A Small Place

As described by Kinkaid herself, the island of Antigua is a “small place” of 108 square miles. The Siboney were the first to inhabit the islands in 2400 B.C, but it was the Arawak Indiand that populated the islands when Colombus landed in 1493. After attempts by the French and Spanish, the first colony was formed by the English in 1667. (CIA- The World Factbook- Antigua and Barbuda) In 1684, Sir Christopher Cordington set up a large scale sugar cane plantation and over the next 50 years the industry in Antigua exploded. By the end of the 18th Century, Antigua had become an important strategic port as well as a valuable commercial colony. In 1834, Britain abolished slavery in the empire and Antigua was the only British colony to institute immediate full emancipation rather than adopting a 4 year waiting period. (interknowledge) However, after emancipation, Stringent Acts were passed to ensure that plantation owners had a constant labor supply- this gave way to the constant racial and class struggles of Afro- Antiguan community. In June 1846, Portuguese workers were imported to relieve the shortage of workers. (About: Antigua & Barbuda) The history of race/ ethnic relations shows the exclusion of Afro Antiguans. After British settlement, whose rule lasted 350 years, five distinct and carefully ranked race/ ethnic groups evolved;
1. British
2. Non-creolized Britons & British Antiguans
3. Mulattos
4. Portuguese and Middle Easteners
5. Afro Antiguans (lost identity with motherland and became one group, constantly dehumanized)
(Culture of Antigua & Barbuda)
The official language and language of instruction of Antigua is standard English, but the culture is a bilingual one with Antiguan Creole (West African languages mixed with English) in the mix; moving up the ladder in the social class one sees a change from Creole to English as the first language. Antigua celebrates its deep rooted African culture, an example is the Carnaval that takes place every year and the influences of British customs, religion and architecture. In the book, Kinkaid tells the reader of what the Antiguan people truly think of the unjust social structure and changing of cultural aspects in their society, especially on pages 23 & 24,
“They don’t seem to know that this empire business was all wrong and they should, at least, be wearing sackcloth and ashes in token penance for the wrongs committed, the irrevocableness of their bad deeds, for no natural disaster imaginable could equal the harm they did…they should never have left their home, their precious England, a place they loved so much, a place they had to leave but could never forget. And so everywhere they went they turned it into England; and everybody they met they turned English. But no place could ever really be England, and nobody who did not look exactly like them would ever be English, so that you can imagine the destruction of people and land that came from that.”
She shows the animosity that the Antiguan people truly have towards their British colonists.
Of course, sugar cultivation was the main source of income for the economy. In 1941 with the opening of US Bases in Antigua, the US was placed at the center of its economic and social life. (About: Antigua & Barbuda) The opening of banks and tourism boomed in the 1950’s and helped Antigua’s economy flourish, but still the economy was not diversified- Hotel owners and offshore bankers replaced the planters of the past. (Culture of Antigua & Barbuda) One can see this in A Small Place on page 7, when Kinkaid writes,
“Banks are encouraged by the government to make loans available for cars, but loads for houses not so easily available”
This shows that certain aspects of life, like a decent home, are saved for those who are wealthier than most. An example of the impact that tourism has upon the Antiguan people is Kinkaid’s quote at the beginning of the book, where she describes that process of entering the country;
“You go through customs. Since you are a tourist, a North American or European—to be frank, white—and not an Antiguan black…you move through customs with ease. Your bags are not searched.”
This shows the difference in treatment between citizens (who should be trusted and treated better) and tourists and which influences the negative thoughts Antiguans have on tourists,
“An ugly thing, that is what you are when you become a tourist, and ugly, empty thing, a stupid thing, a piece of rubbish pausing here and there to gaze at this and taste that, and it will never occur to you that the people who inhabit the place in which you have just paused cannot stand you, that behind their closed doors they laugh at your strangeness (you do not look the way they look); the physical sight of you does not please them; you have bad manners...; they do not like the way you speak ( you have an accent); they collapse helpless from laughter, mimicking the way they imagine you must look as you carry out some everyday bodily function. They do not like you. They do not like me! That thought never actually occurs to you.”
Jamaica Kinkaid’s A Small Place gives a description of the small island through the eyes of an Antiguan and opens the reader’s eyes that there is more to the place than beautiful beaches and happy, smiling people.

Works Cited:

"About: Antigua & Barbuda." 2009. The Official Website of the Government of Antigua & Barbuda. 6 December 2009 .

"CIA- The World Factbook- Antigua and Barbuda." 2009. CIA- The World Factbook. 6 December 2009 .

"Culture of Antigua & Barbuda." 2009. everyculture.com. 6 December 2009 .

interknowledge, corp. "Antigua & Barbuda- History and Culture." 2009. geographia.com. 6 December 2009 .