The Anguillian public is responding very well to the latest publication by Historian and Curator of Heritage Collection Museum, Mr. Colville L. Petty, OBE.
The publication, A Handbook History of Anguilla, was launched on October 12, 2015, at the Rodney MacArthur Rey Auditorium, and was celebrated by a series of cultural, musical performances. The performers were the Mayoumba Folkloric Theatre; the Brass Band of the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School; From Within Dance; Ms. Natalie Richardson, a rising young singer; and Mr. Alexis Ryan, an emerging poet.
A substantial number of copies were purchased on the spot by a various persons among the large and appreciative audience. Since then, further sales are continuing to be recorded at the current two outlets: The Anguillian newspaper’s office and the Anguilla Drugstore. The price of the 224-page book is US$25.00.
Speaking about his literary work during the launch ceremony, Mr. Petty told the audience it was the second edition of A Handbook History of Anguilla which he first published some 24 years ago.
The author went on: “Despite its small size and other shortcomings, the first edition was well sought after by Anguillians in search of a better understanding of their history. And every now and then parents would pass by my museum seeking copies. When I tell them the book is out of print they would ask: why not reprint – our children need it.
“This second edition, therefore, is primarily the result of persistent demands, over the past several years, from a wide cross-section of Anguillian people – parents, teachers, students and professionals – for new updated and easily accessible historical data.
“This second edition of the Handbook, to quote from its preface, ‘is, in effect, a major upgrading of the first in two principal respects. Firstly, it contains vast amounts of new historical material reflective of further research resulting from my undertaking of weeks of intense work at the National Archives at Kew Gardens, London, in 2011. Secondly, while the first edition dealt with the history of Anguilla from colonization to the closing years of the twentieth century, this second edition covers a broader time-span beginning with the island’s settlement by the Amerindians and ending just beyond the first decade of the twenty-first century’ – ending at June 2015.
“This second edition of the Handbook is, like the first, a chronological account of political, economic and social phenomena in Anguilla in the form of brief notes. It records every major, and not so major, event throughout our island’s history.”
Mr. Petty emphasised the importance and value of his book as follows: “Indeed, this Handbook is definitely an invaluable storehouse of both historical and contemporary information about Anguilla. Honestly speaking, as a father and grandfather, and as a former teacher both in the primary and secondary school, no schoolchild – no young Anguillian in particular – should be without this book. It is a goldmine of Anguilla’s history – which is easily readable – and our young people, as well as our adults, would be intellectually richer having a copy in their possession.”
The book was critiqued by Graduate Teacher at the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School, Mrs. Rita Celestine Carty. She stated among other matters: “It is important to see A Handbook History of Anguilla as a resource to turn to when we need to find ourselves, as a way to preserve our past and as a means of speaking to the future.
“Therein lies the import of A Handbook History of Anguilla. It offers us ourselves and it offers us to generations to come. It is our story – without which we are little more than nothing. It is indisputable that words in print maintain our existence when we expire. Indeed, works like those produced by Mr. Petty need to be complemented by studies and works of art that document and preserve the experience of the Anguillian people as they march ever on. Others must follow in his mission to tell our story.”
Mr. Petty is grateful to all persons – adults, schoolchildren and other young people – for their kind response to A Handbook History of Anguilla and for adding it to their collection of important reading and educational material.
