Shipping sugar (Antigua).

Repro ID: PY3019

Description: In 1674, Sir Christopher Codrington arrived on Antigua and established the first sugar plantation. By the end of the century, a plantation economy had developed. Slaves were imported from Africa and the central valleys were deforested and replanted with sugar cane. To feed the slaves, Codrington leased the neighbouring island of Barbuda from the British Crown and planted it with food crops. As Antigua prospered, the British built fortifications around the island, turning it into one of their most secure bases in the Caribbean. The military could not secure the economy, however, and in the early 1800s the sugar market began to bottom out. With the abolition of slavery in 1834, the plantations fell apart.

Creator: Infant School Depository (publishers)

Date: c. 1820

Credit line: National Maritime Museum, London