I REFER to a letter written by Trevor Prescod in the Daily Nation of June 21. From his writing, it is clear that Mr Prescod has only cursory knowledge of the subject.
Rather than argue from a learned position, he huddled together a series of emotional statements in order to shore up flawed historical research. I do not hold myself out to be an historian, but the story of Rock Hall has too many holes to be credible.
I would therefore attempt to point out some of the inconsistencies for the record.
Everyone accepts that ex-slaves from Mount Wilton Plantation received a legacy of £85 from the estate of Reginald Alleyne Elcock, and they purchased land on the former Rock Hall Plantation, where they constructed homes.
The so-called slave hut which the Government proposes to rebuild was identified as one of those homes.
This is the first point of departure of perceived historical fact and common sense. That “slave hut was not constructed on lands of the former Rock Hall Plantation: instead, it was built on the Glebe (the Anglican Church’s land).
It is therefore reasonable to conclude that the owners of Rock Hall Plantation could not have sold church lands to anyone to build a “slave hut” or anything else.
The next point of departure of common sense from the historical research is simple. They claimed that the building was constructed after the former Mount Wilton slaves received their legacy in 1844.
How could Government or anyone else identify a structure that was purportedly built 11 years after the abolition of slavery as a slave hut?
The historians claimed that Rock Hall was established in 1844. In order to remain credible, they must surmount one imposing obstacle.
How can they account for a building dating back to 1832 on the same land where they propose to construct the monument?
I agree with Mr Prescod that we should never trivialise important milestones of achievement: however, we should never massage the factual record to make history more appealing to any segment of society.
Maybe, that is why there are no white people recognised as national heroes in this country.
CASWELL FRANKLYN
