Professor Jerome Handler Revisits Newton Plantation's Slave Burial Ground

Professor Jerome Handler from the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities revisits the archaeological and anthropological work that he did in the 1960s-70s on Newton Plantation Slave Burial Ground, which has been recently commemorated with signage for the Slave Route Project currently being undertaken by the Ministry of Tourism and the Barbados Museum and Historical Society.

Newton Plantation is one of the best documented slave plantations in Barbados. Its plantation records and correspondence have yielded a wealth of insight into the lived experiences of enslaved Barbadians in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

The Slave Burial Ground in Christ Church continues to attract visitors drawn to the spiritual significance of the site, especially during the island's Season of Emancipation and on Emancipation Day which is celebrated on August 1st each year.

The archaeological and anthropological research conducted at the site has remained the foundation for our understanding slave burial practices, diet, working lives and age and gender information.

All are welcome to the Special Joint Forum being hosted by the Department of History and Philosophy and the Cultural Studies programme on Friday, April 15, 2011 at 5pm in the Henry Fraser Lecture Theatre, Medical Sciences Building at the Cave Hill Campus, The UWI.