Welcome 

Welcome to the website of the Anguilla Archaeological and ​Historical Society (AAHS).
​This is the premier organisation committed to protecting, preserving and promoting the national treasures of Anguilla’s heritage.
We explore connections between Anguilla’s past and present through research, advocacy, documentation, networking and collections of rare and irreplaceable items.
Traditional Boat Race - Meads Bay, Anguilla 1969

Our Past

A Brief History of Anguilla

Anguilla’s history stretches back thousands of years. The island was inhabited by Amerindian peoples as early as approximately 4,000 years ago. Often referred to today as the Arawaks, these early inhabitants travelled northward through the chain of Caribbean islands from South America. Their presence lives on through the pottery, tools and other artefacts that continue to be uncovered during archaeological excavations.

Early European Settlement 
British settlers arrived in Anguilla in the mid-seventeenth century. By this time, the island’s earlier Amerindian population was no longer present. In 1666, the French also invaded the island.

For the early European settlers, life in Anguilla was challenging. The island’s dry climate, rocky terrain and limited natural resources made it difficult to establish a sustainable economy. Cotton was initially cultivated, but by the early eighteenth century, sugar had become a more profitable crop.

Sugar production required a large labour force, and enslaved Africans were brought to Anguilla to work on the plantations. Over time, the African population greatly outnumbered the original European settlers, becoming a fundamental part of Anguilla’s developing society and culture.


Life Under British Rule During the eighteenth century, Anguilla experienced attacks by the French as a result of conflicts between European powers. These attacks were successfully repelled.

In 1825, British authorities united Anguilla with St. Kitts. The arrangement proved difficult for Anguilla, whose people were already struggling to survive in a harsh environment. Frequent droughts added to the challenges faced by farmers and families.

Anguillians were offered the opportunity to emigrate to British Guiana, but most chose to remain on the island. Many made their living through fishing and farming. Economic hardship, however, continued, and by the beginning of the twentieth century, many Anguillians travelled to Santo Domingo to work cutting sugar cane.

The Anguillian Revolution
 Constitutional changes in 1956 brought St. Kitts, Nevis and Anguilla together as one colonial entity. Anguillians were deeply dissatisfied with the arrangement and increasingly sought greater control over their own affairs.

In 1967, this dissatisfaction led to the Anguillian Revolution. Anguillians rejected the political arrangement with St. Kitts and expressed their desire to separate from St. Kitts and to be governed directly by Britain.

Following a second plebiscite in 1969, negotiations broke down and Anguilla declared itself an independent republic.

On 19 March 1969, approximately 400 British troops arrived in Anguilla, and a British Commissioner was appointed to administer the island. The events of 1967–1969 became a defining chapter in Anguilla’s history and remain an important part of the island’s national identity.

Anguilla Today
On 19 December 1980, Anguilla was formally recognised as a separate British Dependent Territory. A new constitution followed in 1982, with further constitutional changes taking place over the years.
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Today, Anguilla is a self-governing British Overseas Territory, with its own elected government and a strong sense of identity and cultural heritage.

From its earliest Amerindian inhabitants to the struggles of the colonial era and the determination demonstrated during the Anguillian Revolution, the island’s history is one of resilience, independence and community.

Archaeological excavations continue to uncover artefacts and evidence that help tell the story of Anguilla’s fascinating past, adding new chapters to an already remarkable history.

Read more About Anguilla
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© painting by Dan Bruce

Anguilla's Giant Rodent (Amblyrhiza Inundata)

Some Islands in the Caribbean have not only goats and sheep, but also, in the wild, monkeys, donkeys, parrots and even alligators. Here on Anguilla, at the present time, we are limited to goats, sheep and a variety of reptiles plus on the domesticated side, cattle, pigs, donkeys and some horses. Nothing particularly exotic or different.
 It has been reported that many years ago, when the island had more vegetation, there were alligators here in some of the ponds and swamps on Anguilla. But beyond that more unusual creature, for many centuries previously, giant rodents about the size of black bears roamed the island. { Donald A. McFarland} The presence of these unusual animals on Anguilla is analyzed in detail in the following report by Dr. McFarland in 1991. ​​Read More.
Click here  ​Additional Reading on Anguilla's Giant Rat

People of African Ancestry in Anguilla
Prof. Don E Walicek
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​Homestead Period (1650-1720)
People of African ancestry were present in Anguilla’s earliest period as an English colony. They arrived from both Africa as kidnapped captives and as the enslaved property of colonists who migrated from various English colonies in the Caribbean—including St. Christopher, Barbados, and Antigua. Victims of the Atlantic Slave Trade, English law severely limited their rights and mobility. The origins of those who migrated directly from Africa can be traced to two regions: Central Africa and West Africa. Historians have found that most people who were taken from West Africa in the 17th century were from the Gold Coast, the Slave Coast, and the Windward Coast.

One of the earliest references to West Africans dates to June 1698. At this time, 336 people were transported from the Gold Coast to Nevis, the site of a slave depot operated by the Royal African Company, on the Sally Rose. The ship left from the Cabo Corso Castle, today known as Cape Coast Castle, which is in contemporary Ghana. The journey was difficult and took five months. Shortly after the Sally Rose docked, at least 24 of the women and men who arrived on it were taken to Anguilla.
Africans are also referenced in wills from the period and in archives chronicling migration to Crabb Island (contemporary Vieques, Puerto Rico) in 1688.

Survival in Anguilla during this period was difficult. The environment was hostile due to cyclical drought, hurricanes, the limited amount of fertile soil, and attacks related to geopolitical conflict. However, Africans’ traditional knowledge about agriculture, raising livestock, construction, and fishing contributed to the fledgling colony’s persistence. Some harvested tobacco and indigo on the small estates that belonged to their owners; others were more mobile and engaged in subsistence agriculture as well as work that took them off island, such as fishing, hunting turtles, and collecting food and timber.
While the enslaved were monitored and subjected to punishment for resistance, they faced additional restrictions when news of rebellion or conspiracy in the region reached the island. Restrictions included the prohibition of activities that European slaveowners saw as problematic or dangerous, including dancing, drumming, and gathering to eat in large groups.

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​The Period of Cohesion and Stability (1720 to 1800)
By the start of the second period in the island’s early colonial history, African and Afro-Caribbean people made up about 66% of the population, outnumbering White colonists significantly. While serious challenges persisted and led to significant emigration, the period was marked by greater social cohesion and stability that correlated with growth in minor trade and social changes, including the public expression of concerns about the morality of slavery and a small number of interracial unions. The latter include English men establishing families with women of African ancestry. In several cases, their children became property owners with the same legal rights as their fathers.
Another sign that aspects of the rigid racial hierarchy of the prior period were loosening is that discourses about racial violence, slavery, and belonging began to shift. A few records document resistance to slavery and legal cases against abusive masters, some of which were brought forth by Whites who may have had abolitionist leanings.
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West African traditions characterized culture during this period, shaping religion, folklore, music, the verbal arts, and culinary traditions. Linguistic research indicates that the island’s Creole language, which is today called Anguillian, was spoken widely at this time and co-existed with colonial varieties of English.
 
The Period of Emancipation (1800-1838)
Legal emancipation for the enslaved took place on August 1, 1834 when the 2,228 individuals who were still held in bondage were declared legally free. At this time, most of the Black population was enslaved but some had already earned their freedom. They had done so by saving their money for years to purchase their own freedom or that of their loved ones from their masters. In addition, a few individuals were gifted their freedom by their owners for their loyalty, usually after decades of labor and service.  
The book Emancipation in the West Indies; A Six Months Tour in Antigua, Barbados, and Jamaica, in the Year 1837 by James A. Thome and J. Horace Kimball includes commentary on emancipation in Anguilla. The authors interviewed a Wesleyan minister who was on the island when emancipation took place. According to the minister, identified only as “Mr. H,” everyone was kept working as if it were any other day. The enslaved did not yet consider themselves free given that the law declared that they had to continue working as apprentices without pay. However, the minister preached on the significance of changes to the law, in particular, the pending end to apprenticeship, and the transition from an economy based on violence and slavery to one based on wages.
The authors share the minister’s account of what he did on the Sunday not long after emancipation and the reaction that followed:
 
“He preached to them on their new state, explaining the apprenticeship to them, and showing how much better it was for them than slavery. He said the whole congregation were in a state of high excitement, weeping, shouting, and rejoicing. One man sprang to his feet, and with flowing tears, exclaimed, “Me never forget God and King William.” (79)
 
They write that Mr. H was so overcome that he had to leave the chapel because he burst into loud weeping. Educational outreach to the formerly enslaved increased in the period following emancipation. It had officially begun about two decades prior, in 1813, when John Hodge, a free Black man who had left Anguilla, returned in order to teach people of African ancestry how to read and write. After the colony’s Deputy Governor approved Hodge’s request to educate the masses, he and other missionaries began visiting the estates. They not only preached, but also taught reading, writing, and math.
The formerly enslaved who became apprentices in 1834 were obligated to work 40.5 hours on their masters’ estates without payment. In exchange for their labor, they were to be provided with lodging, food, clothing, and medical care. They had the right to hire themselves out as wage laborers and to tend to their own provision grounds. However, they could do so only after working for 40.5 hours.  They were granted their “full freedom” under the law on August 1, 1838. People of African ancestry and their allies held fast to the idea that their freedom should be protected by law, custom, and culture, and upon it they built a new future.

Captain Kidd and his Anguilla Connection
By Nik Douglas

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Jefferys, Thomas 1775
​One of the best known pirates of the 17th Century was Captain Kidd who, it turns out, had visited Anguilla in his treasure ship just before his arrest in New York. Since much of Kidd’s treasure was never found, there is much speculation that he buried some of it in the West Indies, possibly even in Anguilla . The Connection between Kidd and Anguilla continued after Kidd's death by hanging in 1701. In 1706 a report to the Privy Council Committee for the Colonies accused Governor Leonard of Anguilla of knowingly dealing with Captain Kidd’s goods and being indebted to Kidd’s colleague, Captain Tempest Rogers. Read More.

Historic Houses 

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© Painting by Aileen Lamond Court House pre-1955

Old Courthouse

 Perched at the top of Crocus Hill, the highest point in Anguilla, the Old Courthouse and Jail commands spectacular views across much of the island and the surrounding islands.
The stone basement of this historic building dates back to the eighteenth century, when it was originally used as a powder magazine for storing weapons and explosives. It was later converted into a prison.
The prison was apparently not particularly secure. In 1831, three men who had been sentenced to death managed to escape by cutting a hole through the roof.
In 1955, Hurricane Alice destroyed the old courthouse. However, several original features survived, including the small prison cells and the stone-walled enclosure, which was topped with broken glass to discourage escapes.
The wooden upper floor once housed the Court, Treasury, Post Office and Customs offices. Although this part of the building was destroyed, the historic stone structure remained.
A New Chapter in Anguilla’s History
Today, this treasured landmark has been completely restored and renovated to honour its original character and historic architecture.
Following its careful restoration, the Old Courthouse and Jail is set to become the new home of the Anguilla National Museum, opening in 2026.
The museum will provide a permanent home for Anguilla’s rich history and heritage, bringing together the stories, artefacts and traditions that tell the story of the island and its people.
The restoration of this important landmark ensures that a significant piece of Anguilla’s history will be preserved for future generations, while giving visitors an opportunity to experience the site in a new and meaningful way.
The future home of the Anguilla National Museum — coming in 2026.
 Learn more about the restoration.
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©Rene Guinto

Warden's Place

This Beautiful 18th Century Plantation House, Originally constructed in the 1700's as a sugar and cotton plantation building, is a historically important stone and wood treasure. Known as the "Warden's Place" was built by slave labour for a Dutch family from St. Maarten and was part of an estate whose acreage extended to Crocus Bay.
​Emancipation of the slaves in the 1800s, Combined with years of drought and famine resulted in abandonment by the plantation owners. Eventually, the descendants of the slaves who originally tilled the land purchased the forsaken property and land. The British government leased it as a residence for the medical doctor assigned to Anguilla by the British in the early 1900s. The Doctor, who also doubled as the Magistrate and the Chief of Police, as well asas many later  British Agents for the Crown, resided here into the 1950s, this led to the estate becoming known as the Warden’s Place. The first floor is made of stone from Limestone Bay and the upper floor of wood. The rock oven is still in use today.

Video showing some traditional houses of Anguilla 1969 

Many of which has been lost through the years.
          Governor Richardson’s Grave
 
In a quiet secluded corner, under an beautiful old Lignum Vitae tree in Sandy Hill Cemetery, a very old grave can be found, commonly referred to as Governor Richardson’s Grave.
 
About thirty years ago, the Anguilla Archaeological and Historical Society restored this piece of history by cleaning around the site and with much muscle power manoeuvered the large slab, of dark grey slate back into place over the actual grave. A protective iron fence was installed, completely surrounding the slab and an information plaque attached where the grave could be best viewed.
 
​It is believed that the heavy, substantial slate tablet, now unfortunately slightly damaged at one corner through neglect, was brought from Wales, already engraved for the burial site of John Richardson.
 
On it, you can still clearly read “Here leith the Body of John Richardson Esq. who was born the 6th Day of March 1679 and Departed this life the 25th of December 1742”.
 
Above the inscription, within a circle, is a display of heraldry. A member of the Society visited various public offices in London in an effort to learn more about Mr Richardson than is currently known on the Island, but the efforts drew a blank. However, at the College of Arms, an official known as a Herald was able to explain that gauntlet recognized on the grave stone was a ‘dexter arm in armour fesswise holding in a hand an indeterminate object which may be a trident or a broken sword. No recognition of a Crest of this precise design on the grave slab has been determined to be directly connected to any particular Richardson family.
 
So the mystery remains entombed in its shady resting place for one and all to visit.

Scenes from Warden's Place

The Ruins

 Plantation Hughes Estate

A Study of Ceramic Sherds from Hughes Estate
 by  Desmond Nicholson
The Antigua Archaeological and Historical Society
​​On 8th March 1985 while visiting Anguilla at the invitation of the Anguilla Archaeological and Historical Society, a brief trip was made to the ruins at Hughes Estate, next to Skiffles resort on South Hill. A quantity of ceramic sherds from the historical period were collected and analysed according to generally accepted methods with the intention of establishing a theoretical period of occupation of this site.
 Since we know the precise dates when each different type of ceramic was manufactured, it is an easy task to establish a likely time for their introduction into estates in the West Indies. Analysis of the Hughes Estate sherds reveals a theoretical period of occupancy of 1775-1825, with a median date of circa 1800. This appears to confirm with what little we know about this site and is supported by the architectural and structural evidence of the buildings.​

Benzies Plantation Ruins

​ Typical Anguillian boiling house, animal round, and curing house of the eighteenth century can still be seen in the ruins at Benzies, over the Shannon Hill on the north coast . Who Benzie was is not now known. The ruins of the boiling house and curing house at Benzies lie overgrown with trees and scrub, in a sad state of disrepair, almost on the beach.
They are very small in comparison to the ruins of the other sugar islands. They were not in use for any long period. We do not know if this small, abandoned factory ever made any sugar.
We do not know who owned it. ‘Benzies’ is more accurately the name of a nearby bay, used for swimming years ago by the residents of North Hill.
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Sugar boiling house

The Ocean 

 Sombrero Island

" Here, exposed to all the extremes of the elements, neighbourless, it is intended forever to be a way station for Time. Here, there have occurred many changes and no change. This rock island is the center of the world for the .....men who maintain the Sombrero lighthouse."
​Read More.
Voyage to Sombrero via
​ Anguilla's Famous Vessel
The Warspite, 1969

El Buen Consejo

With the Spanish colonization of newly discovered lands in Mexico and South America beginning in the 16th Century, an ever-increasing amount of treasure and trade goods began to flow across the Atlantic Ocean. Exotic trade goods from the Far East and treasure from mines in South and Central America were being shipped back to Spain while European-made products occupied the holds of these vessels on their voyages to New World. Rival European nations as well as privateers and pirates would attempt to seize these richly laden vessels whenever possible. To counter this threat, Spain devised a convoy system whereby merchant vessels sailed along with heavily armed galleons for protection. A group of vessels crossing the ocean in this manner were referred to a flotilla. For almost 200 years, the vast sums of gold and silver her colonies provided, coupled with her long history of naval and military traditions, made Spain the strongest military power in the world. 
​ Read More
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The Warspite
Built in 1909 in Sandy ground and originally christened the Gazelle. This 40 ton Vessel was bought in 1916 by Arthur Romney and  renamed the Warspite. Mr. Romney made a couple of alterations to the bow section extending her length by 11 feet . Known locally as a fast ship , she famously sailed between Anguilla and Santo Domingo transporting Anguillian men to work on the Cane fields.  Throughout the 40s-70s she transported goods throughout the Caribbean especially salt to Trinidad and Tobago as well as her bi-weekly trips to the lighthouse at Sombrero.
Later on in her life The Warspite was motorized , keeping up with the times. Tragically, during Hurricane Klaus in 1984, the Warspite was cast ashore and destroyed. Learn More
 Picture© Claire E Devener









​The History of Boat Racing in Anguilla 
​ ​by David Carty
If the sport of Kings ever existed in Anguilla this generation is certainly ignorant of what it must have been like. Perhaps Carter Rey, now long dead, was the first man to race a horse somewhere around Wallblake. But every Anguillian in the past and today has seen a boat race and indeed this indigenous sport is not too much unlike the sport of Kings in many ways.
It has never ceased to impress me how unique boat racing is in Anguilla; how each boat at once exudes a quality of both grace and wildness; how the racers and the fans endow each boat with a definite personality; and of course how the spectators ashore win and lose, at times substantially, on bets made on every race.
​ Read More
"​It’s death of whelks mek soldier crab get shell."Local Proverb 

Historic Wallblake House

A Historic Past by David Carty

​One of the few plantation houses still standing, Wallblake House offers a window into Anguilla’s colonial past. Its rich history is tied to the island's cotton and sugar production on an estate that once stretched as far as the present airport. Built in the late 18th century by Valentine Blake, the house has withstood many significant events, including a destructive fire during the 1796 French invasion and its resultant rebuilding.
 
The construction of the house features intricate stonework and woodworking. The foundation is made of locally sourced cut stone mixed with lime, burnt coral, molasses and marl. The wooden ceilings, referred to as ‘tray ceilings’ with their roped edges, are a distinct, hand carved feature, showcasing the craftsmanship of the period. The outbuildings, including the bakery, ground level cellar, servants’ quarters and stables, highlight the estate’s functional aspects.
 
The estate’s ownership has shifted over time—from Valentine Blake to the Hodge family, and eventually to the Lake and Rey families. It was bequeathed to the Catholic Church and subsequently leased to the Government of Anguilla. Wallblake House stands as a testament to the island’s agricultural, architectural and cultural heritage.
  
Traditional Cistern
This stone cistern has weathered many transitions of time and is well preserved. It is a fine example of the traditional type that features a catchment area and tank in one. Its 1,225 cubic feet has a capacity for 9,188 US gallons. Water has collected in buckets for household use and bathing.
Every day the fifty-gallon water drum on the roof used to be fill by passing buckets of water up a ladder. This water was dispensed by faucet for showers in the bathroom on the upper level of the house. 

"As sure as Moses strike de rock and water fly from it". Local Saying

Industries of Yesteryear

The Salt Industry of Anguilla

A brief History by Sir. Emile Gumbs

Tobacco, Cotton, Salt and
​Dye-Trees

By Don Mitchell, as derived from the Archives, 1650-1700

​Salt
The Road Bay Pond was Anguilla’s main source of salt, capable of producing a total of about 40,000 barrels of salt a year; 71,000 barrels were recorded in 1967.  As early as the 17th century salt was harvested to supply the Dutch and Canadian fishing industries. By the 20th century salt was shipped to Guyana as a food additive for working animals and to Trinidad for use in the oil industry. It was also milled to fine grains and sold throughout the islands until the 1950s when cheap iodised salt from North America took over this market. Later when machines replaced animals on farms and after a major slump in the oil industry in 1986, Anguilla’s salt industry collapsed.
To produce salt, earth works, consisting of dams, were erected to channel flood waters into the sea.  Labourers would wade into the pond and pick the underwater salt deposit by breaking off and lifting up bits of the slab of salt. These slabs were thrown into small salt barges or ‘flats’.  Each flat held about 18 barrels of salt and weighted about 300 lbs. The structures, equipment of the salt industry have suffered through frequent hurricanes. The ponds are now important ecosystems and breeding sites for many birds as well as heritage spaces for exploration and education.
 
Tobacco and Cotton
The British settlers found tobacco and cotton growing wild, left by the Amerindians. They were small crops requiring little capital outlay, did not spoil as long as kept dry. Tobacco was cultivated first but compared unfavourably in terms of strength and flavour with tobacco from the US. The tobacco market was therefore unprofitable for Anguilla and cotton took its place.
Cotton was cultivated in Anguilla for nearly 240 years through the 1740s and from the mid-1800s through the 1950s. In the 1800s, Anguilla cotton was exported to the Bahamas and from there to Georgia and South Carolina, where it flourished. The strain, with unusually long strands and superior quality became famous as ‘Sea Island Cotton. By the late 1800s cotton was once again the preferred crop and in 1902, a cotton gin was installed at The Factory.  Cotton was grown on the Wallblake estate (97 acres) through the 1950s. The most productive years (1910-11) saw 148,000 pounds exported to the UK. Wild cotton trees can be found throughout the Island.
 
 Sugar
Great wealth was generated for the European owners of sugar estates during the 150 years when the Caribbean held a virtual monopoly on its production. It was very labour intensive and its economic success depended on the use of slave labour. Sugar cane arrived in Anguilla in the 1730s, despite the island’s irregular rainfall, poor soil and unsuitable climate for its production.
Sugarcane was planted in rows and the cane stalks were cut the cane was about 15 months old  and brought to the factory by donkeys. The sweet juice was extracted from the tough cane stalks by passing them through rollers. Raw cane juice was boiled in large iron pots called coppers and lime was added to clarify the juice. The clarified juice was then boiled in a series of cast iron kettles until it became a thick syrup which was allowed to cool in trays, forming crystals. Molasses was drained from the sugar crystals. The sugar crystals were put in wood barrels. After a period of curing’ the sugar was shipped to England or North America for further processing and sale.
 
Mining Phosphate
In 1811 a British geologist identified deposits of phosphate. By the 1850s viable quantities were discovered in rock pockets which could only be worked by blasting. An American  company set up operations with a light railway, a rock crusher and a steam powered mill. Accommodation for workers and loading points were erected on the shoreline.  Demand for phosphate fertilizer grew after the American Civil War when large areas of lands in the Southern United States were opened up for agriculture.
For approximately 20 years the Americans mined the phosphate deposits. Lease arrangements were made with the British government. Sombrero was bustling with economic activity. By 1870, some 3,000 tons of phosphate were being shipped each year.  After the deposits dried up mining operations were abandoned by 1890.
 

Fishing & Sailing

Naturally the history of Anguilla is closely tied to the sea. Fishing and boat building have always been of enormous importance to the survival of its people.
Because of the low rainfall in Anguilla and the lack of abundant rich soil, the sugar plantations which were set up in the eighteenth century did not survive economically. In commercial agriculture, the social ramifications of these developments for the people of Anguilla were far reaching. Anguillians were forced either to immigrate to other islands to obtain work or seek livelihoods on the sea, through fishing and shipping.

Both alternatives brought the island’s men-folk directly to the sea, although obviously those who emigrated for work, returning home periodically, had less of a relationship with the sea than those who chose to fish or handle shipping. The latter group was divided roughly into two segments: those who fished, mostly in small boats, and those who traded throughout the Caribbean Islands on schooners.

Today’s racing sailboats,(sailboat racing is Anguilla's national sport), it must be noted, are the descendants of those earlier fishing boats. They were usually between 17 and 20 feet in length, often with no deck and carrying one mast some 25 feet in height, on which a jib and mainsail were carried. In these boats, fishermen would go out to sea, as far north as the Old English Bank, and set their pots or fish on lines.

A tradition soon developed among the boats whereby those boats which had finished hauling or setting pots would wait for the rest of the boats to complete their work so that they could all return together with added safety. Soon, a spirit of racing between the returning boats also was created.

After the collapse of commercial agriculture and the beginning of mass emigration, there arose a definite need for transportation. The only mode of transportation in those days was to travel by a schooner or a large sloop. Most of the other islands in the Leeward Chain were still, in the early nineteenth century, involved in sugar production, and none had developed a local trading fleet, preferring instead to rely upon the merchant marines of their respective countries.

Anguilla, on the other hand, had little direct relationship with other countries, including Britain, and was forced in earlier years to fend for itself for its transportation needs. Thus, as far back as the early eighteenth century, there were schooners and sloops on Anguilla, which in time of drought and famine, all too frequent occurrences, became a lifeline for inhabitants of the island. The art of seamanship and shipwrighting on Anguilla necessarily developed in these early years and grew stronger through time.

With the migration to the Dominican Republic, Aruba and Curacao, the work of the schooners and sloops reached their golden age in terms of number of ships and trips involved. Like the fishing boats, the schooners traveled together for security. They would all leave Marigot in St. Martin with their decks full of men and baggage. The average schooner usually carried two hundred men, seeking work, on each of these trips.

Life for the seamen on the schooners in many ways, was far more exciting than that of the fishermen. The voyages of the schooners back to Anguilla, for example, was the most exciting time, as the boats competed to see which could be the first to make the island. It was a constant beat for the ships to the windward, lasting from 4-20 days, and this is one of the prime reasons there is such a keen racing spirit among the boatmen of the island up through to the present time.
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After the collapse of the Santo Domingo trade and with the advent of diesel engines, shipments by schooners gradually diminished and boating on the island soon concentrated on fishing. Sailing boats, similar to the racing boats we see today, continued to be used for fishing until the Revolution in 1967. Around 1970, with the arrival of the outboard motor which enabled fishermen to reach their traps quickly and move among them more efficiently, fishing on the island, through to the present time has been primarily from open boats, similar to the sailing boats of yesteryear, but now propelled by outboard motors.
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OUR GOAL

To preserve and promote Anguilla’s Historical, Archaeological and Cultural Heritage.