Travel History lesson Northeast of Nelson’s Dockyard, Betty’s Hope is Antigua’s first sugar cane plantation, named after the daughter of Christopher Codrington, who bought the property in 1674. The two 17th-century sugar mills, plantation house ruins, rusted machinery and artifacts in the small museum are now poignant monuments to the exploited slaves who worked here. One mill has been restored with working gears, crushing rollers and a sail. Museum exhibits describe how sugar cane was crushed to extract cane juice, which was boiled to make sugar and distilled into rum in the now-ruined still house. We also learned about the hardships of the people who grew and processed the cane as slaves ‒ until emancipation in 1834 ‒ and as labourers afterwards. The Museum of Antigua and Barbuda manages Betty’s Hope. We later visited the museum in St. John’s, the capital of Antigua. Housed in the city’s oldest building (the 1747 Old Court House), it displays old photos, archaeological finds and a fascinating Betty’s Hope exhibit. A balance sheet from the sugar plantation lists the value for each male, female and child slave on the island. The slaves brought their foods, music and culture with them to the sugar plantations. Museum staff showed us how to play warri, an African board game similar to backgammon, played with nickernuts (seeds from the nicker bush) on rectangular wooden boards with cup-like depressions. Right – Museum of Antigua and Barbuda in St. John’s Far right – Playing warri, an African board game, in the Museum of Antigua and Barbuda Below– Sugar mill at Betty’s Hope 22 | www.snowbirds.org
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