The point that Barbados must do more to preserve its history and heritage could not have been made more forcibly than last Sunday when a 200-year-old grand mahogany tree came crashing down in St Mary’s Anglican Church yard. In its path of destruction was a historic vault of a leading 18th and 19th century free-coloured Barbadian family.
The vault, over 150 years old, was the final resting place of 11-year-old Catherine Husband-Barclay who died on April 15, 1852. She was the daughter of George and Frances Barclay, an influential family of free coloureds who fought for civil rights of enslaved Blacks in Barbados before Emancipation in 1834.
That piece of remarkable history, up to that point, had not been well known. However, thanks to historian and president of the Barbados National Trust, Dr Karl Watson, Barbadians learnt a bit more of the history of some of the national treasures buried deep in the bowels of that cemetery.
It is unfortunate that more of Barbados’ history is not shared and known by our own people. In fact, sometimes it seems that Barbadians are more familiar with foreign cultures than our own. It is clear that the education process needs to go deeper than the surface when there is an incident that warrants explanation and the provision of details.
Barbados needs to fully grasp the richness of its heritage and culture. We need to be proud of our history and make sure it is taught in our schools as a part of the curriculum. But there is more. We also need to have more respect for what we have, but that can only come through education and knowledge. We cannot hold dear what we do not understand.
Hence it was sad to be reminded last Sunday that the same vault destroyed by the fallen tree, was desecrated by City character Ninja Man some years ago when he broke into it and destroyed coffins and made off with some of the skeletal remains of those buried inside.
Another thrust must also be to routinely highlight our heritage as a prominent national feature to our guests. Currently, tourism officials still promote Barbados largely on its offering of sun, sea and sand, culture and cuisine. We need to move way beyond this, recognising that other destinations can also boast of similar attractions. The marketing and promotion of this destination must include and embrace, on a wide scale and with intense focus, Barbados’ history and heritage. More needs to be done to incorporate these two aspects into the country’s marketing strategy.
It is also not enough to have the Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison as a UNESCO World Heritage Site even though it is commendable and quite an achievement to be so named. There is a dearth of history waiting to be unearthed through the length and breadth of Barbados. We also need to draw on the knowledge of the likes of Dr Watson and Sir Henry Fraser as well as digging deeper in the archives of our national libraries and the National Trust.
As Barbadians too, we need to come out more and support the National Cultural Foundation’s Bridgetown tours organised during the annual Crop Over Festival where re-enactments of the history of The City are staged.
The way forward for this country may well lie in the history on which it has been built. After all, our National Anthem speaks of us being “strict guardians of our heritage [and] firm craftsmen of our fate”.
