Reconstructing a Changing Religious Landscape: The Material Traces of Barbados Quakers, 1655–1800.

QUAKERS; SOCIETY of Friends; ARCHAEOLOGY & religion; REMOTE-sensing images; HISTORY of slavery; ANTIQUITIES

Much has been written about the presence of Quakerism in slavery-era Barbados, but this body of work contains contradictions and broader trends in the development of this community remain obscure. Combining archaeological, historical, and cartographic information provides insight into the process of religious community formation and the relationship of Quakers to their Barbadian neighbors. Using ArcGIS, documentary records concerning the meetinghouses, burial grounds, and other material traces of the group are combined with a reconnaissance of the sites, high resolution satellite imagery, and contemporary maps. This synthesis aims to clarify and extend the written record, but more than just matters of historical interest, the identification of precise locations and layouts of these sites also offers keys to the group's development, the archaeology of religious communities, and the social and physical landscape of the island. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]