A History of Barbuda Under the Cardington's 1738-1833
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A HISTORY OF BARBUDA UNDER THE CODRINGTONS 1738-1833 Margaret T. Tweedy M.Litt. Department of History Faculty of Arts University of Birmingham 1981 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. SYNOPSIS Barbuda, a flat island twenty-five miles north of Antigua, had few inhabitants before the late seventeenth century. From 1684 to 1870 it was leased from the Crown by members of the Codrington family who administered it as part of their West Indian estates, by 1738 concentrated in Antigua. Barbuda's thin soil and susceptibility to drought made it unsuitable for sugar-growing, but it was developed by the Codringtons as a stock-rearing island which supplied their sugar estates and the market with meat and draught animals. This was usually the most profitable part of the economy, but the proprietor also received salvage awards from ships wrecked off the island's dangerous coasts. In addition, the Codringtons encouraged crop-growing and a miscellaneous assortment of activities which they hoped would increase their returns. The Codringtons for the period of this thesis were conscientious and usually effective absentee owners, and when there were efficient managers on Barbuda reasonable profits were made, though neither Sir William nor Sir Bethell Codrington (the two proprietors at this time) felt that they received an adequate return on their capital invested in slaves and stock. The slave population on Barbuda is particularly interesting because there was a natural growth from 172 in 1746 to 503 in 1831, because of favourable social conditions. Succeeding generations of families therefore grew up on Barbuda developing a strong attachment to the island. Attempts made by the attorneys to utilize this increase by transferring slaves to Antigua met with little success. Opposition from the slaves themselves and an unwillingness to harm them by the proprietor meant that in the main only those who transgressed were transferred. This slave society was a relatively happy one, the only serious disturbance coming before 1746, with some restlessness after 1820. Acknowledgements I wish first to express appreciation to my supervisor, Dr. R.C. Simmons, for selecting Barbuda in the first place, and for gently and persistently moving me in the right dir ection thereafter. I am grateful to Mr. Brian Smith, until 1979 the Gloucestershire County Archivist, for originally pointing me to the Codrington Collection, to the present Archivist, Mr. David Smith, and to the staff at the Record Office for their unfailing helpfulness and courtesy over many years. I wish to thank the staff at the Cheltenham Public Library who have obtained many books and articles from other librar ies > the Librarian of the Bodleian Library, Oxford, for allowing me to read therej the staff at Rhodes House, Oxford, and at the Public Record Office for their consid erate attention at all times. I am grateful also to Sir Simon Codrington who kindly allowed me to read certain documents at Dodington, to the Librarian at the U.S.P.G., Tufton Street, London, for letting me look through their records, and to Messrs. Alien and Unwin who have allowed me to include the map of the Leeward Islands from Sir Alan Burns's History of the British West Indies. Work of this sort is all the better for informed comment and I am especially indebted to Professor David Lowenthal who not only encouraged me but introduced me to others researching into some aspect of life on Barbuda Dr. Colin Clarke, Dr. David Harris, and Dr. Riva Berleant-Schiller who have all generously shared their knowledge with me. Dr. Clarke has also very kindly allowed me to reproduce the copy of the map of Barbuda, made by the Department of Geography at Liverpool University. Dr. D. Watters has very generously given me detailed information about his recent archaeological work on Barbuda. I am grateful also to Miss Christine Baines, for mathematical advice, to Miss Margaret Barnett for help on genetics, to the late Mr. John Bayley for encouragement at a difficult time, and to Mr. V. Daykin for creating order from a messy manuscript. This thesis could not have been started, certainly not completed,without the loyal backing of my family. I am particularly grateful to my father, the late Mr. F.P. Whiteley, who showed unfailing interest, and to my son Richard who at an early age agreed to stay to dinner at school so that I could spend complete days at the Record Office! My biggest debt, though, is to my husband whose enthusiasm for the subject has rivalled my own, and whose loving support has made the project possible. CONTENTS Abbreviations used in notes IV Introduction v Chapter 1 GEOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF BARBUDA 1 I Geographical Background 1 II The Historical Background of Barbuda and the Codrington Family 7 (a) To 1684 7 (b) The Codrington Family and the History of Barbuda from 1684 to 1738 10 Notes to Chapter 1 19 Chapter 2 THE EXTERNAL ADMINISTRATION AND INTERNAL MANAGEMENT OF BARBUDA 1738-1833 25 I The External Administration of Barbuda 25 II The Internal Management of Barbuda 38 (a) The Management of Barbuda under Sir William Codrington (II) 1738-1792 39 (b) The Management of Barbuda under Sir Christopher Bethell Codrington, 1792-1833 54 Notes to Chapter 2 67 THE ECONOMY OF BARBUDA Chapter 3 STOCK REARING 77 Introduction 77 Sheep and Goats 79 Horses 88 Mules 97 Cattle 103 Conclusion 113 Notes to Chapter 3 115 Chapter 4 VARIOUS COMMODITIES 123 Turtle 123 Wood 128 Crops 131 Miscellaneous 137 Notes to Chapter 4 141 iii Chapter 5 TRANSPORT, BOAT-BUILDING, AND SALVAGE 145 Salvage 148 Notes to Chapter 5 164 SLAVERY ON BARBUDA Chapter 6 THE SLAVE SOCIETY ON BARBUDA 169 I General Social Background 169 II Work of the Slaves on Barbuda 178 III Law and Order 190 Notes to Chapter 6 199 Chapter 7 THE POPULATION 207 Notes to Chapter 7 227 Chapter 8 THE EXTENT TO WHICH BARBUDA WAS USED AS A SOURCE OF SLAVES FOR THE CODRINGTON ESTATES ON ANTIGUA 231 Notes to Chapter 8 248 CONCLUSION 252 APPENDICES I Genealogical Table of the Codrington Family 257 II Humanity, A West Indian Slave, 1758-1818 258 III List of the Managers of Barbuda and Antiguan Attorneys mentioned in the text, 1738-1833 265 BIBLIOGRAPHY 267 Maps: 1. Map of Barbuda 1813 (to follow) p. vii 2. Map of the Leeward Islands (to follow) p. 1 3. Map of Barbuda c. 1750-1785, from an Eighteenth Century Sketch-map (to follow) p. 4 Charts To show the amounts made from sheep in relation to the totals made from all livestock in the periods 1745-55, 1785-98, 1806-14, 1825-34 " 162 Tables To show the profits made from Barbuda, and those made from livestock and wrecks in the periods 1746-55, 1785-98, 1806-14, 1825-34 161 (iv) Abbreviations used in the Notes GRO Gloucestershire Records Office (Worcester Street, Gloucester, GL1 3DW). Although the records are no longer there, the GRO catalogue references are still useful as there are micro-film copies of most of the documents. The correspondence and accounts for the period of this thesis have all been put on micro-film, but unfortunately not the estate papers or legal documents. MF375 Micro-film 375. This is the film made by Robson Lowe in the 1950s of the correspondence he bought from Sir Christopher Codrington. There is a copy at the GRO. W.C. Sir William Codrington (II). C.B.C. Christopher Bethell Codrington. Although he did not assume the name Bethell until 1797 (when he inherited the Bethell estates from an uncle) he is referred to in the notes of this thesis as C.B.C. in order to avoid confusion with the other three Christopher Codringtons. S.P.G. Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. PRO Public Record Office. (v) INTRODUCTION Barbuda is a little known island lying about twenty-five miles due north of Antigua. It does not appear likely, at first sight, to offer anything of value to the student of eighteenth and nineteenth century Caribbean history as it was not a sugar island, was not of great strategic import ance, and the population only slightly exceeded five hundred in 1831. A study of its history might be thought to have only antiquarian value; of interest in itself but not of any greater significance. This, however, is not an accurate assessment. Barbuda was in fact part of the Caribbean possessions of the Codrington family who owned extensive sugar estates on Antigua. It was an integral part of these estates, attorneys in Antigua supervising Barbuda as well as the sugar plantations. Barbuda provided the Antiguan properties with livestock, ground provisions, and estate supplies generally, and received clothing, some food and other necessities from Antigua. There was frequent communication between the islands and some interchange of the slave populations. The link with the sugar plantations owned by the Codringtons prevented Barbuda from becoming an isolated outpost, untouched by general events in the Caribbean. Even without the close connection with these estates, however, Barbuda's history would still have some significance The islands that were used for sugar-growing have received most attention from historians because their wealth made VI them more important politically and internationally, but for a true picture of the Caribbean attention must also be given to the islands where sugar was not grown.