Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison: Literary Traditions

By, Tara A. Inniss

Carnegie Library

Barbadians have always placed a great value on education and literacy. At the height of English settlement of the Americas in the 17^th and 18^th centuries, Barbados was at the centre of a vibrant book trade between England and its American colonies. In 1777, a Literary Society was established in Barbados (located in Literary Row near to St. Mary’s Church). In 1814, a Library Association was established in 1814. Like those established in Britain at the same time, these were private organisations and meeting places for learned Barbadians who were members.

In 1847, an Act was passed to establish a “Public Library and Museum in this Island” which was three years before the first public libraries legislation in Britain. The Public Library was first located in nearby Codd’s House and was endowed with the Literary Society’s and Library Association’s collections. In 1874, the Public Library was moved to the Public (Parliament) Buildings.

In the early 20^th century, Scottish-American philanthropist Andrew Carnegie sponsored the construction of a free library and in 1904 the Carnegie Library was opened to the public in 1906. It is now part of the National Library Service (established in 1985). The library has been temporarily re-located to Independence Square until the building can be restored. Its collections date to the 18^th century. It was the first of his public libraries to be opened outside of North America and the United Kingdom.

In dire need of restoration, it is one of the buildings that have been targeted for immediate restoration. It is a coral stone building built in the English Renaissance style.

Literary Talent

Building on a legacy of literacy and creativity, Bridgetown has also been a home and destination for literary talent. In the 1850s, British novelist, Anthony Trollope (author of Barchester Towers and The Way We Live Now), visited Barbados and the West Indies and recorded his observations about the failures of emancipation in his non-fiction work The West Indies and the Spanish Main (1859). Colonial narratives reinforcing British dominance and colonial subordination persisted well into the 20^th century in British Caribbean writing until a new wave of Barbadian voices started to question these legacies. Pre-eminent among these were political commentators such as Wynter Crawford and John Wickham. Barbadian literary icons such George Lamming [author of In the Castle of My Skin (1853) and The Emigrants (1954)] and Kamau Brathwaite [author of Odale’s Choice (1967) and The Arrivants (1973)] grew up in Bridgetown. Their experiences shaped their political philosophies of liberation and anti-colonialism which they used in their creative expression.