoting heritage tourism. While it came out of Lilli’s involvement with the Anguilla Heritage Trail Project this book will have a much broader appeal. It is an interesting and uncomplicated book, giving a well researched and factual account of Anguilla’s history. As such it will be a useful teaching resource for lower secondary students. While the important historical events are documented, the book also expounds on the social, economic and cultural environment in which these events took place, and as such is an ideal social studies text. It is also an easy read for those who simply need a quick overview of Anguilla’s cultural and natural history. The liberal use of pictures and drawings means it can grab the imagination and hold the attention of children of all ages. It is a must have for all Anguillian homes and all those visitors interested in taking back a meaningful souvenir of their visit.
Kenn Banks, OBE,
Above: Anguilla is a 34mi2 island located in the Lesser Antilles
President
Frontispiece: Historic Wallblake House photo c/o Steve Garlick
Anguilla Archaeological and Historical Society 4
Timeline of Anguilla 2000BC
Amerindians settle Anguilla. At one time there were more than 19 Amerindian villages on Anguilla.
1493
Columbus discovers the Leeward Islands. Early observers write of Anguilla, “It was filled with alligators and other noxious animals.”
1650
The English land and begin family farming without a Royal Charter.
1656
The ‘Caribs’ attack the new settlers, killing most of the menfolk and making off with the women and children.
1667
Governor William Willoughby arrives from Barbados with new settlers; Anguilla’s only crops are salt and tobacco.
1698
Spanish and French pirates attack.
1699
Captain Kidd visits Anguilla.
1744
Deputy Governor Arthur Hodge invades St Martin.
1745
The French in reprisal come with 700 men in various small craft. At Crocus Bay Captain Hodge defeats the French.
1796
On the 26th November, two French war ships, La Valliante and Decius land their troops at Rendezvous Bay, on November 27th. In a final stand at Sandy Hill, the Anguillians attack and pursue the French, who retreat and attempt to embark their troops and wounded.
1807
Prohibition of slave trade.
1824/5
Great Britain annexes Anguilla to St Kitts and Nevis. Anguillians continuously protest the decision which made Anguilla administratively dependent on St Kitts. Petitions are sent to Great Britain in 1825, 1873, 1935, 1958 and 1966 but are ignored, eventually leading to the Anguilla Revolution in 1967.
1834
Slavery is abolished.
1850
Anguilla labourers dig and dive for phosphate on Sombrero Island, leading to a higher standard of living.
1860
Many free slaves return and settle the abandoned estates. Anguillian schooners become famous throughout the Caribbean for their craftsmanship.
1890
FAMINE. There is prolonged drought, repeated crop failure and a lack of seeds. Livestock perish.
1967
REVOLUTION. January 26th Colonel Bradshaw, St Kitts’ Chief Minister threatens that Anguillians will have to eat one another’s bones and that he will turn Anguilla into a desert. July 11th Referendum in favour of secession. December 4th British delegation consisting of 2 MPs comes to Anguilla, set up interim administration for 1 year.
1969
March 11th FCO minister arrives in Anguilla. After confrontation, R. Webster demands that Mr Whitlock leave the Island immediately. March 19th 2 British Frigates land 250 paratroopers accompanied by 50 London metropolitan police officers without incident. September Paratroopers are replaced by the Field Squadron and Royal Engineers.
1976
12th February Constitution of Anguilla signed in London.
1980
December 19th Anguilla formally becomes a British dependency. Today the Island remains a UK Overseas Territory.
5
History
6
Anguilla before Columbus
Stone Axe approx. 10 cm (2000BC-500BC)
Around 4000 years ago, Anguilla was discovered Painting by Penny Slinger on Display in Anguilla’s airport arrivals hall by humans travelling by dugout canoes and rafts from South America’s mainland. These earliest settlers Spirituality were pre-ceramic, meaning they did not make or use pottery but utilised stone-age technology. Raw materials Believing that humans originated from caves and the including volcanic stones and finished artefacts were world was divided into three spheres, (caves where imported complete and/or crafted locally. humans came from, subterranean waters where the Around 300AD a new culture emerged on Anguilla together with pottery forms and the development of chiefdoms. Known variously as Taino or Arawak, these people named the Island Malliouhana (as in the Hotel).
Trade They imported raw materials including volcanic stones from which they fashioned spirit stones known as zemis, which they exported throughout the lesser Antilles.
Zemi excavated on Anguilla (AAHS)
ancestors dwelled and the sky where gods lived) they carved and painted images of their deities including Jocahu and Jaluca (The god of the sea and cassava, and the rainbow god [as in Cap Jaluca]). Today, preserved examples can be found in the Fountain Cavern (Shoal Bay) and at Big Spring (Island Harbour).
What they ate The Amerindians were a fisher-planter people. In addition to bringing cotton and tobacco from South America, Amerindians also introduced cassava and manioc (used as flour) which they cultivated on small plots of land cleared from what was then forest. Today the iguana is the largest indigenous land animal. The absence of large land animals when the Amerindians lived on Anguilla made the Indians rely on the sea for over 90% of their animal protein. They fished both fish and pelagic species including tuna.
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Carved mask from a Queen Conch Shell (900-1500AD) (AAHS Collection)
Where did they go? The latest carbon dates recovered on Anguilla date from the 1500s. By the time the English created a settlement in 1650, the Indians had either been removed by the Spaniards to slavery in Puerto Rico and Hispaniola, or more likely, they had died in their villages at Sandy Ground and Rendezvous Bay. Amerindians lacked natural defences to common European ailments. Diseases including influenza, measles and typhoid devastated populations and there is no evidence that anyone was living on Anguilla when it was discovered by Europeans.
Fountain Cavern
What is the Fountain? The Fountain is a limestone cavern containing two freshwater pools and is a natural habitat for bats and other species.
the night. Inside the Fountain Cavern on Anguilla, archaeologists in 1979 discovered more than a dozen petroglyphs.
Fountain petroglyphs
The largest and most impressive by far was a larger than life stalactite carved in the likeness of the Taíno supreme deity Yócahu Bagua Maórocoti.
Carved and painted
Fountain petroglyphs
onto the cavern’s
Translated from the Arawak language, the name
stalactites are
roughly means ‘the spirit of the cassava and the
Amerindian glyphs
sea which has no masculine forebear’. According
and carvings.
to legend, Yócahu had a mother (who was the
Location
goddess of fresh water) but no father. The golden years of Amerindian Anguilla lasted until the 15th
While Amerindians did not live in the Fountain and
Century. According to the traditional view, two
archaeologists believe it was purely a ceremonial
forces contributed to the decline and depopulation
centre, there were several nearby villages, including
of Anguilla and the region in general. From the
a large settlement on Shoal Bay East.
south, a Carib-speaking group of Amerindians
Amerindian Beliefs
expanded into the region from about AD1200 and at the end of the 15th-century diseases were
Caves were ideologically important to the Taino
introduced into the region by European explorers.
who believed that all humankind originated from
By 1518 a smallpox epidemic which spread from
a cave and that the spirits of their ancestors slept
Santo Domingo to Puerto Rico decimated the few
inside during the day and came out as bats during
remaining Amerindians in the region. Yocahu, Amerindian deity. Painting by Penny Slinger
8
Settling Anguilla
Sir Thomas Warner who settled St Kitts
Anguilla is the next which hath ten leagues of length and is 18 degrees. It hath some few English on it with an excellent salt pit and a good road for ships (1665 description of Anguilla)
European Visits Before Settlement The first recorded European visit to Anguilla was in 1564 by a Frenchman who stopped briefly. Then, in 1609, the English Captain Robert Harcourt passed through the cays of the north side of Anguilla. He reported that ‘There, I think never Englishmen sailed before us’. A small band of settlers landed in St Christopher (St Kitts) under Thomas Warner in 1623. They established the first English colony in the West Indies. St Kitts became the ‘mother colony’ and from there, the English colonized Nevis, Antigua, Montserrat, St Croix, Tortola, Virgin Gorda and Anguilla.
The Dutch The Dutch showed a passing interest in Anguilla as a source for salt in the 1620s. They reported a natural salt pan with enough salt for two or three
ships ‘and a beautiful bay.’ They established a small fort on Sandy Hill in 1631. However, in 1634 the Spanish destroyed the Dutch settlement in St Maarten and the Dutch dismantled the Anguilla fort for materials to repair their settlement in Phillipsburg.
1650 In 1650, a group of settlers from St Kitts and Nevis came to Anguilla ‘without public encouragement’ and without an official commission or charter. We do not know their reasons for colonizing Anguilla, but it may to have been to avoid taxes and war. By 1630, farmers in St Kitts paid annual levies of up to 70 lbs of tobacco. The English Civil War had begun in 1642 and King Charles I had been executed in 1649. The English Civil War produced refugees. Unsettled and lawless, Anguilla would have been an attractive alternative. By 1666, it was reported 9
that a few English families had settled where the island was widest, around a lake, were raising livestock, and growing corn and tobacco. Anguilla had apparently recovered from the Amerindian attack a decade earlier.
A Persistent Spirit Despite hardships, the struggling settlement was never abandoned. The Anguillian family name Richardson dates from this period. Little is known about these early farmers. Using contemporary descriptions of their counterparts on other Islands as a guide, their worldly possessions would have consisted of little more than an old chest, some barrels, an old sieve, a few hammocks, some battered pewters dishes and possibly a book or pamphlet.
Anguilla between Columbus and the Revolution 1700s As a British colony the island enjoyed a certain amount of political autonomy, with fairly lax guidance and control being exercised by the home government. Tobacco, cotton and sugar were grown on Anguilla’s plantations. Sugar was grown for less than 100 years and was replaced by cotton. In 1745, Anguilla invaded French St Martin and the following year the French retaliated by landing a party unsuccessfully at Crocus Bay on a beach surrounded by cliffs. England gave St Martin back to the French at the end of the war, but many Anguillians stayed in the ‘English Quarter’ on St Martin where their descendants live today. Anguilla prospered during the ‘sugar period.’ Plantations grew in the Valley and merchants lined the road from Crocus Bay to the capital. This prosperity was short-lived.
During the French Revolution in 1796 the French invaded Anguilla for the 2nd time at the better location in Rendezvous Bay. The marauding force destroyed the Island’s main settlement in Crocus Bay. The Anguillians made a desperate stand at Sandy Hill. Their tenacious defence and the timely arrival of an English frigate saved many citizens from would have likely been a bloody execution. Still, the Island was devastated and the economy would take over a century to recover. The surviving French prisoners were executed and buried in a mass grave in the Valley, their only tombstone a layer of black stones.
1800s Times were hard. In 1825 Anguilla was forced by England into a political union with St Kitts and Nevis and lost much of its autonomy.
KoalKeel, on the road from Crocus Bay to the Valley is one of a few surviving buildings from the 1700s.
Sugar continued to be produced until after emancipation, when it became a victim of economic change taking place in the Caribbean. The great drought of the late 1800s brought tremendous hardship to the island. Many Anguillians had to leave to find work and over the years emigration became a way of life for many.
Stone Ruins near Shoal Bay East (private property)
During much of the 1800s Anguilla was in economic turmoil. Property changed hands and many former slaves become land owners. While some political reforms were instituted in 1936, universal adult suffrage for Anguillians was not achieved on Anguilla until 1952. 10
Benzies Plantation Ruins on Anguilla
1656 ‘Carib’ Attack No sooner had this first settlement of 1650 established itself, than it was almost wiped out. By the mid-1600s, after more than a century struggling against massacres, diseases and enslavement at the hands of Europeans, many Amerindians were fighting back. In 1656 ‘Caribs’ from an unknown place attacked the inhabitants of St Barths. From there they rowed to Anguilla where they killed ‘almost all the men.’ They plundered and burned the houses, and enslaved the women and children. The French author, botanist and explorer Pere Jean Baptiste du Tertre was sailing from Guadeloupe to St Christopher on the morning of 18 November 1656 when his ship came upon the Amerindians as they paddled away from Anguilla. The Amerindians were in nine large pirogues, or canoes. Fortunately for the French, all nine pirogues did not attack the French vessel. This is what du Tertre wrote about the encounter: I saw them first, to the number of nine pirogues, and
There were more than twenty killed by this discharge so
get her out of the pirogue. A Negro who had lost both his
showed them to Captain la Bourlette, who said, "Father, if that the sea all around our bark became bloody and the
legs by our shot refused the hand which was held out to
we were in any other place, I would think that it was an
pirogue was stove and full of water. Our two Captains
save him, he threw himself head foremost into the sea. But
army of savages going upon some expedition." But a
and our soldiers fired their pieces, and because they were
his feet not being quite separated from his legs, he hung by
moment afterwards, seeing them tack, he cried out, "Get
so close there was scarcely one that did not kill a savage.
the bones and drowned himself. We also tried to save a
ready! Get ready! They are the savages!"
While both sides were fighting valiantly an old captain of
young English lady, the mistress of the girl we had taken
the savages, seeing M. de Maubray upon the poop shot an
on board. The pirogue being separated from the bark, we
arrow at him with such violence that it broke the vessel's
saw her for some time upon a chest, holding out her hands
bell without which he would have been killed. But he did
to us; but as we went to her the chest upset and we never
not endure that long: M. de Maubray immediately shot
saw her again! While we were occupied in saving these
him in the side. The ball passed through him, and M. de
poor miserable creatures, our old savage captain all
Maubray would have finished him with his pistol, but the
wounded as he was came towards us, and raising his body
savage avoided him and threw himself into the sea, with
half out the water, like a Triton, holding two arrows on
his bow and arrow, where all the others, even the
the string of his bow, fired them into the bark and dived
wounded, followed him! As soon as they were all in the
immediately under the water. He returned thus bravely to
water we tried to save some prisoners that were in the
the charge five times; and his strength failing him before
pirogue, and easily got out two young Frenchmen. But as
his courage, we saw him fall backwards and sink to the
we were trying to get an English girl out, an old female
bottom!
The largest pirogue, leaving the eight others, came boldly to reconnoitre us. Our Captain did what he could to run her on board athwart ships, and sail over her; but the Caribs adroitly avoided the shock and always kept her head towards us. We had pointed the gun to rake the pirogue from one end to the other, and it was loaded with a large ball, an iron chain, and two bags of old nails and musket balls. Half the savages on board the pirogue rowed; all the others held each of them two arrows on their bow-string ready to let fly. When they were about twenty paces from us they made great cries and hootings on coming to attack us; but as we went to them before the wind, the foresail covered us and they could not see to fire at us. Our gunner seeing them close chose his time so well, and let off his gun so a propos that the discharge knocked down more than half the savages, and if the stern of the pirogue had not pitched, not one of them would have escaped.
savage bit her on the shoulder, and tore out as much flesh as her mouth could hold! But at the same time a Christian Carib that we had on board, and a sworn enemy to others of his nation, struck her a blow with a half pike in the neck, which made her drop her prize. This wound, nevertheless, did not prevent her from throwing herself upon the girl and biting her a second time, before we could
11
If the eight pirogues had come to us with the same courage we would certainly have been taken; but having seen the fire that we kept upon the first and perceiving that we stood towards them with all sail set, they took flight, and having gained the weather gage by rowing they saved themselves on a small island called Redonda.
Piracy In England he was hung and afterward exhibited as
The Golden Age of Piracy
a warning to other pirates. The association of piracy and buccaneering with
Accusations of Pirate Dealing
Anguilla dates to the 17th century, when Anguilla developed a wide but undeserved
In 1701, Governor Codrington Jr wrote to the
reputation as a stomping ground for pirates and
committee for the Colonies that the men of Anguilla
buccaneers.
were perfect outlaws.
The Golden Age of Piracy ran from about 1614 to
In 1706, Anguilla’s Deputy Governor George
1724. In 1672, Anguilla appears in history when
Leonard was accused by Richard Oglethorpe of
the new Governor-in-Chief of the Leeward
knowingly dealing with the goods of Captain Kidd.
Islands unlawfully (and by accident) seizes the
Unfortunately no other details are known.
William and Mary in Anguilla which was
Oglethorpe subsequently married the widow of
carrying a cargo of logwood. Wheeler’s action
Tempest Rogers, Kidd’s colleague. Oglethorpe
was deemed unjustified and he was replaced as
accused Governor Leonard of owing money to
Governor-in-Chief by Colonel William Stapleton.
Rogers and, since Rogers was dead, to him as he had
The cargo was offloaded while the ship sunk at
married Rogers’ widow.
anchor in The Road (Sandy Ground).
Anguilla continued to struggle with its reputation. A retired pirate surfaces on Anguilla in Captain
William Kidd
Woodes Rogers who in 1718 attempted to lure the In 1699, the Council for Nevis wrote that Kidd
entire population of Anguilla (then around 1,800
had touched at Anguilla. There, he learned he
blacks and whites) to his colony in the Bahamas.
had been proclaimed a pirate by the English
Two years later, six pirates from the Royal Rover
authorities. The Anguillians refused him
landed on Anguilla in 1720 to start a new life but
assistance but the allegations of visits by pirates
were detected by the Anguillians and sent as
would haunt the Island’s reputation for years.
prisoners to Nevis where they were found guilty
William Kidd travelled to the states where he was
and sentenced to death.
imprisoned and later carried to England.
Kidd displayed on the Gibbet in London
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Smuggling Origins
which fished at day and smuggled by night.
At Little Harbour, a series of fires were lit which
Smuggling was important to boat racing as
were visible at sea but invisible from land.
The first real evidence that Anguillians were
invariably the best boats for smuggling were also
Smugglers would tack along the nearly reef-bound
engaged in smuggling comes from 1736, the year
competitive racers.
coast until the fires onshore lined up meaning the
an Anguillian vessel was seized by the Spanish near
channel was straight ahead and they could enter.
the Rocas, a series of rocky islands off the coast of
Taxes
Venezuela where they claimed they were hunting
Marching Songs
turtle. The Spanish believed they were smuggling
The close proximity of duty-free St. Martin, the
and it is quite possible they were correct.
Island’s numerous bays and coves, the poverty of
Smugglers invented several marching songs; the
the inhabitants, the high rates of duty, together with most famous of which was sang to the tune ‘All Hail Smuggling has a long tradition and if the Spaniards were correct, it would prove an even greater lineage. Unfortunately the name of the sloop and its fate along with its crew is not known so we cannot be certain. Historian Don Mitchell writes that
the presence of so many skilled mariners and
the Power of Jesus’ Name:’
available boats has made smuggling a natural pastime. While liquor was the main commodity, other staple foods including rice, sugar and flour were also smuggled. Duty on a gallon of rum in the 1930s meant that the same amount of rum costing
All hail the power of Cockspur’s rum Let drunkards prostrate fall Bring forth the royal demijohn
two or three shillings in St Martin could cost as It is this profession [smuggling] that was
much as 20 shillings after importation. There was
responsible for having provided valuable
little cash on Anguilla and the high tax amounted to
training and employment for generations
prohibition.
The boats that are used in today’s races have not in
How to Avoid the Reefs The Anguillians invented ingenious ways to avoid
fact evolved from the sloops and schooners used by both the officials (all two in 1930) and Anguilla’s Anguillian mariners but from a long line of boats
(Recorded by David Carty in Nuttin Bafflin 1997)
of famous Anguillian shipwrights and sailors (The Baccaneers and Anguilla)
And crack it on the wall
dangerous reefs. 13
For more information, Nuttin Bafflin, a book and DVD by David Carty, provides an insightful look at the history of smuggling and boat building.
The 1745 French Invasion at Crocus Bay The St Martin-Anguilla Connection
The French Invasion
From as early as the 1720s the deputy governor of Anguilla of Jenkin’s Ear) England and France were at war. That year In 1745, the French retaliated, landing 150 men at Crocus had made grants of land in St Martin to British settlers 300 Anguillian settlers under the command of Deputy Bay. Led by M. DeLaTouche, the invading force landed on from Anguilla. In 1744, during the War of Austrian
Governor Arthur Hodge invaded St Martin with the help
a beach surrounded by hills. Governor Hodge of Anguilla
Succession (also known as King George’s War or the War
of two Privateers from St Kitts. The force successfully
advised his men,
captured the French side of St Martin.
Gentlemen, I am an utter stranger to all manner of military discipline, so have nothing to recommend to you, but load and fire as fast you can, and stand by one another in the defense of your country; so God bless you -General Arthur Hodge According to a contemporary account, 150 Anguilla militia repelled the force in only fifteen minutes. 32 Frenchmen were killed, 25 injured (including M. DeLaTouche) and 50 taken as prisoners. In 1747, Governor Hodge travelled to England to ask parliament to allow Anguilla to keep St Martin. His requests were unsuccessful and the Treaty of Aix-laChappelle in 1748 confirmed St Martin as half-French/halfDutch. Still, many Anguillian settlers stayed on St Martin. The area of Simpson Bay was called ‘The English Quarter as late as 1765 and common Anguillian names such as Howell, Leonard and Derrick persist in St Martin even while they have become extinct in Anguilla. Crocus Bay, Site of 1745 French Invasion on Anguilla
14
Contemporary Account of the 1745 French Invasion Boston Post 5th August 1745 Letter from an unnamed gentleman in Anguilla to his friend in St Kitts
On the 21st instant, early in the
which the French were to pass
have hid themselves in the
particulars we learn by some
morning, we were surprised by a
secured with breastworks, the
bushes, or died there of their
prisoners set on shore by a flag of
fleet of French, consisting of two
first of which would contain but
wounds, which latter we believe,
truce sent by the Commodore.
Men-of-War, one of 36 guns, the
22 men, commanded by Captain
by the stench to be many, but can
They had landed several hand
other of 32, with 3 privateers,
Richardson. These engaged the
give no certain account of them,
grenade shells, swivel guns fixed
and two Dutch vessels as
enemy, firing by platoons
nor of the drowned. Among the
on triangles, beef, cheese, bread
tenders. They had undiscovered
regularly, and with so true an
dead are the second Captain of
and wine. The four last articles
put on shore 759 men at a place
aim that every shot took pace and
the Commodore (Monsieur La
were good plunder for our
called Rendezvous Bay [nb this is
the French fell so fast, that in less
Touch), the first lieutenant of the
Negroes.
mis-reported as the landing
than ten minutes they lost
other ship, Capt Rolough, and
actually took place at Crocus
courage, and fled with precipita-
old privateer, Benar their pilot
Every dead man had in his
Bay].
tion, having in this short action
who married his wife of this
pockets nettles, or small lines, for
at least 160 men killed and
island, the Governor of St
pinioning our Negroes. We had
Their success in landing was a
wounded, and drowned in
Bartholomew’s son, and several
not one man hurt, and have got
great encouragement to them,
getting into their boats.
other officers.
by this expedition, besides two pair of their colours, a great
and a great discouragement to us: our whole force being 97 men
We expected a fresh onset the
The Commodore himself was
many fine buccaneer guns,
only. These our lieutenant
next day, but it seems they had a
wounded in his arm and thigh, so
cartouche boxes, etc, which they
governor, Arthur Hodge, formed
job of it for they went away
much that they were obliged to
left behind, and with which we
into three divisions, and posted
quietly. We have buried 35 dead,
carry him on board, as they did
intend to arm our most trusty
them in a very narrow path by
and are daily in search of such as
25 others. Some of these 15
and sensible Negroes to strengthen our island.
The 2nd French Invasion of Anguilla Rendezvous Bay 1796 Anguilla in Context Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries the islands of the Caribbean faced depredations by privateers and pirates of all nations. During the Revolutionary Wars in 1796, Victor Hughes sent 470 men under citoyens Andre Senis and Labourtique from St Martin to Anguilla with alleged instructions ‘to exterminate the inhabitants’. The French force landed at Rendezvous Bay and moved through the settlements, burning villages
The arrival of HMS Lapwing, commemorated on an Anguilla Stamp
Lapwing engagement. Very similar to the medal awarded at Trafalgar (above), one of these is preserved at the National
and pillaging plantations as they went. Despite resistance, they sacked and burned the main
For bravery, two service medals were awarded for the
Maritime Museum in England.
Margaret Saves Anguilla
town at Crocus Bay. In the Valley they tore down the church and burned Wallblake House. Their advance was finally held at Sandy Hill Fort where the Anguillians melted the last of their fishing net weights to make musket balls.
Meanwhile a fast sailing schooner, the Margaret,
Hill Court House (a Heritage Trail site). Realizing
was sent from Anguilla to St. Kitts for assistance;
the extent of destruction, enraged Anguillians
on reaching St. Kitts the Anguilla ship found the 28
swarmed the make shift prison and slaughtered
-gun British frigate, HMS Lapwing. Sailing with the
the French in their cells.
frigate, both ships proceeded quickly to Anguilla. Colonel Benjamin Gumbs said years after (1824) that
Arriving at night, they saw the man settlements
he urged the men, saying,
and plantations in flames. They engaged the
I tell you what. I know nothing of marching and
enemy, captured and burned the larger vessel and
counter-marching, but my advice to you is wait till
drove the other ashore on St Martin.
the enemy comes close and then fire and load and
The frigate’s timely intervention caused the French
fire again like the devil.
to immediately break off their siege of Sandy Hill.
-Benjamin Gumbs, Anguilla’s Lieutenant Governor
In their hasty retreat, many French soldiers were left stranded. Having surrendered, they were imprisoned in the burned out cellars of the Crocus 16
Rendezvous Bay, where the French landed their troops
The Anguilla Revolution and Nationhood
The British ‘on guard’ in Sandy Ground
During the 1970s debate continued over Anguilla’s future even while the British Corps of Engineers helped rebuild the Island’s infrastructure and lay many of the roads you see today.
In 1958, St Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla became part of the Federation of the West Indies. The Federation collapsed in 1962 and despite individual constitutions for most islands, Anguilla remained part of an Associated State with St Kitts and Nevis, an unpopular decision that sparked the Anguilla Revolution. In 1967 in an effort to oust the St Kitts officials, Anguillians burnt Landsome House, the only other Plantation House on the Island. Today the separation from St Kitts is commemorated every
May 30th on Anguilla Day, a National Holiday. Britain intervened in 1969, landing the British ‘Red Devils’ (paratroopers) on the Island. They were welcomed by the Islanders with waving Union Jacks. In 2007, six of the Revolution’s leaders were honoured on Anguilla stamps: Hyacinth Carty, Edward Duncan, Jeremiah Gumbs, Connell Harrigan, Reverend Leonard Carty and Atlin Harrigan, who together with Ronald Webster, helped shape the future of Anguilla. 17
In December 1980, Anguilla became a separate dependency with some measure of autonomy in government. The Island has an elected ministerial government and a British-appointed governor. Today the Island is a British Overseas Territory.
Anguilla’s National Flag
Plantations
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The Planters’ House Design and Efficiency The design for the Plantation Great House was introduced to the Caribbean in the early 1600s, a century or so before the design became popular in America. The design takes advantage of the region’s natural climate. One or two stories, the Planter’s house is always elevated to take advantage of breezes.
relaxation and shade, allowing the planter to survey his property in comfort. Continuous walls of shutters on the outside of the porch rails provide privacy from outside, and an extension of living space. Inside, interior walls originally stopped just above the doors, allowing air to freely circulate around the home’s interior.
The space under the house was originally used to keep livestock safe Standing the at night and later for storing commodities and other valuables. In Test of Time ‘Union Jack’ railings on the White House in Sandy Ground some cases, it is also the location for a The design of the sloping hip roof is cistern. ideal to deflect hurricane winds and Designs vary and borrowed elements to collect fresh water for the cistern. can include shutters (Jalousie) from The shape creates a venturi effect the French, dormer windows from under the porches. During a storm, the Dutch and ‘Union Jack’ railings this forces the wind through the from the English. house via large French doors, helping to anchor the house to the ground. Other classical European features include column capitols, bases, The design is remarkably efficient entablatures, arches and plinths. and is one reason many houses have The roof typically extends over a balcony which often surrounds the entire house. The porches allow both
survived weather which has devastated younger properties. Exterior of Koal Keel Restaurant showing elevated 1st floor and porch
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Wallblake House The Buildings Wallbblake House is the oldest surviving Plantation on Anguilla. The original estate buildings located n the Valley comprised the main house, its outbuildings and the nearby sugar works. Before emancipation there would have been a slave village attached to the plantation; its exact location has yet to be found. In 1787, by the end of the ‘sugar period’ a house and some outbuildings were built at Wallblake House The sugar works date to the mid-1700s. In its heyday, the Great House was a prominent residence in the centre of an estate, which at its peak extended as far as the present airport. A brick in the bakery on site shows a date of 1787. Wallblake House was burnt during the 1796 French invasion and at least one member of the Hodge family murdered who was hiding in the basement. The house, however, was rebuilt shortly after.
Left: Drawing of Wallblake House estate by Ian Smith
Ownership ‘Wallblake,’ the name of the estate probably derives from Valentine Blake, whose property in the Valley is mentioned briefly in a deed from the 1690s. The Hodge Family owned the estate before emancipation during the ‘Sugar Period’ and rebuilt the main house following its destruction by the French. Since the 1890s, it has been owned by the Lakes who leased the property to the Rey brothers in the early 1900s. In the 1960s when cotton was grown on the estate, Wallblake House and approximately 9 acres were willed to the Catholic Church by Miss Marie Lake. Today the property is the centre for the Anguilla Heritage Trail and an office for non profit organizations. The building is open to the public five days a week.
Exterior of Wallblake House
Burned coral and molasses formed the original mortar
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Building a Plantation Stonework The house basement, along with the outbuildings, the cistern and the sugar works were all built using local stone. The foundations are built of cut stone held together with lime, made from burnt coral and shells, mixed with molasses and marl. It would have taken at least 18 months to collect and cut the stone (possibly much longer) and some of the stone may have
Large stepped chimney in the bakery (c. 1787) Tray ceilings and beading inside Wallblake House
come from nearby Crocus Bay or as far away as East End and Scrub Island.
inverted trays suspended from the roof and the
The beading of each board used in the double
decorated edged of the tray ceiling are called
panelling of each partition (removed during
roping because they look like rope tacked onto the
restoration) and intricate carving involved in
edges to hide irregularities.
decorating the edges of the tray ceiling was completed by hand.
Outbuildings
Other examples of this type of colonial architecture can be seen at Koal Keel, another site on the In addition to the main house there is an elevated Anguilla Heritage Trail. cellar at ground level, a bakery and two outbuildings. One of these was used as servants’
Woodwork
quarters in the early 1900s and the other has been
The ruins of the animal round where slaves took the cane to
labelled ‘the stables’. The ruins of the original
extract the juice and produce sugar and rum. The remains of
The house has a wooden roof and attractive 'tray'
animal round used to grind cane is approximately
ceilings with beading and decorative woodwork.
100 metres from the main house.
Tray ceilings are so called because they resemble
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the boiling and curing house have not been found but would have been nearby
Life on a Plantation: Planters
The large oven at Wallblake House would have provided for all the needs of the Family who resided in the Great House
Planters enjoyed the best that they could afford (above, Planter’s ‘kicking back’ in Barbados 1700s)
The Household There were always two separate but interrelated domestic communities on the Plantation. The resident of the Great House, the Planter and his family enjoyed as many amenities and comforts as he could afford.
Anguilla Planters never amassed the fortunes of his Barbados or Jamaican counterpart. They did, however, maintain a reasonable standard of living. Compared to life in Europe, living on Anguilla was difficult, crude, hot and sweaty. Diseases, wars, hurricanes and drought made life unpredictable and the future, uncertain.
discipline of the domestic staff, and the ordering of food and household supplies (many of which were imported) would have been the main responsibility of the plantation owner’s wife. The large oven The Plantation owner and his family lived (separate from the house in case of fire) in the House and were usually looked after would have been used for baking bread by female domestic slaves or, after and preparing food. emancipation, servants. While the separation between master and The household help would have been slave may not have been as dramatic on responsible for cleaning and laundry, food Anguilla as on other islands, slave and preparation, gardening and often child master lived in separate spheres. Slaves did care. not have legal rights and did not share the The organization, day to day operation and benefits of their labour.
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Life on a Plantation: Slaves and Servants Field Work The majority of slaves were field workers who planted and harvested crops of cotton and sugar. It was labour-intensive work.
Domestic Work Domestic work at Wallblake would have revolved around daily chores including
cooking, cleaning and laundry necessary to keep the household running smoothly. Special events such as Christmas and Easter would have meant periods of high activity in the Plantation household. The planting of a kitchen garden in the rainy season was a job usually delegated to the domestic staff, as was care of the household milk cow, sheep, goats, pigs and chickens. Historically the seasonal planting and harvesting of sugar cane or cotton would have made extra demands on the time and skills of the plantation’s domestic staff.
‘Provisions’
Modern-day ‘jollification’ sponsored by the library
Crops grown for local consumption (which during productive years might be exported) were known as provisions. Corn (maize), along with pigeon peas (a good source of protein and dry weather resistant), cassava (a starchy root), sweet potatoes and yams (another good source of carbohydrates) formed these usual garden crops.
‘Jollification’
Workers on an unknown Plantation (not Anguilla) 1800s
The collective planting of families’ garden plots was known on Anguilla as
‘Jollification’ and was practiced until the late 1950s. A reciprocal practice, it was probably an extension of the neighbourhood house building tradition and served the same social purposes. A missionary to Anguilla writes in 1828,
When going to the Band-musking this morning, I heard a strange noise at some distance, which I learned was a party celebrating a roof rising. I procured a guide and went unnoticed to the spot. They at first appeared inclined to smile at reproof, but became attentive. After some time spent in reproof and remonstration, I
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requested them to kneel down that I may pray with them. The house being small and having a large fire on the floor in its centre, I was almost suffocated with heat and smoke [but] rising from prayer I again exposited with them (H.B. Britton 1828) In the 20th Century the men of the neighbourhood cleared and tilled the land ready for planting while the women prepared food and drink for a social gathering that would take place after the day’s work. Recent ‘Jollifications’ have been sponsored by the Anguilla Public Library in an effort to keep alive Anguilla’s historical tradition of communal work.
Fresh Water – Anguilla’s Staff of Life Many wells once used to wash clothes are now easily
Valley Well, a Heritage Trail site
overlooked
Amerindians Anguilla’s first inhabitants identified sources of freshwa-
Cisterns provide a convenient source of water by catching
ter early. The Island’s two main Amerindian sites at the
runoff from roofs. This catchment area funnels the water
Fountain Cavern and Big Spring, renowned for their
into a storage chamber where it is held until needed. The
1000+ year old petroglyphs and artefacts are also reliable
cistern at Wallblake House is an exceptionally well made
sources for fresh water.
example which continues to hold water more than 200 years after it was constructed.
Wells and Cisterns At least five ‘Indian’ wells are recorded on early maps of
Desalination
Anguilla. The most reliable have been fitted with pumps
Conserving water continues to be an important- even vital
and expanded; The Old Valley Well in the Valley became
part of living on Anguilla. Today, the government’s
East End Pump Station
the site of Anguilla’s first Water Works in 1919 (top right). desalination plant in Crocus Bay and on Crocus Hill The site also served as a watering hole for cattle and goats provides fresh water across the island. The system pumps and a community meeting place for business transactions
sea water into Crocus Bay. The desalinated water is
to take place. It was included on the Anguilla Heritage
pumped to a storage tank at the highest point on
Trail in 2010. Other prominent wells (middle) are visible
Anguilla, at Crocus Hill where it is delivered by gravity to
while many others, once used to wash clothes and draw water, are now forgotten (top left). The water found under Anguilla ranges from brackish to fresh and is mostly used for agricultural purposes.
customers paying for ’government’ water. Many Anguillians, however, continue to rely on wells and cisterns for their freshwater requirements.
The cistern at Wallblake House was built by hand more than 200 years ago and still holds water
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Slavery on Anguilla Slavery The original tobacco and cotton farmers in the 1600s were white indentured servants and former slaves from neighbouring islands.
with slave mothers. Anguilla’s historic deeds from the late 1700 and early 1800s show how many of these children were manumitted (freed) and given
early 1700s led to larger estates, the
property in their fathers’ wills.
many small-scale farmers.
On freedom, slaves retained their first name but often took their last name from their master. Thus
Increased numbers of black slaves were imported
planters named Carty, Gumbs, Harrigan,
to meet the labour needs of the plantation and by
Richardson and Ruan (among others) passed on
1740 Blacks outnumbered Whites 4 to 1.
their names to former slaves. These surnames have
While many Anguillians today believe that slavery was less intensive on Anguilla than other islands, its presence has left a permanent mark on the Island.
been passed down through generations and are part of Anguilla’s heritage, today.
Emancipation, Subsistence, Farming and Land Ownership
Work On and Off the Plantation
Richardson’s estate in Anguilla on his death in 1819
It was accepted that planters would have children
The introduction of sugar cane cultivation in the conglomeration of small farms and the exodus of
An excerpt from the division of slave owner Benjamin
Anguillian Names and Slavery
By the 1820s, increasing taxes together with
Sugar production is very labour intensive and
decreasing productivity brought about by
requires large numbers of workers. However,
exhausted soil, drought conditions and falling
outside the harvest, many slaves were sent
prices led the majority of the planter-class to leave.
off-Anguilla to work on neighbouring
With taxes unpaid, the land reverted back to the
plantations. After years of work abroad, records
crown (England). Slavery was abolished in 1834
show that some slaves returned with savings to
and former slaves became Anguillian subsistence
purchase both their and their families’ freedom.
farmers who acquired the land and have held it ever since.
including a list of the estate’s slaves
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Life in the 1800s In the early 1800s, Anguilla began to shift from a plantation (slave-based) economy to a society of independent peasants. Following emancipation in 1834, Anguilla’s former slaves purchased land; families spread across the island, farming provisions and small crops wherever the soil was good. In the 1840s, drought conditions and distress led the British Government to plan the evacuation of all Anguillians to Demerara (now Guyana). Anguillians refused to move and conditions improved by the 1860s, with many Anguillians working the phosphate mine on Sombrero. However, the Great Famine from 1888 through the 1890s once more caused… Prolonged drought; repeated failure of crops; lack of seed; death of cattle sheep, goats for want of food and water(Colville Petty) In fact in 1895 95% of the population or 3,500 persons were given assistance from the central government in St. Kitts ‘to save them from actual starvation.
A community of peasant farmers, most Anguillians lived in wattle and daub houses during the 1800s and through the mid-1900s. ‘The roof and wall were a prefect work of art…made of the leaf of a plant the shape of an open hand, and no larger…Every leaf is tied to small cross beams by a fibre partially detached from its own stalk…called a thatch palm by natives. Image and quote from Bless our Forebears by Colville L. Petty
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Life in the 1900s “A Century of Paradox: Despair and Hope” -description of 1900s by Colville
1960 the census shows that more than half of
The first hotels, Lloyds Guest House (Crocus Hill) and
Anguillians were unemployed while the others were Rendezvous Bay Hotel were built in the 1960s; the employed primarily in agriculture, construction and
beginning of tourism marks a turning point in
sea transportation. But times were changing…
Anguilla’s history.
Petty
Employment Sectors in 1960 Drought, famine, hurricanes and epidemics marked Anguilla in the 1900s. Anguillians survived but the depressed conditions led many to seek work offisland. Some found work in St Kitts, a few went to
services (teaching, administration and health )
agriculture 18%
Cuba and many others went to the Dominican Republic to cut cane. When that industry closed in
8%
the 1930s, Anguillians travelled to Curaçao and Aruba to work on the oil refineries. Cotton production on Anguilla peaked in 1910 (see Cotton Production) but quickly declined after World
unemployed 56%
construction 8%
War 1. Throughout the 1900s Anguilla suffered from the cyclic destruction of hurricanes and drought. The people lived from hand to mouth. Whenever conditions improved, Anguillians gathered surplus provisions and livestock (peas and
other 2%
maize, pigs, chickens, sheep, goats and cattle) and sold or battered them on St Martin and St Barths. In 27
s ea tra nsportation 6% commerce (whol esale and retail) 5%
The Sea
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Maritime Heritage
From the earliest Amerindians to the present and into the future, the sea has defined Anguilla, enabling life to continue where it would otherwise be impossible. From maritime industries including salt picking and fishing to transportation, trade and tourism, Anguilla has come to rely on the sea when other industries failed. Today, the sea is celebrated in festivals and celebrations, including Festival del Mar in Island Harbour and August Monday in Sandy Ground. The sea is a natural part of life on Anguilla and until recently fish the dominant protein. While many Anguillians do not swim, there is an undeniable and intangible connection with the ocean. As more than one Anguillian explains, ‘the sea is in our blood’.
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Shipwrecks Surrounded by reefs, poorly charted and sitting
Websters trace their ancestry here although
In addition to these accidental shipwrecks, nine
close to the Anegada Passage, Anguilla can boast a
unfortunately, no primary sources survive.
artificial reefs were created in 1990 to create
surprising number of shipwrecks.
Other recorded wrecks include Spanish merchant
The descendants in Island Harbour trace their roots
ships, an English slaver, American and Canadian
to an Irish ship, perhaps named The Lepricon. In the
traders, and more than two dozen named ships.
early 1700s the survivors (including the ship’s dachshund) allegedly settled in Island Harbour and East End. Today, the Island’s Harrigans and
Maritime archaeologists believe that Anguilla has a likely resource of 100-150 shipwrecks, with many more around Sombrero and the off-lying cays.
underwater fish habitats and clear several unsightly hulks from Anguilla’s coast. While Anguilla does not have any laws preventing the exploration of ship wrecks by divers, there are laws to stop artefacts from being taken off-island or sold.
Thomas Hinde, one of the English owners of the slave
Anguilla’s maritime history is imperfectly preserved in archives and collections around the world. Above, the United Kingdom
ship Antelope, lost off Anguilla in 1772.
Hydrographic Office in Taunton, England has maps and information on the Caribbean region including Anguilla.
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Artificial Reefs In 1990, Anguilla undertook an artificial reef
Less than 100 years old, each vessel has a unique
programme, in part to rid the island of unsightly
history.
hulks littering the beaches and in part to create a
World War II
series of wreck dives for visiting SCUBA divers. These sites can be visited today and include MV Sarah MV Ekco MV Lady Vie MV Meppel
For example, the Meppel, an ignoble cargo vessel 127’ long was purposely sunk in Anguilla in 1990. In another life, the ship, then called Hilda assisted the evacuation of 338,000 allied troops during Operation Dynamo, the WWII battle at Dunkirk, France. Nearly sunk on several occasions by
MV Commerce
Ships sunk as artificial reefs are not only interesting dive sites
U-boats, the ship survived the war and success-
but also provide an important habitat for many fish and coral
MV Ida Maria
fully (if unglamorously) served throughout the
species
MV Oospterdiep
Caribbean as an inter-island freighter.
Each of the ships is located off-shore and is accessible only by boat. Most of the dives range
MV Catheley H
from 30’ to 80’ and are suitable for Open-Water or MV Marva W
Advanced Scuba divers. In addition to the ships,
While sailing the Caribbean in 1988, the
the sites are habitats for a wide range of species
archaeologist George Bass stopped in Road Bay,
including lobster, rays and fish.
Anguilla. He commented from his porthole: ‘I could see a future archaeological site-the rusting
For more information, please contact the Island’s
hulk of Sarah, on her side. Half above and half be-
dive operators (Special ‘D’ Divers in Sandy
low the surface of the harbour of Aquilla in the
Hilda, aka Meppel during WWII
BWI’ (Ships and Shipwrecks of the Americas).
Ground, Anguillian Divers in West End, and Shoal Bay Scuba on Shoal Bay, East).
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Marine Archaeology on Anguilla Marine Archaeology is the study of humankind’s
25 years later, the first professional archaeologists
available to the public and have been published by
past interaction with the sea. The discipline focuses
visited from East Carolina University and the
the archaeologists.
on the material culture that remains, from
Maritime Archaeological and Historical Society
submerged cities and lost ships, to local traditions
(based in Maryland). In 1996, they documented the
and oral histories. The first marine archaeologist,
site of the Spanish Nau, El Buen Consejo.
visited Anguilla in 1971 from the College of the Virgin Islands but left no record of his discoveries.
More than a decade later, another team, this time from the University of Southampton conducted a three week field project, photographing and recording 9 historic shipwrecks (8 previously undocumented) and 11 spot finds including anchors, cannon and ship’s machinery. Finds included a ‘dump site’ with 9 cannon, 19th century sailing ships and a Taiwanese fishing boat that was lost in 1975. Results from both surveys are
Two archaeologists recording a 19th century wreck. Other features recorded include a windlass and anchoring assembly
Nine cannon ‘dumped’ in the 1800s when a ship ran onto
The bow anchor of an 18th century Nau, the Buen Consejo, recorded
The most recent site recorded, a 1975 taiwanese fishing boat
Anguilla’s reefs
in 2009
from St Martin that sunk with 120 tons of fresh tuna. Every Anguillian with a freezer had it filled!
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Treasure Hunting/ El Buen Consejo The crystal waters of the Caribbean have long been
Today, it is illegal to visit the site without
a stomping ground for avocational and professional permission from the Government. While treasure hunting. Unfortunately, their activities
Anguilla has kept a large collection of
result in a permanent loss of information and
medallions, much has been lost. Artefacts taken
history.
from the sea are especially fragile. Years under
In 1994, the 1772 Spanish Nau, El Buen Consejo became the centre of controversy when several treasure hunters sought permits to salvage the site.
the sea will change their chemistry and unless they are conserved as soon as they are removed from water they will quickly disintegrate.
Today the site consists of 29 cannon and three The 980-ton Nau, which ran aground off Anguilla on anchors. It is located in a high energy July 8, 1772, was carrying a cargo of trade goods environment. In 2009, the government together and passengers from Cadiz, Spain to Mexico.
with the FBI recovered a number of artefacts
Among the passengers were 52 Franciscan
from a private collector in the USA. The
missionaries carrying a consignment of religious
artefacts were returned to Anguilla by the FBI.
medallions.
Their recovery will hopefully serve as a
The bronze pieces depicting religious scenes and
warning for others.
One of the remaining anchors and cannon in-situ in the Buen Consejo Archaeological Preserve
holy figures were not recovered when the ship ran aground, but found centuries after by a spear fisherman from Island Harbour. He proceeded to show the site to a number of tourists and soon treasure hunters became interested. The site was protected as an Underwater Archaeological Preserve by the Government of Anguilla in 1995 and became off-limits to the public. Unfortunately looters continued to remove many artefacts, including coins, buttons and medallions.
The site’s exposed condition has not protected it from
The 2009 ceremony returning some of the artefacts stolen
looters
from Anguilla
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Migration and Santo Domingo Returning home, the ships beat against the wind
Many sugar mills like the one pictured below in Santo
and the voyage could last two weeks or more.
Domingo were animal-driven.
On their arrival into Road Bay, the schools
San Pedro de Macoris, 1910
would empty as children and families rushed to
These animal-powered mills which in some areas
meet the workers. The faster ships became
continue to operate were very similar to the equipment
renowned for quicker journeys, cementing their
which would have been used at Wallblake House and
place in Anguilla history.
(Bless Our Forebears by Colville Petty)
Migration was a necessity for Anguillians through the 1800s and 1900s. While some Anguillians permanently migrated to other islands, North America or Europe, Santo Domingo seasonal employment for Anguillians who were willing to work in the cane fields. Many Anguillian boys as young as 11 travelled with their male relatives. Each worker was paid every 15 days at a rate that averaged US$.17 per ton of cane cut. The workers would leave each January crowded aboard schooners such as the Warspite, Betsy R, Excelsior Hodge, Yolanda, Ismay and Carmella. Following British legislation they carried one passenger per ton. Calling into Marigot, St Martin, they would load many more men and boys including those from other islands. The trip to San Pedro de Macoris in the Dominican Republic would take as
Today’s racing boats departing from Sandy Ground in the annual boat races re-enact the historic migration of Anguilla’s men to Santo Domingo. The annual migration provided a vital income. The men’s departure relieved pressure to feed a large population. Their return provided an influx of cash which was otherwise impossible to obtain. Despite the low wages, Anguillians welcomed the work off-island. ‘Macoris! Macoris! God bless Macoris!’ they cried. Changing politics closed the door for Anguillians in the late 1930s and early 1940s to work in the Dominican Republic. Moving South, Anguillians found work in the crowded oil refineries in Curaҫao and Aruba.
little as two days. 34
other sugar plantations on Anguilla in the 1700s
The Warspite An Anguilla Legend
Fate
Built in 1909 at Sandy Ground, the Warspite was
In 1984, while at anchor in Road Bay during hurricane
originally christened Gazelle.
Klaus, the now infamous Ida Maria dragged down her
In 1916, Arthur Romney bought the 40-ton ship and renamed her the Warspite, after the famous Queen
chains, struck the Warspite, tore her chains from the bitts, and cast her ashore.
Elizabeth Class warship launched in 1913. He
In 1995 the vessel was commemorated in a series of
altered the bow section and added 11 feet to the
postal stamps.
The Warspite commemorative stamp
length. She was a fast boat and soon became famous for transporting Anguilla’s men to and from the Dominican Republic’s cane fields. In 1929, she was lengthened again and a fourteen foot section was added to her centre. Through the 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s she transported goods between the Caribbean islands and salt to Trinidad. As times changed, she was motorized but continued to live as a working boat. Every two weeks, she carried supplies to the lighthouse on Sombrero. Between trips, she would anchor in Sandy Ground.
Left: The Warspite at anchor in Sandy Ground
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Boat Racing Boat racing is Anguilla’s national sport. It involves communities, groups, businesses and visitors in annual celebration and competition.
Ad-hoc racing
Organized Racing
Before organized racing, there was competition. The
Racing was not incorporated into August Monday
challenge of one Captain to another was legendary.
celebrations until 1940. Up to then, August Monday
Unscheduled head-to-head races bred skills and
was organized by the Anglican Vestry and celebrated
experience. The Island’s original racing boats were used in what is now Ronald Webster Park (formerly called for fishing and smuggling and were much more easily
Landsome Pasture or Burrowes Park) as a fair with a
rigged and crewed than the larger boats used in today’s bazaar and sports meet. In 1940, Mac Owen and Elliot August Monday celebrations.
Betting
Carty (both of North Hill) organized the first August Monday Boat Race in Sandy Ground. The largest boats were just over 19’ and there was no prize money. Over
While illegal and unregulated, betting plays an
time the event grew in popularity, eventually attracting
important role in racing. Fortunes have been lost and
sponsors and even occasional competitors from St
gained and considerable sums trade hands each race.
Martin. When motorized fishing boats replaced the sails of the fishing fleet, sailing boats survived as racing boats. Increasingly built for competition, their paint became more decorative and their efficiency for racing improved.
It’s all in a name Most of today’s racing boat names can be traced back decades and in some cases, generations. For example, the original Bluebird was built in 1967, Light and Peace in 1971, and De Chan in 1973. De Tree and UFO both date to 1996. Right: Boat arriving into Sandy Ground on August Monday 2010
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Off-Island Cays Anguilla’s off-lying cays (pronounced keys) provide important habitats for birds and marine life together with recreational opportunities for residents and visitors. Anguilla’s cays and shoals include: Anguillita, Blowing Rock, Cove Cay, Crocus Cay, Deadman's Cay, Dog Island, East Cay, Little Island, Little Scrub Island, Mid Cay, North Cay, Prickly Pear Cays, Rabbit Island, Sandy Island, also known as Sand Island, Scilly Cay, Scrub Island, Seal Island, Sombrero, also known as Hat Island, South Cay, South Wager Island, and West Cay. Most are of little consequence, many are privately owned and all our uninhabited.
Facilities
History The cays have been used variously through time. In the 1800s, a more fertile Dog Island was used to pasture horses and goats. In 1826 Benjamin Gumbs Hodge assaulted a slave called Charlotte. After beating her he did ‘seize, take drag and forcibly carry her across the sea to a certain
Scilly Cay offers a shuttle from Island Harbour. There is a restaurant and bar on the island
place called Dog Island for a long space of time, for the space of three weeks’. Charlotte was a witness in the trial but Hodge was acquitted of any wrongdoing by his fellow planters. The larger Island of Sombrero supported a
Power does not extend to the off-lying cays phosphate industry (1860-1890) and during and there is no accommodation. Today, the 1990s was nearly leased to a company Sandy Island, Prickly Pear and Scilly Cay are
who wanted to create a missile silo and
the only cays that offer food and drink. All launch rockets from the Island. materials and supplies (including water) is All the cays and Anguilla itself have carried by boat from Anguilla and all witnessed a number of shipwrecks and waste is carried back to Anguilla. Prickly disasters. In 1996, the shoals around Sandy Pear currently has a solar system which Island were altered, the palm trees provides basic electricity. destroyed and the island swept clean by Hurricane Louis.
Beach on Scrub Island, a cay lying across from Windward Point, Anguilla
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Industries
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Cotton Production 1670-1730; 1850-1950 Origins
Sea Island Cotton
The first generation of settlers found cotton growing
in 1902, a cotton gin was installed at the Factory.
wild on the Island, where it had been left by the
Cotton was grown on the adjacent estate (Wallblake) the Bahamas. The strain, with unusually long strands
Amerindians before. In many ways it was an ideal
through the 1950s. The most productive years (1910-
was named ‘Gossypium barbadense’. Its superior
crop as it required little capital outlay and did not
11) saw 148,000 pounds exported to the UK.
quality was recognized by loyalist settlers from the
spoil as long as it was kept dry. Cotton was cultivated on Anguilla for nearly 240 years from the 1600s through the 1740s and from the mid-1800s through the 1950s. Sugar was introduced in the 1730s but never completely replaced cotton. By the late 1800s cotton had once more became the preferred crop and
In 1920 Wallblake Plantation consisted of 97 acres of cotton. Today, much of the old cotton fields are covered by the runway. However, wild cotton trees can be found throughout the Island from Corito to
In the 1800s, cotton from Anguilla was imported to
American colonies and in the 1800s it was imported to Georgia and South Carolina. Flourishing on the Islands off the coast of South Carolina it became famous as ‘Sea Island Cotton.’
the Valley, where their seeds have been scattered by birds.
The cotton gin, originally at the Factory is now at the Heritage Collection in East End
Gossypium ‘anguillense’ (also known as Barbadense) growing Close-up of Wild Cotton on Anguilla
wild at Corito
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Sugar Production c1730-1800 Cane sugar began to replace the wild honey previously used, and the tropical and semi-tropical islands of the Caribbean proved to be ideal for the growing of sugar cane (a member of the grass family).
Animal-powered sugar mill
Sugar Cane was introduced into the Caribbean in the 1640s. Sugar was a luxury food used to sweeten the tea, coffee and cocoa that was becoming fashionable to drink in Europe at the time.
Great wealth was generated for the European owners of sugar estates during the 150 years when the Caribbean held a virtual monopoly on its production. Sugar cane cultivation is hard work and very labour intensive. Its economic success in the Caribbean was based largely on the use of slave labour. Sugar cane arrived on Anguilla in the 1730s, despite the island’s irregular rainfall and unsuitable climate for its production. Sugar cane was planted in rows and the long stalks or canes were cut in the winter months when the cane was about 15 months old.
forming crystals as it cooled. Molasses was drained from the sugar crystals when the crystals were put in wood barrels. After a period of ‘curing’ the barrels of sugar (known as muscavado) were shipped to England or North America for further processing and sale. In the mid-1700s a ton of West India sugar sold for as much as US $5,000. Molasses, the by-product of sugar making, was either used on the estates for food, mixed to make building glue, fed to the estate animals, sold overseas or used at home to make rum. At Wallblake House and other estates sugar production was limited, due to poor soil and lack of rainfall. Foundation of animal round similar to Wallblake
The cut canes were brought to the factory on the backs of donkeys, and the sweet juice was extracted from the tough cane stalks by passing them through rollers as shown below. The raw cane juice was boiled in large iron pots called coppers and lime was added to clarify the juice.
Early sugar works with boiling house
The clarified juice was then boiled in a series of cast iron kettles until it became a thick syrup. The concentrated syrup was allowed to cool in trays, 40
House in St Croix
Salt Production 1600s-1983 An early description of Anguilla by a Dutch sea captain in 1624 states Anguilla as having ‘no fresh water, but a salt pan with enough salt for two to three ships a year’. The earliest known earthworks, installed in order to increase the amount of salt produced, are thought to have been built by the Irish in the 1600s. Wager Rey built the dams surrounding the Sandy Ground pond in the late nineteenth century, to prevent rainwater flowing into the salt-making area. The present structures and long middle dam were The Salt Pond at Sandy Ground, Anguilla
erected by his son, Carter Rey (one-time owner of
Naturally occurring salt has been harvested from
Wallblake House and the Factory), in various stages from
Anguilla’s natural salt ponds from the time of the
the late 1930s to the mid to late 1940s.
Amerindians. It is also believed that Amerindians came here from other islands to collect salt.
The oldest part of the present restaurant called the Pumphouse was built to house a pump that carried
Salt ponds are found throughout Anguilla. The largest are
rainwater trapped by the ring dams, out to sea, thus
at Long Path, Rendezvous Bay, Cove Bay, Maundays Bay,
helping to preserve the salt crop.
West End and Sandy Ground. These ponds were formed when earlier coves became cut
Washing the salt in the Pumphouse (Heritage Trail site)
Trinidad to refine jet fuel. In 1984, hurricane Klaus forced Anguilla’s principal market in Trinidad to seek salt elsewhere. The last salt was harvested the following year and the works abandoned.
Salt was produced for export at Sandy Ground (Road Salt Pond) and at the West End Salt Pond and exported to
off from the sea by sand bars which formed across their mouths. As with similar sea-level salt ponds on other islands, they never completely dry out. Their bottoms are below the level of the nearby sea. As the brine concentrates by evaporation, the salt precipitates out. It forms a thick crust on the bed one to two feet below the surface. This underwater salt deposit is ‘picked’ by workers bending over, breaking off and lifting up bits of the slab of salt. These bits of salt slab were then thrown into the small salt barges or ‘flats,’ floating alongside the pickers. It was back-breaking work. ‘Picking Salt’
Hand-packed salt ready for export
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Mining 1860-1890 Sombrero
Lighthouse
January 1, 1869. The lighthouse was administered by Trinity House and manned by a long line of
34 miles northwest of Anguilla in the Anegada
In 1859, the 3,400-ton Royal Mail Steam Packet
Anguillians. Full responsibility passed to the
passage is the 95-acre island of Sombrero. Today
Company’s ship Paramatta wrecked on her maiden
Anguillian government in 2001 and the following
the Island is a dependency of Anguilla; the island
voyage off Somebrero. To prevent future maritime
year the light was automated.
has sparse vegetation but in the early 1800s a
disasters, a lighthouse was built which opened on
Phosphate
geological survey discovered an abundance of phosphate of lime (guano).
Phosphate is a fertilizer made from fossilized guano or bird droppings.
Mining
Sombrero supports a large population of sea birds including Masked Boobies, Brown Boobies, Bridled Terns, Brown Noddys and Sooty Terns which are responsible for the phosphate deposits.
In 1856 Americans claimed the island, quarrying 100,000 tons of phosphate to fertilize the South’s exhausted soils. Anguillians worked the mines from the 1860s through 1890. In 1890 the phosphate works were finally abandoned.
Royal Mail Steam Packet Paramatta wrecked on maiden voyage on Western Reef of Sombrero
The superintendent’s house was a wooden bungalow near the middle of island, surrounded by the quarters of technicians, store keepers and lighthouse keepers.
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Brown Booby
Fishing Popular Fish and Shellfish
of sails might have been the end of sailboats on Anguilla…
Fish species caught on Anguilla include snapper, dolphin (aka dorado or mahi mahi), and numerous species of potfish including doctorfish, old wife, porcupine fish, hinds, and angelfish. Shellfish are also caught including spiny lobster, crayfish and
Fishing Boats and Racing Boats Yet sailboats continued to be built, not only for fishing but increasingly to participate in competitive (sailing) races.
whelks. Today Anguillians build both modern (power) boats
Fishing Communities Fishing pots on Nevis built with local wood and chicken wire
Fishing with Pots Fish pots are traps laid on the reefs and in deep water and marked with surface buoys. On Anguilla they are now made from rebar and chicken wire while on other islands including Nevis and Dominica, wood is still used to construct the frame.
and traditional sail boats. Each year more than a
While fishing was once island-wide, today most
dozen racing boats compete for prize money and
fishermen live in Island Harbour, East End, Sandy
bragging rights.
Ground and West End. While most Anguillians fish for sport, there are at least 50 families whose primary income continues to come from the sea.
From Sail to Power From the 1800s, the Islands fleet of fishing boats used to travel to the Anguilla Bank as far as 40 miles off-shore. At the end of the day, the boats would race each other home. Racing as a national pastime became cemented as an Island tradition in the 1940s when Anguilla’s first regatta was held using fishing Island Harbour, a modern fishing community continues its
boats in Sandy Ground.
fishing tradition and annually celebrates this heritage during A fishing/racing boat built in the 1970s
Beginning from the 1970s, the Island’s fishing fleet of sailboats began to covert to power. The replacement 43
Festival del Mar
Boat Building History Asked how many boat builders are on Anguilla Anguilla’s maritime roots run deep. In 1730, the
By the 1890s, Anguillians were operating an
today, one replied ‘about half a dozen’. After a
richest man on Anguilla was George Leonard, ‘an
impressive merchant fleet of inter-island sailing
pause he added, ‘but everyone can build a boat’.
honest sloop man and a cotton planter.’
ships and for the next 100 years, Anguilla would
By the 1790s, there was some trade between Anguilla with Canadian schooners (especially from
Boat Builders
Nova Scotia), who would take on salt in Sandy Ground. These sloops and schooners inspired a tradition of building and modifying boats that continues today. By 1817 and probably much earlier, Anguillians
From dinghies to yachts, Rebel Marine, founded by David Carty is Anguilla’s largest boatyard.
Anguilla has had more than its fair share of very talented boat builders. Indeed in some families the skill almost seems to be genetically inclined. -David Carty
were building vessels; the Julia, a 25’3” vessel was built and registered on Anguilla. She traded throughout the Lesser Antilles before being condemned in Tortola several years later.
A boat being built on Anguilla in 2009 by ‘Begger’ Daniels
Rebel Marine
build a reputation for its mariners and ships.
The Lady Celestia built by Rebel Marine
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While modern materials and tools are used, Anguillians will tell you that the eye of the artist (i.e. boat builder) continues to be what matters most.
Tourism
Anguilla’s First Guest House Opened in 1959 and remains open today
Following the 1967 Revolution, Anguilla looked for ways to move forward. At one point, a Lobster Cannery was considered as there were so many lobster, fishermen used them to bait their fish pots. Tourism which was spreading rapidly through the Caribbean and being hailed as a panacea for economic hardship. Importantly, rather than welcoming wholesale development by foreigners, Anguilla’s revolutionary leaders suggested a more controlled approach that would focus on developing a high-end tourism product that would cater to fewer, wealthier visitors.
Anguilla’s first five-star hotel opened in 1980
Aspiring to this goal, Malliouhana opened in 1980. The hotel’s five star standards set the bar for future development. Cap Jaluca, CuisinArt and most recently Viceroy have continued this tradition of excellence. This government’s foresight attempting to control overdevelopment has protected Anguilla from many of tourism’s more damaging impacts. As experienced on other islands, these may include raising crime rates, over-commercialization, cultural homogenization and/or environmental destruction. While Anguilla has not been unscathed by these pressures, the island has fared better than most. 2012 marks 53 years since the first guest house was built 45
on Anguilla in Crocus Hill and 34 years since Anguilla wrote its first tourism policy. Today tourism (including construction related activities) accounts for approximately 90% of Anguilla’s GDP and is a vital part of Anguilla’s economy. According to the Ministry of Tourism, ‘Tourism is our bread and butter’. Despite this heavy reliance, tourism is not, in fact, Anguilla’s greatest asset. Anguilla’s greatest asset are the people, the beaches, the history and the culture and that is the reason more than 50% of Anguilla’s visitors return year after year.
Natural History
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Hurricanes and Weather (Climate) Rain and Drought
Season. As water becomes more plentiful it is
storm force or greater have impacted Anguilla.
possible to grow more crops. On Anguilla these
Some of the more famous include Hurricane Alice
Anguilla passes through cycles of wet and dry
include corn (pigeon corn and sweet corn), tomatoes, (1955) which destroyed the Old Court House on
weather. This is because unlike mountainous
peppers, eggplant, squash (‘pumpkins’), green
Crocus Hill, Hurricane Donna (1960) which
islands, Anguilla does not have the ability (i.e.
onions and sweet potatoes among others. Fruit trees
demolished 75% of the homes on Anguilla and
geography) to generate its own rain. As a result,
including mango, avocado, sherry and soursop are
Hurricane Luis in 1995. Hurricanes shape every
Anguilla passes through periods of wet weather
especially prized.
aspect of life in the tropics. For example, before
when it becomes possible to grow crops and raise livestock, and alternatively dry weather when the island is particularly vulnerable to drought and historically famine and even starvation. Visitors to Anguilla before 2009 will have experienced this ‘dry’
Hurricanes
Hurricane Donna, most homes were constructed from wood. Following the storm’s devastation,
The name hurricane comes from the Amerindian
concrete became the preferred material and remains
god, Huracan. Since 1850, 60 storms of tropical
so today.
Anguilla whilst visitors since 2010 may have noticed a much greener island. Even when Anguilla is ‘green’, the Island still experiences a wet and dry season. The wet season runs from May through November and corresponds with the Hurricane
Hurricane Earl from Space in 2010
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Hurricane Donna Hurricane Donna hit an already economically
were destroyed. The devastation was overwhelming constructed for the most destitute.
depressed Anguilla on September 4, 1960. It is rare
and Anguilla was forced to rely on foreign aid for
for individuals to be killed on Anguilla from
several weeks. Centres were set up in the Valley
hurricanes but Donna killed five. Those named
and in Sandy Ground. Members of the St John’s
help from St Kitts would provide a final grievance
were George Carty, Margaret Hodge, Elizabeth
Ambulance Brigade from Trinidad and the British
for a longstanding resentment that would culminate
Fleming and Lilian Fleming. 250 people were
Red Cross came to assist. Temporary shelters were
with the Anguilla Revolution in 1967.
injured and approximately 500 houses destroyed.
set up for the homeless. Eventually 70 one-room
All but two of the Island’s fleet of merchant vessels
It would take Anguilla several years to recover and life would remain difficult. The lack of forthcoming
concrete houses with galvanized roofs were
The aftermath of Hurricane Donna. Anguilla 1960 from Colville Petty
Hurricane Donna tracking over the Florida Keys after leaving a devastated Anguilla
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Cattle, Goats, Sheep and Chickens species of iguana is native. The iguanas were undoubtedly mistaken for alligators as no alligator bones or fossils have ever been found on Anguilla.
Export The settlers introduced other livestock including the goats, sheep and chicken you see today. During good years these animals offered an additional source of income as they were carried to St Martin or St Barths and sold. In fact, as late as the 1980s the ferry between Anguilla and St Martin was crowded with live chickens (fowl) and other livestock. Such sights are now gone and most of the goats today are butchered and consumed locally.
Domesticated or Wild? Sometimes seen tethered to the side of the road but more often caught wandering through the bush, with a frayed rope dangling from the neck, Anguilla’s goats are nearly native. While a few are feral, the majority are owned (although you probably would never know by looking at them).
Anguilla Goat in Sandy Ground, Anguilla (Photo by Robert Pearson) “It [Anguilla] was filled with alligators and other noxious
History
animals, but the soil was good for raising tobaco and corn and the cattle imported multiplied very fast. … each
Anguillians have a long history of raising livestock. Cattle planter laboured for himself, and the island was were introduced before 1650 and the first reports of frequently plundered by marauders” (Southey 1650). Anguilla suggest the Island suited them well.
Anguilla did not have any alligators although at least one
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As food Anguilla’s chickens are also raised for food. Scratching and pecking in yards across the Island, these ‘yard fowl’ are traditionally stewed, a process which tenderizes the tough meat. Goat water (a soup made with innards) and goat stew are two other delicacies you can find locally.
The ‘Giant Rat’ Prehistoric Anguilla Long before Anguilla was settled by the English or even Amerindians, the Island was joined physically to St Martin, Saba and St Barths. This large land mass is now underwater and called the Anguilla Bank. Today only 5% of this bank is currently above sea level but 100,000 years ago there was much more land. This prehistoric landscape supported amblyrhiza inundata and several other extinct species. As sea level rose, the Giant Rat became isolated on small land masses and a victim of its own size. Anguilla is presently 36 square miles and unable to naturally support a population of large herbivores (the largest native species is the iguana). The exact location of the fossil finds on Anguilla is debated. The cavern where the fossils came from was
Additional bones of the ‘Giant Rat’ were found in this sinkhole in the 1990s
invariably mined for phosphate, a destructive process
Phosphate, again!
which involves blasting to extract the mineral-bearing
In 1868, some of Anguilla’s caverns were mined for
rodent. Amblyrhiza inundata is known locally as the ‘Giant
phosphate, a mineral formed over millennia as bird
Rat’. Based on the analysis of bones from several species,
droppings fossilize. In a phosphate-bearing shipment sent
the ‘Giant Rat’ more closely resembled a guinea pig and
to the United States for analysis, Professor Cope of the
weighed between 165 and 330lbs!
stone. Gavannah Cave in Crocus Bay is a likely candidate and a keen observer can still find sea fossils from an even earlier period in the nearby cliff. Additional teeth from Amblyrhiza inundata were found in the 1990s in Pitch Apple Hole, a sinkhole between the Valley and Shoal Bay East.
Smithsonian Institute discovered the remains of a giant
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Exploring Anguilla and Additional Resources 51
Introduction to the Anguilla Heritage Trail The Anguilla Heritage Trail is a joint project
Each site is marked with a large, local boulder and
supported by the Anguilla Archaeological and
plaque with a brief description. The Official Opening
Historical Society (AAHS), the Anguilla National
was held at the Pumphouse in Sandy Ground on
Trust (ANT), the Anguilla Tourist Board (ATB), the
May 31, 2010.
Anguilla Hotel and Tourism Association (AHTA) and individual and corporate donors. The trail opened during Anguilla Day celebrations May 2010. The trail, styled on successful Caribbean models in
There is no official beginning but you may wish to obtain a souvenir brochure which will give you more information about the sites before you begin. Souvenir brochures are available from the Heritage
Grand Cayman and Nevis, aims to introduce visitors Trail Headquarters at Wallblake House in the Valley and locals to Anguilla’s past by creating permanent
and may also be found at Colville Petty’s Heritage
markers at 10 historic sites which were selected by
Collection in East End, the Anguilla National Trust,
public vote in 2010.
the Anguilla Tourist Board, the Anguilla Drug Store
In addition to the markers, there are 30 directional
Plaque Outside the Pumphouse, a Heritage Trail Site
in The Valley, or from the concierge at your hotel.
signs to guide drivers to the sites and an interpretive The brochure is USD$3 but you may wish to make an brochure which will is available from hotels, car
additional donation to support Anguilla Heritage.
rental agencies, and selected sites along the trail. The Please leave your donation at Wallblake House. sites included are Collville Petty’s Heritage Collection, Old Valley Well, Old Courthouse
Depending on how long you stop at each site, the trail will take you approximately 1 ½ hours. There
Foundations (Crocus Hill), Koal Keel/a.k.a. Wardens
are blue and orange directional signs with the Trail
Place, Katouche Bay, Rendezvous Bay, Sandy
logo to help guide you from one location to the next
Ground (near the scenic overlook on Backstreet),
and each site is marked in the brochure on a map of
Pumphouse, Wallblake House, and the Factory.
Anguilla. For more information on how you can become a sponsor or volunteer, email
[email protected]. Anguilla Heritage Trail Directional Signs
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Additional Reading and On-line Resources Berglund, D. (1995). Shipwrecks of Anguilla 1628-1996. Basseterre: The Creole Publishing Company. Blanchard, M and R. (2000). A Trip to the Beach. Ebury Press: London. Carty, D. (1998). 'Nuttin Bafflin’ The Story of the Anguilla Racing Boat. Anguilla: Rockfield. Petty, C. (2008). Bless Our Forebears. Published by Colville Petty: Anguilla. Westlake, D. (1973). Under an English Heaven. Hodder and Stoughton: London. http://aahsanguilla.com/ Includes articles and original photographs of Anguilla http://axanationaltrust.org/ Information on Anguilla’s heritage including current initiatives www.axaheritage.com A new website with information on Heritage Trail Sites and sustainable heritage tourism (to be online from summer 2012)
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