Newton Slave Burial Ground facts for kids

The Newton Slave Burial Ground is a special historical place in Barbados. It's like an old cemetery where people who were enslaved at the nearby Newton Plantation were buried. Since 1993, the Barbados Museum & Historical Society has owned this important site. Scientists have been digging here since the 1970s. They have found clues about the daily lives of enslaved people, including how they resisted, their health, and their culture.

History of the Newton Plantation

Barbados became a colony of the British in 1627. By the late 1600s, it was one of Britain's richest places in the Caribbean. The economy of Barbados depended on slave labor. This work happened on plantations that grew cash crops all over the island.

One of these places was the Newton Plantation. It was about 9.2 km (5.7 mi) east of Bridgetown in Christ Church. The Newton Slave Burial Ground next to it became the final resting place for over 570 people. These were African, Afro-Caribbean, and Afro-Bajan people enslaved there from about 1670 to 1833.

Samuel Newton from Derbyshire started the plantation in the 1660s. It grew sugarcane and made rum and molasses. The plantation was most productive when Barbados was very important to the British economy in the 1600s. The plantation held enslaved people until at least 1828. Slavery was officially ended on the island in 1834.

Until the late 1600s, many enslaved people from Newton Plantation escaped. They formed groups called Maroons. To stop escapes, the plantation owners made rules stricter. Enslaved people were even branded with an "N" to show they belonged to Newton. But people still escaped. Some found freedom in Barbados with fake papers. Others left the island completely.

Barbados had so many enslaved people that owners sometimes didn't chase after runaways. They even freed older enslaved people who could no longer work in the fields. By 1700, people of African descent made up three-quarters of the island's population. Between 1670 and 1720, 70 to 90 percent of new people arriving on the island were enslaved Black Africans.

Discoveries from Excavation

Scientists first dug at the site in the 1970s. Dr. Jerome Handler and Dr. Frederick Lange, American archaeologists, led this work. They wanted to learn about the lives of enslaved people in colonial times. Today, the Barbados Museum and Historical Society helps protect this important site.

What Bones Tell Us

Studying bones, called Osteology, has taught us a lot about the health and culture of enslaved people. By looking at the skeletons from Newton, scientists think people lived to about 29 years old. This is a bit longer than old records, which said 20 years. Even so, the bones show that enslaved people sometimes didn't have enough food.

Bone analysis also suggests that fewer babies died than old records show. The people buried at Newton were placed in a careful way. This might mean they kept their family connections strong, even in slavery.

Keeping Culture Alive

Archaeologists found the remains of a young adult woman from the late 1600s or early 1700s. Her burial was very unusual. She was buried in the biggest dirt mound at the site. She had no coffin or other items buried with her. Scientists found very high levels of lead in her body. This might have caused her death, as she seemed healthy otherwise.

Her body was also placed face-down, which was different from everyone else. This way of burying people is common in West African traditions. This suggests that enslaved people at Newton kept their African cultural practices alive.