In the 18th Century, slavery exploded across the Caribbean.
Slavery looms large over Scotland's historical legacy in Barbados. While some Barbadians may trace their ancestry back to an indentured Scot, far more will be able to trace it to an enslaved worker owned by a Scotsman, whipped by a Scottish overseer or even raped by a Scottish owner. Many of these ‘redlegs’ can trace their ancestry back to Scottish political dissidents, including Jacobites who fought with Bonnie Prince Charlie at Culloden in 1745.īut the legacy of indentured servitude is dwarfed by that of plantation slavery.
Scotland still has a visible legacy in Barbados, including a diaspora known as 'redlegs', the descendants of European indentured servants who were forcibly transported to the island in the 17th and 18th centuries. He has also recently published a book entitled ‘Slaves and Highlanders: Silenced Histories of Scotland and the Caribbean.There are indeed several enduring historical currents that have swept Scotland and Barbados along in tandem. He has compiled research about Scotland’s links to Guyana pre-1843 on the Slaves and Highlanders website for many years. Those involved had drawn inspiration and lessons from memories of the Berbice Rising of 1763 and this almost forgotten revolt was less than ten years before the Demerara Rebellion of 1823.ĭr Alston is a historian and former museum curator and teacher. The leaders were executed and many others were punished. Over 100 people were seized and interrogated. As they prepared for an oath-swearing ceremony which would begin the war, they were betrayed and their plans were revealed – along with similar plans on the East and Corentyne Coasts. In early February 1814 enslaved Africans across the West Coast of Berbice were ready to rise up against the colony’s white planters. This talk continues our Samaan Tree Series.
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