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Transformations, economics, and bitter outcomes: Archaeological investigations at Betty's Hope Plantation—a case study reflecting 300 years of Caribbean sugar production
Author(s) -
Fox Georgia L.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
economic anthropology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2330-4847
DOI - 10.1002/sea2.12056
Subject(s) - sugar , sugar production , perspective (graphical) , production (economics) , sugar industry , ecology , archaeology , economy , history , sociology , economics , biology , art , biochemistry , macroeconomics , visual arts
Betty's Hope Plantation, on the island of Antigua, provides a case study to explore the changes and transformations occurring during the rise of the British Caribbean sugar plantation system. Since 2007, archaeological investigations at the site and related archival research have revealed that new technologies in the production of sugar can be identified over three centuries. In this investigation, questions arise as to the efficiencies of sugar production technology and innovation in an industry that relied mainly on enslaved labor. The desire for sugar also converged with the technological innovations of the industrial revolution, which can be seen in the artifacts recovered from the site. Applying the theoretical framework of world systems theory allows for micro‐ and macro‐scale approaches to understanding life on this Caribbean sugar plantation. From an ecological perspective, world systems theory, when linked to the model of the dynamics of coupled natural and human systems, provides a potential bridge to considering the relationship between humans and their environment at Betty's Hope, its ecology, and the peoples who inhabited this landscape. The legacy of “King Sugar” has left more than bitter memories; the seeds of ecological destruction were sown long ago, as the system eventually collapsed under its own weight.