Thursday, August 11, 2005

Clark (without Lewis)

Every time we go to Antigua, I learn something new about its history. This time, it was about William Clark, better known as partner of explorer Meriwether Lewis on Thomas Jefferson's 1803 mission into the newly-purchased Louisiana Territory. This same William Clark travelled to Antigua, and in 1823 published Ten Views of the Island of Antigua, in which are represented the process of sugar making and the employment of the negroes in the field, boiling house, and distillery. According to this history website, the illlustrations can be seen as part of an abolitionist campaign to document the horrors of slavery in order to end the practice. Due to such efforts, Great Britain emancipated the slaves of the West Indies on August 1, 1834. You can see all of Clark's illustrations here. And a picture of Wetherell's Estate here.