Landscape Legacies of Sugarcane Monoculture at Betty's Hope Plantation, Antigua, West Indies Suzanna M
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University of South Florida Scholar Commons Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate School 3-19-2015 Landscape Legacies of Sugarcane Monoculture at Betty's Hope Plantation, Antigua, West Indies Suzanna M. Pratt University of South Florida, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd Part of the Archaeological Anthropology Commons Scholar Commons Citation Pratt, Suzanna M., "Landscape Legacies of Sugarcane Monoculture at Betty's Hope Plantation, Antigua, West Indies" (2015). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/5558 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Landscape Legacies of Sugarcane Monoculture at Betty’s Hope Plantation, Antigua, West Indies by Suzanna M. Pratt A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Applied Anthropology (Archaeology track) with a concentration in Heritage Studies Department of Anthropology College of Arts and Sciences University of South Florida Major Professor: E. Christian Wells, Ph.D. Thomas J. Pluckhahn, Ph.D. Robert H. Tykot, Ph.D. Georgia L. Fox, Ph.D. Date of Approval: March 19, 2015 Keywords: historical archaeology, geoarchaeology, landscape change, Antigua, Caribbean colonialism Copyright © 2015, Suzanna M. Pratt ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This thesis would not have been possible without the support of my advisor, Dr. E. Christian Wells, and my committee members, Dr. Thomas J. Pluckhahn, Dr. Robert H. Tykot, and Dr. Georgia L. Fox. Much appreciation is given to Dr. Phil W. Gassman and Dr. Todd D. Campbell of Iowa State University for their invaluable assistance with the EPIC software. Special thanks are extended to Dr. Georgia L. Fox of California State University, Chico, Principal Investigator of the Betty’s Hope project, and Dr. Reginald Murphy, Antigua’s archaeologist and UNESCO Representative, for providing me with the opportunity to contribute to research at Betty’s Hope. ! TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables .................................................................................................................... vi List of Figures ................................................................................................................... vii Abstract .................................................................................................................... ix Chapter 1: Introduction ...............................................................................................................1 1.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................1 1.2 Background ....................................................................................................................3 1.3 Summary of Theoretical Approach ................................................................................5 1.4 Organization of Thesis ...................................................................................................6 Chapter 2: Theoretical Approaches to Landscape Legacy ......................................................10 2.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................10 2.2 Landscape Legacies ....................................................................................................12 2.3 Niche Construction Theory ..........................................................................................18 2.4 Landesque Capital ........................................................................................................20 2.5 Path Dependence ..........................................................................................................30 2.6 Archaeological Case Studies ........................................................................................33 2.7 Archaeological Perspectives in Environmental Research ............................................37 2.8 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................40 Chapter 3: Sugarcane in the Caribbean: The Case of Betty’s Hope Plantation ....................42 3.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................42 3.2 Study Area: Antigua ....................................................................................................42 3.3 Prehistory and Early Colonial History .........................................................................44 3.4 Sugarcane, Sugar, and Rum .........................................................................................48 3.5 Environmental Impacts and Landesque Capital ..........................................................53 3.6 Antigua’s Sugarcane Industry ......................................................................................57 3.7 The Codrington Estates and Betty’s Hope Plantation ..................................................59 3.8 Current Land Degradation in Antigua .........................................................................63 3.9 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................65 Chapter 4: Methods ....................................................................................................................67 4.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................67 4.2 EPIC Model Methods ..................................................................................................69 4.3 EPIC Model Data .........................................................................................................73 4.4 Historical Records Methods .........................................................................................80 4.5 Geoarchaeological Methods .........................................................................................85 4.5.1 Munsell Color ...............................................................................................89 i 4.5.2 Soil Texture ...................................................................................................99 4.5.3 pH ..................................................................................................................90 4.5.4 Phosphates.....................................................................................................91 4.5.5 Loss-on-Ignition Organic Carbon .................................................................92 4.5.6 Loss-on-Ignition Calcium Carbonate ............................................................92 4.5.7 Trace Element Quantification .....................................................................993 4.6 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................95 Chapter 5: EPIC Model and Historical Records Results .........................................................97 5.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................97 5.2 Sugarcane Yields Simulated by the EPIC Model ........................................................98 5.3 Sugarcane Yields Recorded in the Codrington Papers ..............................................103 5.4 Comparison of Sugar Yields ......................................................................................104 5.5 Major Historical Events of the Last Three Centuries ................................................113 5.6 Decade-by-Decade Comparison ................................................................................117 5.7 Conclusion .................................................................................................................127 Chapter 6: Geoarchaeological Results .....................................................................................129 6.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................129 6.2 Expectations ...............................................................................................................129 6.3 Results of Geoarchaeological Analyses .....................................................................134 6.4 Conclusion .................................................................................................................145 Chapter 7: Discussion ................................................................................................................145 7.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................145 7.2 Results Summary .......................................................................................................146 7.3 Sugarcane Landscape Legacies at Betty’s Hope .......................................................151 7.4 Conclusion .................................................................................................................157 Chapter 8: Conclusion ...............................................................................................................159