Edward Gillard’s petition 1743
Our document today is a petition by Edward Gillard to Sir Thomas Shirley, Governor of the Leeward Islands. It is accompanied by a plan, first drawn in 1743, for the lot of land mentioned in the petition. Sir Thomas Shirley was first appointed governor of the Leeward Islands in 1781. In January 1782, when a French Fleet invaded St. Kitts and later Nevis, he realized how badly outnumbered he was and he withdrew the troops […]
Cassava mill
Last month during our Exploring Kittitian History course at the Open Campus, we mentioned cassava. While searching for images for another project, I came across this postcard of a cassava mill. This starchy root crop was a staple in the diet of the Kalinago but it also became an important element in the diet of the enslaved people. Christopher Jeafferson who came to St. Kitts to claim ownership of his father’s plantation at Wingfield in […]
Vic Hills Mayor of Slough 1991
In 1990, Victor Emanuel Hills became the 43rd Mayor of Slough, in England. Previously he had been the first black man to hold the position of Councilor in the borough. Slough was one of the places were Kittitians and Nevisians settled after moving the UK in search of work. Vic Hills was one of them. Hills was born in Newton Ground in 1931 and went to England in 1957 were he found work as an […]
Avondale 1989
I came across this image by accident this week and it made me think of how much Basseterre has changed. It was taken in 1989. It shows the foundation of the old Court House in the foreground and the building which I believe was called Arrindells. It was soon after replaced by the concrete structure of Barker and Kelly’s supermarket and now houses C&C. We would be very grateful to anybody who can share more […]
Santa Claus c.1957
Santa Clause It’s Christmas time again so we went in search of an item that represents the season. There were a few but we decided to share this image – a young Basil Henderson, surrounded by children who were waiting to have their little chat with Santa Claus. The little girl in the front, seemed more apprehensive than intrigued, probably because of the strange mask that Santa was wearing!!! Henderson was the person who introduced […]