Abstract
Tourism is a central part of contemporary Bahamian life. Yet, the complex relationship between Bahamian cultural identity and dependency on the tourism industry has also created an interesting space for resistance for many Bahamian communities. Incorporating Black feminist archaeological theory and a community-collaborative approach, this project has provided a plausible alternative interpretation of the larger effects of the remnants of the colonial past, the contemporary tourist economy, and the complicated relationship between developing cultural heritage sites in the region and the needs of local community members. The Millars Plantation, in the southern region of the island of Eleuthera, provided the research team an opportunity to explore, through oral history and small-scale memory mapping, a concentrated view of how the plantation landscape operated as a site of captivity, then a site of survival, and ultimately a space of ancestral connection between people, history, landscapes, and contemporary tourism.
Extracto
El turismo es una parte central de la vida contemporánea de las Bahamas. Sin embargo, la compleja relación entre la identidad cultural de las Bahamas y la dependencia de la industria turística ha creado también un interesante espacio para la resistencia para muchas comunidades de las Bahamas. Mediante la incorporación de la teoría arqueológica feminista negra y un enfoque de colaboración con la comunidad, el presente proyecto ha proporcionado una interpretación alternativa plausible de los efectos más amplios de los restos del pasado colonial, la economía turística contemporánea, y la complicada relación entre los sitios del patrimonio cultural en desarrollo en la región y las necesidades de los miembros de la comunidad local. La Plantación Millars, en la región sur de la isla de Eleuthera, proporcionó al equipo de investigación una oportunidad para explorar, mediante la historia oral y el mapeo de memoria a pequeña escala, una visión concentrada de cómo el paisaje de la plantación operaban como un sitio de cautividad, después como un sitio de supervivencia, y finalmente como un espacio de conexión ancestral entre las personas, la historia, los paisajes, y el turismo contemporáneo.
Résumé
Le tourisme est un élément central de la vie contemporaine des Bahamas. Pourtant, la relation complexe entre l’identité culturelle des Bahamas et la dépendance vis-à-vis du secteur touristique a également créé un espace intéressant pour la résistance pour de nombreuses communautés des Bahamas. Intégrant la théorie archéologique féministe noire et une approche communautaire collaborative, ce projet a proposé une autre interprétation plausible des effets majeurs des restes du passé colonial, de l’économie touristique contemporaine et de la relation compliquée entre les sites de patrimoine culturel en développement dans la région et les besoins des membres des communautés locales. La plantation de Millars, dans la région sud de l’île d’Eleuthera, a permis à l’équipe de recherche d’explorer, à travers l’histoire orale et la cartographie de la mémoire à petite échelle, une vue concentrée sur le mode de fonctionnement du paysage de la plantation comme site de captivité puis comme site de survie, et enfin comme espace de liens ancestraux entre les gens, l’histoire, les paysages et le tourisme contemporain.
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Acknowledgments:
I would like to thank William White for including me in this very important thematic issue; I thank you for your vision, your patience, and your persistence. I would also like to thank Elizabeth Chilton, Neil Silberman, Honora Sullivan-Chin, Elena Sesma, Shaun Ingraham, Mildred Young, Errol McPhee, George Bullard, Maise Pinder, the University of Massachusetts Amherst Department of Anthropology, the One Eleuthera Foundation, the Rotary Club of Eleuthera, the Breast Cancer Society of Eleuthera, the Bannermantown, Millars, John Millars Community Association, and generous funding from a University of Massachusetts Faculty Research Grant, College of Social and Behavioral Science, and the Center for Heritage and Society at the University of Massachusetts.
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Battle-Baptiste, W. Cruise Ships, Community, and Collective Memory at Millars Plantation, Eleuthera, Bahamas. Hist Arch 51, 60–70 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41636-017-0008-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41636-017-0008-4