At the Bottom of the River

From the 16th through the 19th century, there was a mass upheaval of millions of Africans from their native lands, who were moved by white enslavers to areas in Europe and, more commonly, the Americas. Although slavery was eventually ended, its systems and structures had been in place for centuries, and the struggle for belonging and identity for people of African descent continues to this day.

Antigua, where Jamaica Kincaid was born, was first colonized by Europeans in 1493. The location became a massive sugar colony, where millions of Africans were brought over several centuries to work the land. Although slavery was outlawed in European colonies in 1834, it was not until riots in the early 1900s that true change in the treatment of workers and their working conditions took place. Finally, in 1981, Great Britain withdrew from Antigua, and it achieved independence by creating an independent nation with Barbuda, though the effects of colonialism and slavery still endure in the country. In particular, Antigua and Barbuda are still part of the British Commonwealth, and while they have their own government, King Charles III of England is the head of state. Likewise, while Antigua and Barbuda have their own Creole language, educational instruction only occurs in English.