The Barbados- New York Connection: Enslavement and Exchange

This presentation by Dr. Seth Kamil delves into the nature of the inter-colonial exchange and the shared places that define the Barbados-New York connection.

The historical connection between Barbados and New York is one of enslavement and exchange that shaped the colonial landscape in the 17th and 18th centuries. Barbadian planters were central to the establishment of provisioning plantations in mid-seventeenth century New York and New Jersey. These wealthy landholders, in the attempt to feed and supply their Barbados sugar plantations, brought with them the practice of matrilineal enslavement to the region. Previously regarded as migrants to the Middle Colonies these planters, along with merchants and traders, maintained family and property ties to Barbados and beyond. Understanding the bond with Barbados and the role of African slavery is crucial to comprehending the centuries-long ties between these colonial spaces. 

Dr. Seth Kamil started his history graduate studies, at Columbia University, in1989. He departed in 1995, as an ABD. For the next 25 years running Big Onion Walking Tours, an internationally recognized education-based, historical, and cultural tourism company he started with another graduate student in 1991. Seth was inspired to return to Columbia to research and write his dissertation in 2021. Readmitted in January 2023, he received his doctorate in October 2024. Seth’s dissertation “The Inter-Colonial Provisioning of Barbados from New York and New Jersey, 1651-1765” explores the interconnected history of the colonial Atlantic World. The Middle Colonies, New York and New Jersey, were the previously unrecognized breadbasket that fueled the growth of sugar and slavery in Barbados and the English West Indies.

Accessibility:

This in-person talk will be held in the museum's herb cellar, which is accessed using stairs. A virtual option is also available. To register for the online version of this talk, please do so here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1291829399509?aff=oddtdtcreator

Language:

This talk will be delivered in English.

Getting here:

Public Transportation:

• Subway: #1 to 242nd Street Station, then walk north on Broadway to the tree-lined pedestrian path leading into the park.
• Bus: Bx9 to West 246th Street and Broadway, then walk into the park on the tree-lined pedestrian path leading into the park.
• BxM3 Express Bus to 246th Street and Broadway, then walk into the park on the tree-lined pedestrian path leading into the park.
• Metro-North Hudson River Line to Marble Hill Station, transfer to the Bx9 bus or #1 subway as above.
   

By Car:
Please note that the museum has no onsite parking. You can park in Van Cortlandt Park's free parking lot, which is a 5 minute walk on park trails from the museum (GPS Link) or you can pay for metered street-parking on Broadway (GPS Link).

To Van Cortlandt Golf Course Off-Street Free Parking Lot

From Queens and Long Island:
Take the Tri-Boro Bridge to the Major Deegan Expressway North (87). Take the 230th St. Exit. Make a right at the top of the exit, followed by a quick left onto Bailey Avenue. Take Bailey Avenue to the end. Follow the Major Deegan North/VanCortlandt Golf Course signs. Bear to your left and go underneath the overpass. After the overpass take a sharp left into the public parking lot.

From Manhattan:
East Side: Take FDR Drive to Willis Avenue Bridge. Go over bridge and bear left for the Major Deegan Expressway North (87). Get off at the 230th Street Exit. Make a right at the top of the exit, followed by a quick left onto Bailey Avenue. Take Bailey Avenue to the end. Follow the Major Deegan North/Van Cortlandt Golf Course signs. Bear to your left and go underneath the overpass. After the overpass take a sharp left into the public parking lot.

West Side: Take West Side Highway North to Cross Bronx Expressway East.
Take Cross Bronx Expressway to Major Deegan North (87). Take the 230th St. Exit. Make a right at the top of the exit, followed by a quick left onto Bailey Avenue. Take Bailey Avenue to the end. Follow the Major Deegan North/Van Cortlandt Golf Course signs. Bear to your left and go underneath the overpass. After the overpass take a sharp left into the public parking lot.

From New Jersey:
Take the G.W. Bridge to Major Deegan Expressway North (87). Take the 230th St. Exit. Make a right at the top of the exit, followed by a quick left onto Bailey Avenue. Take Bailey Avenue to the end. Follow the Major Deegan North/Van Cortlandt Golf Course signs. Bear to your left and go underneath the overpass. After the overpass take a sharp left into the public parking lot.

From Westchester County & Points North:
Take 87 South to Van Cortlandt Park South Exit. At top of the exit, make a left. At next light, make another left and follow the signs to golf course, bear to your left and go underneath the overpass. After the overpass take a sharp left into the public parking lot.