Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison and the Creative City Pt. I

Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison – A Creative City

By, Dr. Tara Inniss

Department of History and Philosophy, Cave Hill Campus, UWI

Barbados’ pursuit of World Heritage status for several of its outstanding cultural and natural heritage sites, including Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison, has not only been to earn foreign exchange or diversify our tourism product, the Government of Barbados also recognizes that our tangible and intangible culture and heritage will help to root the nation in the shifting notions of identity in a post-colonial and globalising world. In terms of our development goals, heritage policy and programmes will also help us to come to terms with some of the more challenging parts of our history, while also binding us to the most ingenious and creative parts of it as well.  

When Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison obtained World Heritage status in June, 2011, it was a tremendous achievement for Barbados and the Caribbean. It was the first time that the culture and contributions of African-descended urban working peoples were recognized for their role in shaping the British Atlantic World. On a global level, this recognition was momentous as there are very few World Heritage sites that recognize the contributions of enslaved Africans in the development of the modern world. On a national level, it meant that Barbadians would have to come to terms with a painful history of exploitation and enslavement in order to take full advantage of the designation’s education and tourism potential.

But alas, this year marks five years of the inscription of the property, and as we achieved the status in the midst of a crippling economic downturn, we are still awaiting key investments in the promotion of the island’s heritage. The challenge remains that World Heritage must be our heritage first, before it becomes part of the world’s heritage. To put it quite simply – we have to own it and rock it!

Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison is a tangible reminder of what and who have gone before, while also being a site where we can all continue to participate in the activities that have left an indelible mark on the cultural landscape and economic development of the island and its relationship to the world.

The Nomination Dossier for Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison, explores both the tangible and intangible aspects of our urban history and culture with the goals of:

1. Raising awareness and appreciation at the Community and National levels about the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of our unique urban history where peoples were drawn from every corner of the world to help shape the Barbados we know today; and

 2. Articulating at the international level, the global importance of this small colonial port city on the edge of the Caribbean Sea that took a central place in the British Atlantic system of trade and commerce.

The inscription engages, in a dynamic way, several of the activities that have shaped the personality and character of the streetscape and the people who have inhabited it for generations. It addresses the military, cultural, religious, administrative and architectural heritage of Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison from its spontaneous development as a medieval-style English port town in the Atlantic World to a hub for regional trade and migration. It is descriptive of several first stages in the development of a modern Independent Barbados. It is quite clear to all Barbadians (and the rest of the world) that Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison has with justification an Outstanding Universal Value to the heritage of humankind.

Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison can never only be valued for the buildings and monuments that represent European power and dominance during the colonial period. The values of the site are inherent in the stories of the diverse cultures and peoples who inhabited and built the urban space -- and especially the enslaved Africans and working-class peoples who worked and lived in the colonial port town and who created a vibrant Creolised culture exhibiting all of the ingenuity and creativity of a new culture and identity borne out of survival.

As we begin to embrace all of the aspects of this heritage we can also start to bring more awareness to the 20^th century development of Bridgetown and Barbados as it moved into a period of political and social upheaval in the 1930s and the subsequent development resulting in a modern democratic Barbados.