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Saint Vincent and the Garifuna

Historical period

⚠ THE ORIGIN POINT OF A PEOPLE WHO NOW LIVE SOMEWHERE ELSE. Africans who escaped or were shipwrecked joined the Kalinago of Saint Vincent from the seventeenth century, and their descendants — the GARIFUNA, called Black Caribs by the British — became the island’s dominant population, fighting the CARIB WARS and killing the British governor’s forces repeatedly. After the Second Carib War and the death of Chief CHATOYER in 1795, the British deported around 5,000 Garifuna to Roatán off Honduras in 1797; roughly half died in the interim confinement on Balliceaux. The survivors spread along the Central American coast — HONDURAS, BELIZE, GUATEMALA, NICARAGUA — where Garifuna language, music and food persist and are UNESCO-inscribed. ⚠ GARIFUNA FOODWAYS ARE A ROOT IN THIS CORPUS AND ARE NOT FILED UNDER SAINT VINCENT. Saint Vincent is their origin, not their owner, and modern Central American Garifuna cuisine is not Vincentian cuisine.

Atlas — where and when

Where in the world

Communities and languages

  • Garifuna community documented
  • Kalinago community documented

Languages: Garifuna, Island Carib

What is recorded

  • Africans who escaped or were shipwrecked joined the Kalinago population of Saint Vincent from the seventeenth century, their descendants becoming the Garifuna, known to the British as Black Caribs. Following the Second Carib War and the death of Chief Chatoyer in 1795, the British deported approximately 5,000 Garifuna to Roatán in 1797; roughly half died during confinement on Balliceaux beforehand. Survivors established communities along the Central American coast in Honduras, Belize, Guatemala and Nicaragua, where Garifuna language, dance and music are UNESCO-inscribed. Garifuna foodways are recorded as a root entity and are not filed under Saint Vincent; modern Central American Garifuna cuisine is not recorded as Vincentian cuisine. documented
  • The Second Carib War and the death of Chief Chatoyer; the British then deport around 5,000 Garifuna to Roatán, roughly half having died in confinement on Balliceaux. documented

Related foodways

This foodway relates to

  • originates from Garifuna Foodways documented

    ⚠ THE DIRECTION MATTERS. Saint Vincent is where the Garifuna formed and from which they were deported in 1797. Garifuna foodways are a ROOT in this corpus and are NOT filed under Saint Vincent: modern Central American Garifuna cuisine is its own tradition, not Vincentian cuisine.

  • related to Indigenous Caribbean Foodways — a note documented

    The Garifuna formed from Kalinago and African populations on Saint Vincent.

Recorded as relating to this foodway

Recipes

No recipes are filed under this cuisine yet.