The Education Value and Tourism
Potential for Newton Burial Ground
By, Dr. Tara Inniss, Department of History and Philosophy, Cave Hill Campus, UWI
Newton plantation is one of the best
documented plantations in Barbados. Several prominent researchers, including
Jerome Handler, Hilary Beckles and Karl Watson have used the records to
reconstruct the lives of enslaved Africans who lived and worked on the
plantation. The records provide tremendous insight into several little known
aspects of African life in Barbados during the slave period. When the
archaeological site of the plantation’s burial grounds was excavated in the
1970s, other aspects of the lives of Africans at Newton were revealed i.e.)
Burial practices; health and nutrition; material culture, etc.
Today, the Newton Burial Site is one of the
only extant excavated communal burial ground for enslaved Africans in a sugar
plantation context in the Western hemisphere. The site’s accessibility and
interpretative value are significant assets for the development of Barbados’
cultural heritage. The site has also been specially designated for its
potential as a UNESCO World Heritage site and is currently on Barbados’
Tentative List for the Story of Sugar and Rum: The Industrial Heritage of
Barbados.
Although
there are several tourism attractions that speak to the experience of
enslavement on the island, there are very few monuments or other sites that can
viscerally reflect what it was like to live and die as an enslaved person on a
plantation. Just as the churchyards of Historic Bridgetown command a certain
reverence and quiet contemplation of lives passed, Newton Burial Ground demands
the same attention, even though it remains a quiet pasture in a relict sugar landscape.
The value of this site for both local
and foreign visitors is testimony to the role Barbados can play in bringing
attention to the trans-Atlantic slave trade and slavery. Moreover, the
narratives collected from the Newton records also reveal the importance of
resistance and freedom among the enslaved population at Newton. These are all
valuable stories that need to be transmitted to younger generations.
After
the feedback from the Africa Diaspora Heritage Trail (ADHT) Conference held in
September, 2012, it is incumbent on the Government of Barbados and the Barbados
Museum and Historical Society to work towards the sensitive development of the
site as a place of quiet reflection and learning for visitors (please see the
Reflection offered by Dr. Marcia Burrowes in Pt. II of this series). In addition to the experiences
shared by ADHT delegates, I have also personally encountered Barbadian and
Caribbean students who have asked me when the site will be made available for
the reception of visitors as it is not currently in a state that demonstrates its
value to Barbadians.
I strongly believe that it is incumbent on the Government
of Barbados to safeguard this space for not only all Barbadians and future
generations, but also for the heritage of humankind.
Barbadians and visitors deserve access
to open spaces so they can contemplate and reflect on the past. Newton Burial
Ground provides a legacy for all of humanity to remember the nearly forgotten
history of African enslavement. Furthermore, recreation space is at a premium
in Barbados because of its plantation history whereupon almost the entire
island was used for sugar cultivation. Open spaces must be literally carved out
of their plantation past after Barbadians have spent generations being
alienated from it. We are custodians of this legacy and we must be in constant remembrance
of how our ancestors shaped the landscape without being equal partners in its
ownership.
There
is simply no greater value that can be put on the lives of our enslaved
ancestors who helped to forge a modern Barbados based on the basic freedoms
that they could not enjoy. We must acknowledge their contribution as we chart
our nation’s social and economic development.
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