Reconstructing a History of Plantation Spaces at Betty’s Hope

Abstract

Arguments have been made that the decline in Antigua’s sugar production was a byproduct of poor land management practices, depletion of soils, and outdated agricultural techniques and technology. Recent work at Betty’s Hope suggests that not all plantations were susceptible to poor decision-making and that some plantations may have superseded social-ecological constraints despite the sugar industry’s inevitable decline. This chapter by Cory Look focuses on key aspects of land-use and landscape change at Betty’s Hope, particularly during the eighteenth century, when the plantation experienced rapid growth and economic prosperity. Look discusses the impact on enslaved Africans through examination of changes to slave quarter spaces and provisioning grounds by managers of local resources. The analysis was possible through remote sensing and multiple surveys conducted over ten field seasons.