Good Hope began as a sugar estate in 1774 and belonged to John Tharpe, the largest land and slave owner in Jamaica. On June 10, 2015, The Trelawny chapter hosted a presentation at the Trelawny Parish Library on the current archaelogical findings at Good Hope Great House in Trelawny.
The Chapter Chair, Marina Delfos recapped the presentation as follows:
"The talk given by Hayden Bassett and Ke Vaughn Harding on the Good Hope Slave Villages was absolutely fascinating. The main focus was the general slave village, in which they are now conducting their third year of work and some information on the domestic slave village attached to the Great House, which they just started working on this year.
The Chapter Chair, Marina Delfos recapped the presentation as follows:
"The talk given by Hayden Bassett and Ke Vaughn Harding on the Good Hope Slave Villages was absolutely fascinating. The main focus was the general slave village, in which they are now conducting their third year of work and some information on the domestic slave village attached to the Great House, which they just started working on this year.
Hayden described the methodology used to determine the location of the slave village and the unearthing of artefacts. He was able to determine how some of the individual yards were positioned due to the sweeping patterns that were uncovered i.e. larger broken pieces of pottery would be swept to the edges of the yard each day and the pieces left behind would get trampled upon leaving tinier pieces on the ground by the dwelling.
Artefacts consisting of broken china
Glass wine bottle. cir. 1700s, unearthed in 2015 Ke Vaughn has started the process of reconstructing the slave village using the information documented by Hayden and his team of University of the West Indies archaeology students. This process has resulted in the creation of architectural renderings that depict the village as it would have appeared between the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The illustrations are not only geared at depicting the buildings as they stood, but also aim to provide a glimpse into the domestic lives of enslaved people. This they depicted by indicating how and where the enslaved inhabitants socialized, cooked, ate, planted personal crops and raised their own livestock, among other crucial routines surrounding their home lives.
Of the over 12,000 artefacts already uncovered during the 2014 excavations, and those uncovered from this year (final count yet to be tabulated) some of the interesting items include cooking and eating implements, buttons, beads and other items previously used for personal adornment, tools of skilled tradespeople who lived in the village, animal bones bearing butcher marks, which provides insight into some of the contents of the inhabitants' diets, and a late 18th - early 19th century livery button bearing clearly identifiable elements of the Tharp Family Crest. We were able to view a few of these at the meeting.
A cabinet has been constructed by Falmouth Heritage Renewal, funded partially by our Chapter, and has been placed in the Trelawny Parish Library to expose members of the public to the new and insightful information on the lives of the Good Hope enslaved population. There is a second cabinet located in the Welcome Area at the Chukka Tours attraction on the Good Hope Estate. It contains artefacts and information conveying similar themes to those expressed by the one at the Trelawny Parish Library in Falmouth." -- Marina Delfos
Other fascinating facts that were unearthed included the genealogical breakdown of the slave population on the estate.
Of the over 12,000 artefacts already uncovered during the 2014 excavations, and those uncovered from this year (final count yet to be tabulated) some of the interesting items include cooking and eating implements, buttons, beads and other items previously used for personal adornment, tools of skilled tradespeople who lived in the village, animal bones bearing butcher marks, which provides insight into some of the contents of the inhabitants' diets, and a late 18th - early 19th century livery button bearing clearly identifiable elements of the Tharp Family Crest. We were able to view a few of these at the meeting.
A cabinet has been constructed by Falmouth Heritage Renewal, funded partially by our Chapter, and has been placed in the Trelawny Parish Library to expose members of the public to the new and insightful information on the lives of the Good Hope enslaved population. There is a second cabinet located in the Welcome Area at the Chukka Tours attraction on the Good Hope Estate. It contains artefacts and information conveying similar themes to those expressed by the one at the Trelawny Parish Library in Falmouth." -- Marina Delfos
Other fascinating facts that were unearthed included the genealogical breakdown of the slave population on the estate.
- Creole (or those who were born in Jamaica) made up 56% (in blue)
- Eboes (shaded red) made up a significant part of the population at 18.1%
- Coramantee (shaded orange) 5.6%
- Chamba (shaded purple) 4.7%
Breakdown of slave population
How the archealogical excavation determined hierarchy on the plantation. As Marina mentioned above, buttons among other artefacts, were found on the site. The buttons were from the uniforms of the liveried slaves, emblazoned with the crest of Good Hope. These buttons were found, concentrated in one area. During the excavation, it evolved that these uniformed servants lived separate and apart from the field slaves, and closer to the great house.
From left to right: Ke Vaughn Harding, presenter; Hayden Bassett, presenter (between Marina Delfos (Chair, Trelawny) and Marcia Kohler (Vice Chair, St. Ann); snack time with audience members
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Contributors: Marina Delfos, Lena Rose (editor and photographer), Paul Chang (photos)
Contributors: Marina Delfos, Lena Rose (editor and photographer), Paul Chang (photos)
