Caribbean Heritage Month at Hamilton Grange NM

Every year, Hamilton Grange National Memorial celebrates Caribbean Heritage.

NPS Photo

June 1, 2022

It’s Caribbean Heritage Month! This June, we will explore Alexander Hamilton’s connection to his birthplace, and Caribbean history and culture.The Caribbean is home today to over 45 million people. Millions of Caribbean-born and descended people have immigrated to other regions of the world, bringing with them the rich culture and history of the Caribbean. New York City contains the largest population of Caribbean people outside of the Caribbean region.

When Alexander Hamilton was born in the mid 18^th century, the economy of the Caribbean was controlled by the major western powers such as Spain, England, France and the Netherlands. This economy centered around the production and distribution of sugar, a very in-demand and profitable product. Slave labor was used in every facet of this production.

Approximately half of the enslaved Africans brought to the Americas in the Transatlantic Slave Trade were brought to the Caribbean to perform labor. The conditions of labor in the Caribbean were brutal: cruel enslavers, disease, and overexertion led to high mortality rate among the enslaved. This, along with a low fertility rate, caused the enslaved population of the Caribbean to decline up to 5% each year. To maintain this population, enslavers regularly brought new generations of West Africans to the Caribbean as enslaved people.

Despite being forcibly relocated to the Caribbean, the peoples of West African origin did not forget their culture. The spiritual beliefs, customs, traditions and languages influenced the development of various Caribbean cultures that exist today. The influences on Caribbean culture are many—the cultures of the colonists, introduction of foods, stories, and customs through the mercantile economy, and the various landscapes of the many islands shape the cultures of the Caribbean islands.

Join us next week as we celebrate the Caribbean through song and dance!

June 10, 2022

Happy Caribbean Heritage Month!

Join us this week for a special presentation by the Wabafu Garifuna Dance Theater, who will be demonstrating several significant dance styles of the Garifuna tradition.

The Garifuna people (plural Garinagu) are the descendants of West African and Caribbean Indigenous peoples. For many generations in the 17^th and 18^th centuries, the Garifuna people lived on the island of St. Vincent, until forced relocation. Today, several hundred thousand Garifuna people live on the Caribbean coasts of Belize, Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala. New York City is home to the largest population of Garifuna people outside of the Caribbean. There are an estimated 200,000 Garifuna living in New York City, and cultural coalitions like the Garifuna Heritage Center for the Arts and Culture, of which the Wabafu Garifuna Dance Theater is an entity, preserve Garifuna culture and connect Garifuna people in the city.

Duration:

20 minutes, 4 seconds

The Wabafu Garifuna dance theater demonstrates a variety of traditional Garifuna dance styles, with an introduction to Garifuna history and a variety of instruments and singing.

June 24th, 2022

As Caribbean Heritage Month continues, please join us for a special storytelling presentation by April Armstrong, who shares two stories with us: Anansi and Tiger, and Anansi, Horse and Goat.

Anansi the trickster spider is a figure from the West African folklore tradition, who gets into trouble by tricking others.

Duration:

19 minutes, 34 seconds

Storyteller April Armstrong shares a story about Anansi, the trickster spider of West African and Caribbean folklore tradition. In this story, Anansi looks for a way to gain recognition from the other animals of the forest.

Duration:

6 minutes, 17 seconds

April Armstrong, storyteller, tells the story of how Anansi tricked Horse into helping him gather plantains, but didn't share.

June 30, 2022

The Haitian Revolution (1791-1804) was the first successful large-scale revolution led by self-liberated slaves, resulting in Saint-Domingue's independence from France. A little-known fact about Alexander Hamilton is that he drafted a constitution for Haiti. This fascinating and engaging talk explores Hamilton’s involvement in the nation-building process for Haiti, as well as the impact the Haitian Revolution had on the United States and the French Revolution (and vice versa) during Hamilton’s lifetime.

Nicole Scholet, President of the Alexander Hamilton Awareness Society, is a historian, public speaker, and contributing author who specializes on the founding period of the US, with additional focus on researching previously unexplored topics on Alexander Hamilton and Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton.

This presentation was originally given at the Hamilton Grange National Memorial as part of the Black History Month 2020 commemorations.

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