This Week's History Forum: The Saba-Barbados Connection

Welcome to the Department of History and Philosophy's

             HISTORY FORUM

Febbruary 8th at 4:30 pm

in the New Bruce St. John Room

[located in the Humanities Quadrangle]

Dr. Tara Inniss

will present a paper entitled:

 

"'American money... English money... and a few Dutch dollars': Migration, Identity and the Saba-Barbados Connection, 1860-1920"

 

ABSTRACT

In 2010, the island of Saba in the former Netherlands Antilles officially became closer politically to the Kingdom of the Netherlands when it became a special municipality. Although Dutch is the official language of the island, every local Saban speaks English almost exclusively.

 

The island’s cultural and economic connections to the English-speaking Caribbean date to the island’s permanent settlement of English-speaking colonists in 1665. Transferred between the English, French and Dutch, the island became officially part of the Dutch Crown in 1816. However, unlike other Dutch colonies which thrived as cosmopolitan freeports, Saba has retained most of its cultural, linguistic and economic ties with the ‘English Atlantic.’

 

During the 19^th and 20^th centuries, the small island of Saba developed connections to several English-speaking territories, including Barbados, in the era of maritime trade and travel. This paper explores some post-emancipation relationships between Saba and Barbados from 1860 to 1920. Using oral history interviews as well newspapers, genealogical and immigration records, this paper investigates connections between the Dutch Caribbean and the English-speaking Atlantic that shaped identities and built economies.

 

Sabans were some of the pre-eminent schooner captains in the post-emancipation interisland trade. Several captains, ship-owners and their families settled in Barbados, which was considered a major maritime-mercantile hub.  In addition to the economic reasons for re-location, Saban seafarers were also attracted to educational opportunities in the island, and especially English-language instruction. Helping to bolster Saba’s foundering economy in the early 20^th century, remittances and continued trade connections also assisted families. Although representing a very small percentage of Caribbean migrations over the period, the Saban migrations can help researchers to understand how economic motivations are often shaped by cultural identit(ies).