Location of St. Kitts. 

Contexts in source publication

Context 1

... hand-made earthenwares produced and used by free and enslaved Africans throughout the Caribbean, a pottery often called Afro-Caribbean ware, has been found in many different archaeological settings on Jamaica, St. Croix, St. John, St. Thomas, St. Eustatius, Nevis, Antigua, Barbados, Montserrat, and Barbuda (Gartley 1979; Heath 1988; Peterson and Watters 1988; Hauser and Armstrong 1999; Peterson et al. 1999; Hauser 2001; Gilmore 2004). The ware was used by free and enslaved Africans to store foodstuffs and cook and serve meals, and has been seen by archaeologists as a retention of African heritage by those forced into bondage. It is the significance of being an “Africanism” that has made the pottery an important component of plantation archaeology in the Caribbean and one of the most studied artifact types from sites in the region. The ware played a crucial role in the day-to-day lives of many people during the pre- and post-emancipation periods throughout the Caribbean. Its use diminished greatly during the 20th century as metal cooking pans and mass-produced ceramics became more affordable. Today the ware is produced only on a few islands and primarily for tourists who learn little about the ware’s history when they visit the islands. Numerous researchers have examined the question of where Afro-Caribbean wares were produced by studying the similarities and differences in vessel form, temper, and paste (Heath 1988; Peterson and Watters 1988; Hauser and Armstrong 1999; Peterson et al. 1999; Hauser 2001; Gilmore 2004). These studies demonstrate similarities in vessel forms across the region, but indicate that each island has its own distinct variation on the range of forms. By examining temper and paste characteristics, researchers have attempted to identify the possible geo- graphic source of the pottery and have even suggested the inter-island exchange of Afro- Caribbean pottery (Heath 1988; Peterson et al. 1999; Gilmore 2004). On the island of St. Kitts (Figure 1), Afro- Caribbean ware is found at plantation, urban, and military sites dating from the 17th century to modern times, indicating that the pottery played an important role in the kitchens of the enslaved and post-emancipation African population. Compared to other Caribbean islands where Afro-Caribbean pottery has been studied, the origins and history of the Afro-Caribbean ware from St. Kitts is poorly known. One can still buy pottery manufactured on the nearby island of Nevis that is similar to the pre-modern Afro-Caribbean ware of St. Kitts. For the people living on St. Kitts today, Nevis has always been the place of manufacture for the ware. On St. Kitts there is no direct relationship between the ware and Kittian cultural identity because there is no memory of the ware being made on the island. Instead Kittians remember their mothers and grandmothers buying Nevisian pottery at the market in Basseterre (Figure 2). These Nevisian wares were purchased because of superior quality and durability relative to pottery from other islands. There is a strong historic tradition of interaction between the two islands leading some (Heath 1988; Olwig 1993) to suggest that Nevis, which has a long pottery-making tradition, is the most likely place of manufacture for the Afro- Caribbean ware found on St. Kitts. The use of clay pottery carries a stigma of poverty on St. Kitts; an attitude that is slowly changing as more and more people across the island gain a deeper interest in their past. This paper presents the analysis of 665 Afro-Caribbean ware sherds recovered during archeological investigations at the Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park (Brimstone Hill) on St. Kitts. Through macroscopic analysis and Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA) (Ahlman et al. 2008) of the sherds, it is shown here that the majority of the recovered Brimstone Hill Afro-Caribbean ware sherds were manufactured on St. Kitts. The results of a study identifying clay sources on the island suitable for pottery making are presented in rela- tion to the Brimstone Hill Afro-Caribbean ware. Furthermore, the production of Afro-Caribbean ware by enslaved Africans is placed in a risk minimization context where enslaved Africans made pottery to cope with the severities of slavery by giving them a commodity to trade and create long-term relationships with others. Located approximately 350 kilometers southeast of Puerto Rico in the Leeward Islands (Figure 1), St. Kitts was first settled by the British in 1623, and was jointly occupied by the British and French until 1713. From that time until independence in 1983, the island was a British colony. Like most of the Leewards, St. Kitts’ greatest economic value lies in its fertile soils, which have been used to grow sugar cane from the 1640s until today. By the mid-18th century, St. Kitts was considered one of the wealthiest colonies in the British Empire due to the quality and quantity of sugar har- vested on the island (Hubbard 2003). Enslaved Africans were the labor source used to plant, cultivate, harvest, and process the sugar cane crop, and by the end of the 18th century, outnumbered Europeans 20 to 1 (Hubbard 2003). St. Kitts’ economic value and strategic location made it a frequent battleground between the British and their European adversaries, espe- cially the French. Brimstone Hill is a former British fortification situated on an approximately 222 meter high volcanic extrusion located along the northwest coast of St. Kitts (Figure 3). The British first armed Brimstone Hill in 1690 in an effort to provide strategic support for Charles Fort, located along the sea below Brimstone Hill, during a French siege (Smith 1994). The most intensive period of construction at the fort occurred after another French siege in 1782 and their subsequent occupation of the fort (Smith 1994, 1995; Hubbard 2003). After the British regained control of the fort, a massive construction and renovation plan was carried out during the 1780s and 1790s, resulting in the configura- tion of the fort as it stands today. The fort was armed and manned until 1854 when the British abandoned it. There was a distinctive multiethnic community living at Brimstone Hill throughout its occupation (Schroedl and Ahlman 2002; Schroedl 2005). Not only were British army officers and enlisted men present at the fortress, but archival information indicates that women and children were also present and that numerous local civilians visited and/or lived at the fortress. In addition to members of the British military and white militia, black military units of the Corps of Embodied Slaves and soldiers of the First, Third, and Fourth West India Regiments also lived there (Schroedl 2005). While British military engineers designed the fortress, enslaved Africans provided the majority of the construction and maintenance labor. These laborers included the Corps of Black Military Artificers and Pioneers, who were enslaved Africans owned ...

Context 2

... hand-made earthenwares produced and used by free and enslaved Africans throughout the Caribbean, a pottery often called Afro-Caribbean ware, has been found in many different archaeological settings on Jamaica, St. Croix, St. John, St. Thomas, St. Eustatius, Nevis, Antigua, Barbados, Montserrat, and Barbuda (Gartley 1979; Heath 1988; Peterson and Watters 1988; Hauser and Armstrong 1999; Peterson et al. 1999; Hauser 2001; Gilmore 2004). The ware was used by free and enslaved Africans to store foodstuffs and cook and serve meals, and has been seen by archaeologists as a retention of African heritage by those forced into bondage. It is the significance of being an “Africanism” that has made the pottery an important component of plantation archaeology in the Caribbean and one of the most studied artifact types from sites in the region. The ware played a crucial role in the day-to-day lives of many people during the pre- and post-emancipation periods throughout the Caribbean. Its use diminished greatly during the 20th century as metal cooking pans and mass-produced ceramics became more affordable. Today the ware is produced only on a few islands and primarily for tourists who learn little about the ware’s history when they visit the islands. Numerous researchers have examined the question of where Afro-Caribbean wares were produced by studying the similarities and differences in vessel form, temper, and paste (Heath 1988; Peterson and Watters 1988; Hauser and Armstrong 1999; Peterson et al. 1999; Hauser 2001; Gilmore 2004). These studies demonstrate similarities in vessel forms across the region, but indicate that each island has its own distinct variation on the range of forms. By examining temper and paste characteristics, researchers have attempted to identify the possible geo- graphic source of the pottery and have even suggested the inter-island exchange of Afro- Caribbean pottery (Heath 1988; Peterson et al. 1999; Gilmore 2004). On the island of St. Kitts (Figure 1), Afro- Caribbean ware is found at plantation, urban, and military sites dating from the 17th century to modern times, indicating that the pottery played an important role in the kitchens of the enslaved and post-emancipation African population. Compared to other Caribbean islands where Afro-Caribbean pottery has been studied, the origins and history of the Afro-Caribbean ware from St. Kitts is poorly known. One can still buy pottery manufactured on the nearby island of Nevis that is similar to the pre-modern Afro-Caribbean ware of St. Kitts. For the people living on St. Kitts today, Nevis has always been the place of manufacture for the ware. On St. Kitts there is no direct relationship between the ware and Kittian cultural identity because there is no memory of the ware being made on the island. Instead Kittians remember their mothers and grandmothers buying Nevisian pottery at the market in Basseterre (Figure 2). These Nevisian wares were purchased because of superior quality and durability relative to pottery from other islands. There is a strong historic tradition of interaction between the two islands leading some (Heath 1988; Olwig 1993) to suggest that Nevis, which has a long pottery-making tradition, is the most likely place of manufacture for the Afro- Caribbean ware found on St. Kitts. The use of clay pottery carries a stigma of poverty on St. Kitts; an attitude that is slowly changing as more and more people across the island gain a deeper interest in their past. This paper presents the analysis of 665 Afro-Caribbean ware sherds recovered during archeological investigations at the Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park (Brimstone Hill) on St. Kitts. Through macroscopic analysis and Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA) (Ahlman et al. 2008) of the sherds, it is shown here that the majority of the recovered Brimstone Hill Afro-Caribbean ware sherds were manufactured on St. Kitts. The results of a study identifying clay sources on the island suitable for pottery making are presented in rela- tion to the Brimstone Hill Afro-Caribbean ware. Furthermore, the production of Afro-Caribbean ware by enslaved Africans is placed in a risk minimization context where enslaved Africans made pottery to cope with the severities of slavery by giving them a commodity to trade and create long-term relationships with others. Located approximately 350 kilometers southeast of Puerto Rico in the Leeward Islands (Figure 1), St. Kitts was first settled by the British in 1623, and was jointly occupied by the British and French until 1713. From that time until independence in 1983, the island was a British colony. Like most of the Leewards, St. Kitts’ greatest economic value lies in its fertile soils, which have been used to grow sugar cane from the 1640s until today. By the mid-18th century, St. Kitts was considered one of the wealthiest colonies in the British Empire due to the quality and quantity of sugar har- vested on the island (Hubbard 2003). Enslaved Africans were the labor source used to plant, cultivate, harvest, and process the sugar cane crop, and by the end of the 18th century, outnumbered Europeans 20 to 1 (Hubbard 2003). St. Kitts’ economic value and strategic location made it a frequent battleground between the British and their European adversaries, espe- cially the French. Brimstone Hill is a former British fortification situated on an approximately 222 meter high volcanic extrusion located along the northwest coast of St. Kitts (Figure 3). The British first armed Brimstone Hill in 1690 in an effort to provide strategic support for Charles Fort, located along the sea below Brimstone Hill, during a French siege (Smith 1994). The most intensive period of construction at the fort occurred after another French siege in 1782 and their subsequent occupation of the fort (Smith 1994, 1995; Hubbard 2003). After the British regained control of the fort, a massive construction and renovation plan was carried out during the 1780s and 1790s, resulting in the configura- tion of the fort as it stands today. The fort was armed and manned until 1854 when the British abandoned it. There was a distinctive multiethnic community living at Brimstone Hill throughout its occupation (Schroedl and Ahlman 2002; Schroedl 2005). Not only were British army officers and enlisted men present at the fortress, but archival information indicates that women and children were also present and that numerous local civilians visited and/or lived at the fortress. In addition to members of the British military and white militia, black military units of the Corps of Embodied Slaves and soldiers of the First, Third, and Fourth West India Regiments also lived there (Schroedl 2005). While British military engineers designed the fortress, enslaved Africans provided the majority of the construction and maintenance labor. These laborers included the Corps of Black Military Artificers and Pioneers, who were enslaved Africans owned by the British military and African laborers from local plantations forced to work at Brimstone Hill as part of levies placed upon slave owners. At any one point between 1790 and 1815, there were 50 to over 200 enslaved Africans living and working at Brimstone Hill. From its abandonment in 1854 until the 1960s, the fortress fell into disrepair with only minor efforts at restoration and preservation. Since that time, under the direction of the Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park Society, there has been a concerted effort at restoration, preservation, and interpretation. For a long time, the fortress was interpreted as a monument to British military and colonial might; however, recent efforts have been made to reanimate the roles that free and enslaved Africans played in the fortress’ construction and maintenance. The objective of recent archaeological investigations at Brimstone Hill, therefore, was to document the role that enslaved Africans played in the fort’s construction and maintenance (Schroedl 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000). Through 2004, archaeological investigations have occurred in four areas of the fortress (Figure 4) and each of these areas has been given an individual site designation. The archaeological excavations have been primarily guided by a 1791 map for the fortress (Figure 5), which depicts locations where enslaved Africans lived and worked, and a circa 1795 watercolor of the fortress attributed to Lt. James Lees (Figure 6). The investigated areas include: the lime kiln area at the base of the hill where several buildings are shown being used by artificers and pioneers (Site BSH 1); below the defensive wall between the Orillon and Magazine bastions where four structures (workshop, two hospitals, and kitchen) are depicted as used and occupied by enslaved Africans (Site BSH 2); the Royal Engineers’ quarters area that includes a building occupied by enslaved Africans (Site BSH 3); and below the defensive wall at the salient of the Orillon Bastion (Site BSH 4). Through 2004, nearly 150,000 artifacts have been recovered during the excavations. The assemblage consists primarily of European- made glass and ceramics (Ahlman et al. 1997; Schroedl 2000; Gomez and Ahlman 2005). The majority of the recovered artifacts date to the late-18th and early-19th centuries when the British were undertaking massive construction and renovation of the fortress. Of particular note are the 665 low-fired, hand-made earthenware ...