Olutoye Walrond

Westminster's Jewel Olutoye Walrond

WESTMINSTER'S JEWEL, is a rare exposé on the history and evolution of Barbadian society, that will captivate both Barbadians (and other Caribbeans) and citizens of the United Kingdom unfamiliar with the history of British colonialism in the Caribbean. The book is an interesting mix of narrative and poetry, done in the author's own elegant - at times caustic style. It presents the Barbados story in an easy, non-academic fashion - from the arrival of the British in 1627 to the present; and offers critical - sometimes biting - commentary on current social norms. In recent times there's been a proliferation in book production by Barbadian writers. These have been largely academic works or narratives about events or personalities in modern Barbadian society. WESTMINSTER'S JEWEL is one of the few books that combines local history (in easy reading style) with critical commentary and poetry to tell the story of Barbados from the inception to the present. The Barbadian will discover things about his society he hadn't noticed before; the non-Barbadian will learn about the sordid history of enslavement and colonialism and its legacy on the island. From a "jewel" in the imperial crown, Barbados, today, is a struggling economy, dependent on tourism and an ever-declining sugar industry. The jewel has lost its sparkle, even as the sun has set on the Empire. The ravages of slavery and colonialism are never far from the eye. But the history of slavery and colonialism has not only left an economic legacy, it has also left a major psychological legacy as well: a people with a woeful lack of self-confidence - who live in the shadows of those who once dominated their lives. Westminster's Jewel seeks to tell that story - the story of Barbados from settlement by the British in 1627 up to the present To the Barbadian it'll be an almost unprecedented eye-opener to local history, and a rude awakening to some of the negative features taken for granted about the society. To the British and non-Caribbean reader it might be a shocking revelation about the true nature of British enslavement and colonization in the Caribbean.