Antigua can truly be considered the land of the sugar mills as the
former stone sugar mills dot the countryside and can be seen at almost
every turn. Antigua's development in the 18th and 19th century was
dominated by the sugar industry with several plantations. In order to
extract the cane juice from the sugar cane it was necessary to crush the
canes. Unlike other countries where water was plentiful, in Antigua
water was a scarce commodity and so the planters turned to windmills as
the wind, thanks to the Trade Winds, is an ever present commodity. Each
plantation had its own windmill and in some cases more than one.
Originally these windmills had 4 canvas sails but over time the canvas
sails were replaced by wooden sails on wooden arms. As the wind blew the
wooden sails rotated and this caused a central pole that was connected
to the sails to rotate. Attached to this pole was a large cog which was
connected to two other cogs on large rollers. The central cog caused the
turning of the other cogs which in turn caused the rollers to rotate.
The sugar cane was fed into the rollers and the cane juice squeezed out
of the cane stalks and ran through pipes to large pots called "coppers".
In these pots the juice was boiled until it crystallized into sugar
crystals. The dried cane stalks were used to create the fires for the
boiling of the cane juice.
It is not clear how many windmills were actually erected in Antigua and
some reports indicate that in 1705 there were 170 windmills. Today many
of the towers for these windmills remain. Many are simply abandoned but
some have been converted into houses, bars, restaurants, shops and even
a water tank. At Betty's Hope, the original sugar plantation that
started the sugar industry in Antigua, visitors can see a fully restored
sugar mill.
Every Caribbean island has former forts and Antigua is no exception. The
18th century was a violent age and for the British the planting of sugar
cane and the export of sugar was generating great wealth. Such wealth
attracted not only pirates but the attention of the Governments of other
countries, especially the French and so there were constant wars as each
sought to gain territories in the Caribbean. Thus to protect the harbour at
St John's work on the construction of a fort was started in 1706. As was
common at the time a headland overlooking the harbor was selected as this
allowed the cannons to lob the cannonballs for a greater distance onto any
enemy ships that might try to sail into the harbor. These cannons could send
a 24 pound cannonball up to a distance on one and a half miles. Being on a
headland also meant that any soldiers seeking to attack the fort had to come
uphill which made it more difficult to attack. Work on the fort continued
throughout the years and by 1739, most of the buildings were completed. By
1773, the fort had 36 cannons and its barracks could hold up to 75 men.
The fort was named Fort James after King James II of England and fortunately
for it, the fort never had to engage in battle. Its cannons however were
fired regularly as it was the custom to fire a cannon everyday to signal
sunrise and sunset. Also there was the custom that each visiting ship had to
pay a fee of 18 shillings to the fort and if a ship did not pay then a
warning shot would be fired.
Today at Fort James one can still see much of the stone walls and the former
powder magazine that was used for storing the gunpowder. Ten of the original
cannons still remain and indeed this is the only fort in Antigua that
retains its cannons. It is said that the foundation stone for the fort was
laid with Masonic honors and inscribed with Masonic symbols. This stone
still exists on the eastern corner of the fort. Another reason for visiting
Fort James is the excellent view that it provides of the St John's Harbour.
Learn more about Antigua by visiting our other Antigua Pages
