BMHS-UWI 2015 Lecture Series: Isolation Road -- Public Health and Sanitation -- 1854 and Beyond
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Manjack Mining in Barbados
MANJAK MINING IN BARBADOS By, Sylvan Spooner In light of the current global dependence on fossil fuel, this article looks briefly at one segment of this island’s history of fossil fuel exploration as it examines, in brief, the history of manjak exploration on the island from 1894 to 1939. Profiled in 1657 by Richard Ligon as ‘hard and black as pitch’ [1] and by Sir Hans Slone in 1707 as ‘a sort of pit coal, [2] this naturally occurring hydrocarbon has been referred to by numerous names, including: Munjak, Mountjack, Barbados Tar or simply as Barbados manjak. Found deep within slopes along the Scotland District which comprises an estimated 14% of the island’s land mass, some manjak mines reached depths of between 30 to a referenced maximum of 150 ft. Mining at such depths was often a treacherous affair even though the records indicate that they were no major mining incidents on the island. Barbados Manjack Two of the island’s early mine operators were Mr. R.H Emtage...