Barrett Hall

Completed around 1809, Barrett Hall, located in Jamaica's St. James Parish, served as the primary residence of Richard Barrett, a representative in the Jamaican legislature and cousin of Elizabeth Barrett Browning's father, Edward Barrett Moulton-Barrett, until Richard Barrett's death in 1839. Barrett Hall, along with several other Barrett family estates, including Greenwood Great House and Cinnamon Hill, was one of the major great houses on Jamaica to be spared during the slave uprisings (also known as the Baptist War) in late 1831 and early 1832. Located a few miles inland from and up the hill behind the Greenwood Great House, the Barrett Hall estate comprised over 800 acres of land and averaged about 200 enslaved people laboring in the production of sugar, rum, and cattle. Plantain walks, referenced in Barrett's story of a runaway slave (found here in manuscript form) that purportedly inspired Elizabeth Barrett Browning's "The African," were also a prominent feature of the estate, marking Barrett Hall as a potential location for the tale. The house fell into disrepair during the 20th century and no longer exists today.

Barrett Hall Great House
Source: The Barretts of Jamaica, by R.A. Barrett

Barrett Hall Sugar Works
 
Source: The Barretts of Jamaica, by R.A. Barrett

 

Parent Map

Key Locations: EBB and the Landmarks of Slavery

Coordinates

Latitude: 18.509221500000
Longitude: -77.761658700000

Timeline of Events Associated with Barrett Hall

Date Event Manage
circa. 1820 to circa. 1822

Elizabeth Barrett Barrett Writes "The African"

It is estimated that Elizabeth Barrett Barrett (later, Browning) wrote "The African," the first and longest of her poems about slavery, when she was in her early teens. The narrative poem, which remained unpublished until 2010, is based on an account shared with her by Richard Barrett, a family cousin and plantation owner in Jamaica. 

First page of "The African" manuscript.
First page of "The African" manuscript.
25 Dec 1831 to 5 Jan 1832

The Baptist War

Lasting from Christmas day in 1831 until its eventual suppression on January 5, 1832, the Great Jamaican Slave Revolt was led by Black Baptist preacher Sam Sharpe. The uprising began as a strike centered on demands for increased wages but became violent on December 27th with the burning of the Kensington Estate in Montego Bay. Despite a crucial victory early on due to stockpiled weapons and ammunition, the enslaved workers' cause was weakened when martial law was enacted on December 31st, and the forces surrendered entirely by January 5th. The uprising became one of the largest in the West Indies, involving nearly 60,000 members (or 20%) of the island's enslaved population. By the end of the fight, rebel forces had set fire to over 100 properties. There were no deaths on the side of the colonial military and over 500 on that of the enslaved Jamaicans--207 killed during the revolt and another 310 to 340, including Sharpe, executed afterward. Despite the defeat of the enslaved population, the revolt played a crucial role in furthering abolitionist causes across the British Empire, as seen in the passage of the Slavery Abolition Act in August of the following year.

 Adolphe Duperly, The Destruction of Roehampton Estate. 1832 Adolphe Duperly, The Destruction of Roehampton Estate. 1832