Times of the Islands Winter 2018/19

look as good as they sailed.
What became the Caicos Sloop proved to be the equal
of the masterful Bermudian sloop, allowing TCI to develop
its own sailing prowess. The maritime linkages between
the Islands enabled the boat builders to pass on sailing
skills to salt rakers, according to Dr. Carlton Mills, editor
of the The History of the Turks & Caicos Islands. That connection
was particularly strong between Middle Caicos
and South Caicos, as boats regularly launched from the
settlement of Lorimers and made their way down the
channel and the lee side of South Caicos for trade, news
and, over time, family ties with the salt rakers. Dr. Mills
also points out that salt rakers on Grand Turk, Salt Cay
and South Caicos likely worked on the small lighters sailing
between the shore and larger ships to bring salt and
off-load cargo, which would further enhance their nautical
knowledge. For slaves seeking to escape, however,
the boats had limited utility unless they could find refuge
with contacts, a sanctuary in an otherwise hostile environment.
Slaves revolt in Haiti
Beginning in the 1770s, revolutions rumbled first in the
American Colonies, followed by France, and then Haiti.
All violently challenged longstanding notions of hierarchy
and power and called for a new, more egalitarian political
order. However imperfectly, the leaders attempted to
apply what had been only philosophical concepts of basic
rights, social contract and democratic self-determination.
For slaves in Haiti, the revolutionary choice was far more
stark—barbarous bondage or liberty.
The French colony then known as St. Domingue lay
just 100 miles (160 km) south of TCI and encompassed a
third of Hispañola. The fertile land there produced more
wealth than any other colony in the Caribbean, mainly
through vast sugar cane plantations. For aspiring French
gentry seeking fortune and higher status, Haiti offered
a clear path to get there. All it took were seed capital,
importing thousands of slaves from Africa to work the
fields and a decade of ruthless plantation management.
Slaveholders figured they could get one or two year’s of
hard labor from a slave before he or she succumbed to
Yellow Fever or exhaustion, so they constantly sought
to replenish slaves, while expanding their plantations to
generate more income. The reckless greed soon led to
a 10:1 ratio of slaves to whites, higher than other West
Indian colonies, including TCI which had at most a 6:1
ratio. Watching the insurrections in Haiti and experienc-
Times of the Islands Winter 2018/19 43