A Caribbean Christmas

Jill St George gained her LLB, LLM and PgDip BVC before embarking on an academic career at the University of Aberystwyth in 2009. Having lived in Bahrain and Barbados from 2011, Jill returned to England and started a PhD at the University of Sussex, which is currently in the “writing up” stage. Jill has recently joined the OU Law School as a lecturer.

With an admittedly fairly tenuous link, I introduce you to my research area within the theme of Christmas!

I lived in Barbados for six years, working at the University of the West Indies (Cave Hill campus) as first of all a tutor, then a research fellow and finally as a lecturer. Outside of work, living in Barbados had, of course, many benefits – beautiful beaches, wonderful scenery, a vibrant culture and diverse culinary offerings to name but a few - but it also granted me exposure to the ever-enduring legacy of slavery, and it was this experience which became the catalyst for my research.

Slavery has influenced so many aspects of Bajan life, from the formation of the state creating Barbados as it exists today to the current legal and political structure, population ethnicity, religious following, enduring plantation houses and chattel houses and wealth distribution, to name but a few. However, the impact of this over 200-year, seismic period in Barbados’s history is over-looked in legal theory, and this is particularly so outside of the Caribbean region. My research set about creating a new legal theory, entitled postenslavement theory. Its aim is to fill the gap left by postcolonial theory, and create a tailored, specific lens through which laws in once enslaved societies can be viewed to provide an understanding which takes into account their unique experience. I am specifically considering the offences of buggery and serious indecency, using postenslavement theory as the lens through which to view these laws.

One crucial aspect of postenslavement theory is considering the cultural legacy of slavery, how the violent dislocation of persons from West Africa and subsequent conversion of people into property influenced the cultural and societal development of Barbados. The island was uninhabited on the arrival of the English in 1625 (and subsequent settlement in 1627), and with the early settlers came both slaves and Christianity. This has placed Christmas as an important celebration in Barbados from its initial settlement by the English, with Christmas being one of the very few days which slaves were released from labour (1). Christmas remains a very important holiday in Barbados, with traditions including attending church services, carols by candlelight, great cake, baked ham and jug-jug and a trip to Queens Park.

As with the remaining 11 months of the year, Christmas is a wonderful time to enjoy Barbados and embrace these unique traditions. I will always remember fondly the appearance of palm trees covered in Christmas lights, a Father Christmas relaxing on the beach and blow-up snowmen atop houses in 30-degree heat!

(1) Aspects of Slave Life in Barbados: Music and Its Cultural Context, Jerome S. Handler and Charlotte J. Frisbie, Caribbean Studies , Jan., 1972, Vol. 11, No. 4 (Jan., 1972), pp. 5-46, 10.