The manufacture, trade and consumption of Barbadian redwares 1640-1890

<p dir="ltr">This study investigates the emergence, evolution and decline of the ceramic industry in Barbados between 1640 and 1890. At the end of the 17th century Barbados was the worlds largest producer of Sugar in the Atlantic World. Initial sugar production on the island in the 1640s utilised imported Sugar wares from Europe, where over time the demand for ceramics necessitated the production of locally made ceramics to meet demand. These locally made ceramic mirrored the imported European wares aesthetically and functionally, however manufactured by an enslaved labour.</p><p dir="ltr">The study integrates archaeological assemblage analysis, archival research and laboratory based compositional techniques (petrography and XRF) to establish provenance, identify clay sources and reconstruct intra-island distribution networks. This multiscalar approach enables a reassessment of the technological and social dimensions of production, including an explanation of the shift from industrial scale manufacture to domestic scale manufacture of ceramics.</p><p dir="ltr">The research also presents the first sustained examination of the gendered organisation of ceramic production in Barbados, revealing women’s significant yet previously overlooked participation. Consideration is given to how technological change, economic adaptation and emancipation influenced both production hubs and identity formation.</p><p dir="ltr">By situating ceramics within a broader socio economic and cultural frameworks, the study repositions pottery production as an ameliorative and adaptive practice that mediated post emancipation resilience in the Trans-Atlantic World. The findings contribute new evidence to debates on Caribbean material culture and provenance, challenging long held assumptions about the origin and character of Barbadian Redwares.</p>