Montserrat is a small island (102km2) and British Overseas Territory located in the Caribbean Lesser Antilles. First inhabited by Amerindian peoples over 4,000 years ago, Montserrat has been home to many different cultural groups over the course of its human history. Some of these groups freely migrated to Montserrat, while others, like enslaved Africans, were brought by force during the plantation era. Lasting contributions from these peoples survive in the place-names, food, architecture, landscape, and material culture of the island and are being interpreted in various displays.
Trials, Tragedy & Resilience is an exhibit designed to recognize and celebrate Montserrat’s rich cultural heritage on the 250th anniversary of the St. Patrick’s Day slave uprising on 17 March 1768. The histories represented in this display commemorate the resilience of Montserratians in their responses to difficult conditions imposed by slavery, colonialism, economic decline, and catastrophic natural disasters.
The display of original documented evidence on the attempted uprising on March 17 1768 is the highlight of the Exhibition. It also looks back to the origin of Monserrat’s celebration of St Patrick’s as a public holiday and provides information on the search for national identity which began in the late 1960’s and early 1970s.
The Exhibition highlights successfully the benefits of the MNT/ ICT Project which now allows easy access and research into the Slave, Baptism Registers and the Registers of Deeds and allows one to trace ancestors back into the Slave era.
This international exhibit was designed under the supervision of Sarita Francis, OBE, Director of the Montserrat National Trust. It is running concurrently at the Montserrat Museum, Wayne State University (Detroit, Michigan), Brown University (Providence, Rhode Island), and Aarhus University (Denmark). Staff, faculty, students, and volunteers from these and other institutions, such as the TNA, Kew, have been integral in collecting and sharing the data presented here. Survey and Landscape Archaeology on Montserrat project, Endangered Archives/ICT Project, and other programs led by the Montserrat National Trust have given great insight in the development of this important Exhibition.
©Photos: Mrs Sarita F. and Ravo T.
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