So, be sure to gather and participate in the cultural events of each parish as they showcase the stuff of which they are made.
We are a small island with only eleven parishes but know that there are unique features to each parish. Whether it is the landscape, the language, the way they do things, cook their food, etc. Don’t for one moment think that Barbados is one solid cultural entity. Have you ever heard how some words are pronounced by those bred and born in St. Philip, or St. Lucy, St. Andrew, or even Christ Church? Yes, as Bajans we are bound by the heart beat of this land but there are some special aspects of our Bajan-ness that brings true flavour to our cultural experience as a whole!
Starting from the north of the island, it is the month of January and ‘We Gatherin’ in St. Lucy. The theme for ‘gatherin’ in St. Lucy is ‘Faith.’ St. Lucy is the most northern of the eleven parishes that constitute the division of the island’s landscape and is referred to by one writer as ‘the cap’ of the island. This rural space covers 8,725 acres, it is the sixth largest parish, the only parish that touches the Atlantic Ocean on three sides and the only one that can boast of having the most bays. These bays are tied to the prehistoric settlement of the island, where the indigenous Amerindian people of the area were found to have settled. Archaeological evidence has proven the presence of these early settlers, who were here long before the Europeans came.
European settlement on Barbados from 1627 saw the creation of parishes as early as 1629, and St. Lucy was named amongst the first six parishes to be established. Population size in St. Lucy has always been small and ranked third lowest across the parishes. These features lend well to the beauty of its rural character of pastureland, agriculture, and other open spaces. There are also picturesque views across the ocean, which can be seen from the elevated rocky cliffs and promontories of its bays. The strong action of the wave action driven by the trade winds has created caves and fissures in the cliff face, which have resulted in blow holes that create spectacular geysers. Erosion is also responsible for many of the small bays, points, caves and sea stacks than in any other parish on the island. The landscape and geographical features of St. Lucy, marks it as one of the eleven beautiful parish wonders of Barbados.
A call from the homeland of Barbados has gone out to Barbadians across the island and the world to gather in this year 2025. Under the theme ‘We Gatherin’ the call is to ‘Come Long Home!’ Visitors have also been encouraged to join Barbadians as we gather to celebrate the heritage and culture of each parish in a designated month. The island will come alive with heightened activity, the roads leading to the various parishes will be rammed with people wending their way to take in these festive events!
COME ONE, COME ALL, BARBADIANS AND VISITORS ALIKE… JOIN IN THE FESTIVES OF THIS YEAR OF CULTURAL EXCHANGE AND CELEBRATION!!
In the year 1823, the horrific story of religious intolerance against the Methodist congregation, played out on consecutive Sunday evenings across a three-week period over October 5th, 12th, and 19th.
The situation concluded on Sunday evening October 19th with the total destruction of the Methodist Chapel at Chapel Street in the capital of Bridgetown.
Figure 1: Chapel Street: The original site of the Methodist Chapel
The House of God was set upon by an angry, adversarial mob of antagonists who were at odds with the teachings and principal operations of the Methodist faith. They catered to teaching the gospel to all people regardless of race, class, socioeconomic standing, or religious persuasion. Unlike the state church, the main religious body, Methodists believed that the truth of the gospel should be made available to all. Additionally, Reverend James William Shrewsbury, the leader of the Methodist Chapel on Chapel Street was a vocal contender for the faith and believed in true adherence to that faith. As a result of engaging the local society on those levels, and speaking out against the ills of the society, Rev. Shrewsbury and his church were targeted and made to feel the ire of the mob violence as they picked the Chapel down. In the wake of these events, the Reverend and his wife were forced to flee the island, abandoning his church and congregation.
Figure 2: Ann Gill – Freedom Fighter
Ann Gill, a member of the church, also contending for the faith, would take up the mantel to keep the group together and for her efforts she would become the next target of the mob. They persecuted her by constantly bombarding her property and threatening to burn her and her young sons out. The authorities orchestrated a relentless campaign against her, which included regularly dragging her before the law courts. She ultimately stood up against the status quo and took action that eventually brought religious intolerance to its knees. Ann Gill continued to support her Methodist congregation in Bridgetown and ultimately sold a parcel of land at James Street, a very short distance away from Chapel Street. To facilitate the construction of a new chapel. This she did by selling the property to the church at a miniscule amount, and providing a loan for the construction of the new chapel, which was completed in 1831.
Figure 3: Current Methodist Chapel – Photo compliments of the author
Today, this is the second Methodist Chapel since 1823 to occupy the new location.
A brutal, sinister plot of crime and violence reared its ugly head in Barbados in the year 1821, when at Mount Wilton Plantation in the parish of St. Thomas, the owner Reynold Alleyne Ellcock was viciously murdered. The horror of this murder was described in the newspapers of the day as, “barbarous … unparalleled in atrocity … a foul crime, … diabolical, … heinous …” In total dismay and revulsion, the writer also made it clear that, “Such a diabolical instance of murder has never been known in this island.”
Reynold Alleyne Ellcock was a member of the wealthy Barbados planter-class; he was born on the island in the year 1789. Ellcock was the son of Dr. Grant Ellcock and Anne Ellcock, nee Sieuzac. This branch of the Alleyne family were all born here into the prominent, landowning class of the Alleyne family, whose roots ran back to Kent in England. As a matter of fact, Colonel Reynold Alleyne, for whom Ellcock was probably named, was one of the colonists who was killed as he disembarked the ship landing at Fort Royal, Speightstown, during the battle of 1651. The possession of the English crown was at stake and this early ancestor was involved in the English civil war that extended to the shores of Barbados, as opposing factions jostled for power in Europe, that would also affect Barbados.
Following that illustrious bloodline, Reynold Alleyne Ellcock would find his place within the order of this early, powerful, well-positioned, high-ranking, landowning, English settler family. He would join the landowning gentry, where he owned the large Mount Wilton plantation, from 1812 to 1821, the time of his death. This 620-acre property attracted the attention of the travel writers of the day, who visited the island. Articles described the property as being located at a prime site with an impressive size and as ‘the noblest estate in the island.’ Reynold Ellcock marriedMary Mercy Applewhaite and later they had a daughter Mary Ellcock, later Harris.
At the early age of only thirty-two years old, life would turn tragic for Reynold Alleyne Ellcock. In the year before his death, due to reasons that remain unclear, Ellcock, in his will, was moved to bequeath a sum of £5 per year. This would apply for each year from the signing of the will to his death, and the beneficiaries would be the one hundred and twenty enslaved people on his Mount Wilton Plantation. When this information became known, a murderous conspiracy developed between four enslaved men to take matters into their own hands. Three of the conspirators, especially Jeffry, were trusted people on the estate, who had open access to their owner, while the fourth man Billy Prince was the property of another estate owner. Jeffry is said to have promised Prince a reward for his help in committing the murder. The other accomplices were James, Jack Grig, a watchman and a mulatto woman named Ritta, who was a housekeeper, all belonging to Mount Wilton plantation. Together, they plotted to murder Mr. Ellcock, believing that if they hastened his death, it would immediately result in the proceeds of the will being paid, enhancing their financial fortunes. So, on Tuesday October 2, 1821, Reynold Alleyne Ellcock was attacked and brutally murdered in his bedroom at the Great House of Mount Wilton.
The Barbados Mercury and Bridgetown Gazette reported the gruesome details of the murder and the speedy confession of all the perpetrators of the heinous crime. On October 12, 1821, they were tried and sentenced to death by hanging. The newspaper further detailed that the sentence was carried out on the following day October 13, 1821, where the four men were hung at the Mount Wilton Plantation, their heads were severed and set on stakes at prominent areas on the plantation, while their bodies were exposed and placed in chains. This was designed to punish the wrong-doers but also to send a strong message to the other members of the plantation community. The lone woman involved in this scheme seems to have been absolved of her involvement, as Jack Grig testified that although Ritta had sent him to Billy Prince about the plot, she had no involvement in the execution of the final crime.
At the time of his death Reynold Alleyne Ellcock and his wife Mary Mercy Ellcock, nee Applewhaite were living in separate locations, while he lived at Mount Wilton in the parish of St. Thomas, she resided at Dayrells Plantation in Christ Church. By 1833 she had left Barbados for England. However, records established that the Mount Wilton Plantation remained within the ownership of the Alleyne/Harris family. Reynold Alleyne Ellcock’s daughter also named Mary, moved to England where she married Thomas Noel Harris, Jr. and together they had eight children. She died in England at age eighty years.
Reynold Alleyne Ellcock lost his life tragically, a mere five years after the renowned Bussa Rebellion of 1816, when the enslaved rose up in an effort to secure their freedom. It has been reported that during that uprising, Ellcock was involved in using his enslaved people to prevent the enslaved from the north passing through his area to meet up with the other groups in the south and east, who were trying to join the battle.
Given the landscape and its layout, this pathway could have been the driveway to the Great House at Mount Wilton Plantation where Reynold Alleyne Ellcock was murdered
Based on its positioning on the property, this structure was possibly the home of the manager.
Possibly home of the Overseer(s)
Outbuildings
Outbuildings – All of these buildings are across from the work yard.
Notice the house in the background – today theMount Wilton Plantation has been subdivided anddeveloped in a housing community.
St. Thomas Anglican Church – Here the remains of Reynold Alleyne Ellcock were laid to rest. This is the parish church for the parish of St. Thomas, where he lived.
Hurricanes, hurricanes, hurricanes – These systems are the norm for the Caribbean and are known to beat a seasonal track across the Atlantic Ocean during the months of June to November. The path of these events usually span the Caribbean region from the Greater Antilles in the area of Jamaica, south to the islands of Trinidad and Tobago. From the time of European settlement, documented history has reported the devastation and resulting havoc that was unleashed on any landmass in the path.
The modern practice of naming hurricanes officially began in 1953, when the National Weather Service formalized the process making it easier to track if there was more than one hurricane in an area within the same season. It started with the use of female names in alphabetical order and in 1979 male names were added to the list. Today, for the Atlantic area, a committee of meteorologists of the World Meteorological Organization maintains six lists of twenty-one names each, which are cycled yearly. These names must be short, distinctive and relevant to the cultural and geographic area in which they are used. This makes it easier for the hurricanes to be identified by the authorities and remembered by the people.
As a category three hurricane, the eye of Hurricane Janet passed south of Barbados on the morning of September 22, 1955, with winds clocked at 120 mph on the southern and eastern areas of the island. These areas suffered significant wind damage compared to the northern and western parishes. The events of this hurricane remain in the living consciousness of the Barbadian society, where stories of experiences during this hurricane continue to be told.
An eight-year-old girl living in the Britton’s Hill area at the time, told how their small wooden house lost its roof, which came off and sat between the house and another structure. Luckily, prior to the hurricane her mother had brought her and her sister to seek refuge in the stronger rubble stone house of the next-door neighbour. Many other neighbours followed suit and rode out the storm there. However, her great grandmother remained in the small wooden kitchen off their house and prayed throughout the ordeal. Miraculously, the kitchen remained intact. She also spoke of the galvanize being carried by the wind and was terrified when one sheet struck the standpipe, sending the water gushing up into the air like a fountain.
An eleven-year-old boy in the same area recounts the announcement on Rediffusion alerting the population about the impending hurricane. He also recalled that the chickens went to roost in the trees early in the day and the dogs were incessantly barking and howling. As the storm intensified, the roof started to shake, and his grandfather and aunt took rope and tied the gable to help secure it. He recounted the situation as terrifying, as him and six other family members hunkered down in that small wooden house and his father who was a seaman was away. However, as the winds got stronger the house held but the outdoor kitchen lost its roof which made its way from McClean’s Gap and was later found in Culloden Road. The neighbour’s house was taken completely off its props and deposited it in the road.
During the aftermath, electricity and water services were lost and the Redifusion connection was down for some time. His family was able to get water from the more affluent neighbours. Trees were uprooted, the bus service was interrupted, much galvanize was lost, which people went around collecting and sold, and those who didn’t have galvanize around their houses before the hurricane ended up with some after. The situation was chaotic as people were wandering around and trying to come to grips with the situation.
A fifteen-year-old young man living in Holetown on the west coast, recalled that the conditions on that side of the island paled in comparison to other areas. He reported that there was no significant damage to houses and roads. Most residents especially the women and children, took refuge in the Partish Church and St. James Primary School. There was also storm surge, which caused the commercial jetty to be lost.
Living memory related to the events associated with Hurricane Janet is still very sharp and the emotions attached are also still very apparent in the stories that are told to this day.
August is the month in which we celebrate the ‘Season of Emancipation.’ This season encompasses the end of chattel slavery in the year 1838 and the traditional end of the crop festivities. The British colonization of Barbados instituted chattel slavery to satisfy the need for a large labour source, which was paramount to the cultivation, harvesting and production of sugar cane for sugar, rum and molasses. The production of sugar was a labour-intensive exercise, especially where high profit margins were the goal and the British intention for coming to the ‘New World, was definitely to enrich themselves. The success of this goal became evident, as Barbados became officially referred to as ‘The Jewel In The English Crown,’ for its contribution to the enrichment of that country and its people.
Enslaved Africans kidnapped, sold into slavery and transported
In the spread of its cultural heritage, the British would establish the traditional ‘Harvest Home Festival’ on the Barbadian cultural landscape, celebrating the harvest or end of the crop season. This custom would also be reflective of the West African celebration of ‘The Yam Festival.’ On each plantation the completion of the crop from planting to reaping would be celebrated. From antiquity this custom was upheld across England, with a similar tradition in parts of Scotland, Ireland, and northern Europe. While the mono-crop of sugar cane was the focus of the harvest celebrations, in the northern climes, the harvest of other crops were observed. The celebrations included food, music, dancing, and some rum was also issued to the enslaved on the plantations of residence. Today, the mass celebration still falls within these categories, as people celebrate in a more organized way but with the retention of the celebratory focus on the end of the crop.
The Enslaved Celebrate the “Harvest Home Festival’ Then…..
And now the Crop Over Festival……
After over two hundred years of chattel slavery that powered the sugar cane industry of the 1600s to 1800s, In the year 1838, British emancipation came to an end. Generations of black Africans who were stolen away from their countries on that continent, as well as some Irishmen, Scotsmen, Native American Indians and others, through forced migration were brought to these shores under horrendous conditions, to face a life of drudgery and exploitation. Emancipation was therefore celebrated with a view of hope for the future.
Celebrating the hope of emancipation
However, hope would be dashed. Although chattel slavery had its official declaration of freedom established to commence on August 1, 1838, the attendant rights and privileges of freedom were not secured. So, it would take the riots across Bridgetown in July 1937, to bring the attention of the British government to the continued drudgery and abject conditions of poverty that caused the formerly enslaved to erupt into protests.
Riots In Bridgetown 1937 – Policemen Pursue Protestors
Today, as a nation we look back to celebrate the heroism and resilience of our ancestors, who stand in our historical narrative as colossus spanning time. We therefore proudly note their struggle toward emancipation, as the bridge from enslavement and harsh living conditions, to survival and freedom as gifted to their descendants!
During the past week of May 7th – 12th 2024, Barbados hosted and welcomed home a contingent of Liberians for a time of celebration and exchange, in honour of the shared ancestral past. It was a poignant, soul-searching, reflective time as people conversed with each other, explored the island, engaged with the stories, embraced the spaces where their ancestors would have traversed, and enjoyed every moment of every event. There were a number of events, which were the staging grounds for these exchanges.
BACKGROUND Here is some of the background to the Liberia settlement story. American authorities concerned for the numerical growth of Free Negroes in America, in an effort to control this development gave birth in 1816 to the founding of the American Colonization Society, which was originally known as the American Society for Colonizing the Free People of Color of the United States. This entity was founded specifically for the transporting of Free Negroes in America, to return to the African continent. In the face of many setbacks the settlers pressed on and overcame the obstacles and in 1824, the settlement was successful enough to be named. Liberia was the name given and its capital, Monrovia.
The African west coast had lost many of its inhabitants to the vile system of slavery, as they were stolen away from their homelands as slave labour to the imperialist European nations, in this context Britian was that power. However, forty-one years later on April 6,1865, after the settlement of Liberia, the Brig Cora left the shores of Barbados for Liberia, carrying free men, women, and children who decided to make lives in Africa in an effort to rebuild the continent. The British end or emancipation of slavery had occurred in 1838 and these men and women were moving back to the continent, they had made that conscious decision. Many of these families are represented here on this journey today, they have returned to visit their ancestral homeland, to this place where their kidnapped ancestors were brought to Barbados as enslaved labour. However, today in honour of the ancestors, these descendants make this Sankofa Pilgrimage as free and accomplished people, some of whom continue to reside in the borders of Liberia and others across the world! WELCOME HOME … Barbados loves you!
Within this month of April, we celebrate the illustrious men and women whose contributions to this country Barbados reflect their love of and service to the development of the nation, some at the peril of death.
Since the year 1998, April 28, has been designated National Heroes Day. The following Barbadians were named to this pantheon of heroes, marking, and celebrating some of the people who over the centuries have gone above and beyond in their service to country –
Bussa: ………………………… Unknown – 1816
Sarah Ann Gill: ………………… Feb. 16, 1795 – Feb. 25, 1866
Samuel Jackman Prescod: ……… 1806 – Sep. 26,1871
Dr. Charles Duncan O’Neal: …… Nov. 30, 1879 – Nov. 19, 1936
Clement Osbourne Payne: ……… 1904 – Apr. 7, 1941
Sir Grantley Herbert Adams: …… Apr. 28, 1898 – Nov. 28, 1971
INTRODUCTION: This story is told of an enslaved woman who is said to have been born in Barbados in 1674, although there is an account which identifies her as being of Native American origins. Allegedly, as a young woman she was taken from Barbados to the English settlement at Massachusetts Bay (the northeastern area that is the state of Massachusetts today) by her owner, Rev. Samuel Parris. She, along with two other women at the time, were accused of the dreaded crime of witchcraft, after which the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 – 1693 followed.
BACKGROUND: In the early English colonial world, the idea of witchcraft and the so-called practice of this sorcery, became an obsession across many settlements. In the face of unexplained or misunderstood happenings or rather, perceived happenings, the seemingly pious and upright leaders of these societies accused and sought to punish ordinary settlers of practicing witchcraft or obeah. From about the 13th century this alleged crime became punishable by death and at 80%, the accused were mostly women. Additionally, in Europe from about 1500 – 1660, between 50,000 to 80,00 people suspected of being witches were executed by hanging or burning at the stake.
Women Burned At The Stake – Some of the claims were unfounded but the accused were still executed.https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/history-and-civilisation/2019/10/royal-obsession-black-magic-started-europes-most-brutal-witch
A National Geographic article published in 2019, reports that in the 1590s due to his fear of witchcraft, King James I of Scotland stirred up national panic, which resulted in the torture and death of thousands. In 1595, King James I claimed that due to the frailty of women, it was easier for the devil to ensnare them. Therefore, women essentially became the victims. These beliefs and fears would serve to indoctrinate and negatively impact British settlements across the world, having long lasting effects. Therefore, the base of the story of Tituba would play out in 1692 but stem from the long-founded fears established centuries earlier.
The Story: At the British colony of Salem, Massachusetts in the year 1692, accusations of witchcraft were said to have set off hysteria, when Betty, the nine year olddaughter of Rev. Samuel Parris and his niece Abigail Williams age eleven, allegedly started having unexplained fits. As the narrative goes, after much prayer and home remedies, it was concluded that the girls were under demonic attack. Following this conclusion, the girls were pressured to name the person who was responsible for their condition. Under pressure they came up with the names of different women, which ultimately included that of Tituba, who, along with two other women would be examined by two local magistrates, John Hawthorne, and Jonathan Corwin. The three women denied the allegations but under continued pressure, Tituba alone would later confess. It is alleged that her confession was garnered after continuous beatings by her master Rev. Parris, inducing her to confess. Her status as a black enslaved woman within that society rendered her at high risk for torture in the form of beatings by her master and execution by the authorities. Therefore, in order to alleviate the former, and escape the latter, she admitted to the accusations that were laid against her. The three accused women were taken into custody and imprisoned in Boston, awaiting trial. Subsequently, the other two women were hung, leaving Tituba imprisoned.
During this time, other girls in the Salem community also displayed some of the same symptoms and it was suggested that some evil connection had to be the source. As a result, other women of good standing, even members of the church were accused of witchcraft. Nonetheless, with no evidence of wrong-doing, many of the residents at Salem were accused, convicted, and executed, many proclaiming their innocence up to the time of death. This dilemma would wreak havoc across the community of five hundred.
The outcome: Tituba would ultimately survive these awful circumstances. There was a theory that those who confessed to the accusations against them were imprisoned rather than executed. This provided a stay on death, and it was seen as a way to gather further information, using them as witnesses against other accused people. This was reportedly a ploy to prolong their lives because it was noted that those who denied the allegations against them were swiftly judged as guilty and executed. This was the result of the case against the other two women who had been accused at the same time as Tituba, despite their denial they were swiftly executed. However, Tituba’s fate confined her to prison until a new buyer could be found to purchase her and she was apparently sold back into slavery to work off her jail bills. As it relates to Rev. Parris, he was eventually forced out of the village. There were some others who were involved in the harm meted out to the victims, and though they offered apologies for the roles they played and the injustices they perpetrated on the victims, they were still forced to leave. Some of the accusers also admitted to their betrayal.
Conclusion: On January 14, 1697, Massachusetts Bay Colony ordered a day of fasting and remembrance for the tragedy of the Salem Witch Trials and the lives lost as a result. Nothing more has been heard of Tituba. It is not clear that she ever made her way back to Barbados. Although slavery was abolished in 1834 across the British colonies and full freedom achieved by 1838, she more than likely remained trapped in the system of slavery which continued to prevail in Massachusetts Bay and the other areas of that former British colony, which we know today as the United States of America, because by 1776 after a fierce period of war, they would win their independence from England. As an independent, sovereign nation, the end of British slavery did not apply to them.
