Memories of Cotton Farming in English Harbour, Antigua
Lloyd Romeo, Althea Romeo-Mark
Raising Cotton
The cotton industry in Antigua was a very vibrant one until a three year drought followed by a series of hurricanes left Antigua and other nearby Caribbean Islands devastated. The effects were comparable to the recent catastrophic earthquake and its aftermath on Haiti.
Cotton planting in English Harbour was very lucrative because of the demand for cotton needed to make parachutes during the Korean War.
Cotton growing was seasonal. It was planted during the raining season and harvested during the dry season (the summer months). The planted cotton had to be sprayed with DDT because of the ferocious appetite of boll weevils. If the boll weevils were not controlled, a cotton farmer would lose his entire crop.
The cotton farmers formed a “kuu,””salaka,” or a cooperative where they helped each other to plant, so they didn’t have to hire helpers. The cotton was ripe when it burst open and the soft, white, fluffy buds appeared. The farmers and their relatives helped each other to pick cotton and clean it. Cleaning entailed picking dry leaves and weevils of out the cotton. Not all of the cotton was soft, so they had to beat some parts to make the cotton light and soft. I remember, as a child, watching women cleaning and beating cotton on our front porch.
The cotton was taken to St. John where the remaining seeds were taken out with a cotton gin provided by the Colonial government. The colonial government set the price that the farmers got for their cotton. Individual farmers were unable to negotiate a price for their cotton. The cotton seeds, taken out by the cotton gin, were then sold back to the farmers to be used for planting.
At the end of the cotton season, the cotton trees were cut down, burned and destroyed. New seeds were planted during the next season.
Cotton planting was lucrative and many people in English Harbour, including our father, were able to built homes from their profit. Like cotton planting, the houses were built by the cooperative, “Kuu” or “salaka.” The farmers took turns helping to construct each other’s home.
The farmers in English Harbour did not only grow cotton. Between the cotton trees, they planted other produce, like corn and greens. They also raised cattle and goats and worked as fishermen. They went out to sea and caught fish and sold them.
There were illegal side trades. Rum and cigarettes were smuggled from boats on the high seas. Cheap rum became a curse to the male youth of English Harbour. There are lots of hilarious stories told about how smuggled goods were hidden during raids.
Farmers were given land by the Colonial government to plant, and once they kept up the land and paid their taxes, they were allowed to own the land.
Destruction of the Cotton Industry (1950-1953)
The destruction of the cotton industry cannot completely be blamed on the three year drought which had turned the village (English Harbour) and the rest of the island to dust. Many farmers lost their livestock because there was no water and the animals died of starvation.
American farmers had also began to come to the island to recruit laborers for fruit picking in the United States. Droves of young men, including three of my uncles, left for Florida and Wisconsin to pick oranges and other fruit. The laborers were able to send money back home to support their families. They were making much more money than they would have earned if they had remained in Antigua.
The final blow to the cotton industry was a cycle of hurricanes that destroyed all crops and animals. Unlike today, where the UN might bring in food supplies in times of ravage, people then had no support system. They had to fend for themselves. As a result, there was a mass exodus mostly to England and later the United States and Canada.
© Copyrighted by Lloyd Romeo and Althea Romeo-Mark
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