When one thinks of Anguilla, several images come to mind. The flat, almost barren, landscape that gives way to a stunningly beautiful coastline, the friendly people, the lazy days and star-filled nights. Seldom do we look beyond this outer layer. But the real beauty of Anguilla lies beyond its typically tropical exterior. It can only be experienced if we take the time to discover the spirit of Anguilla. Then we will find a rich, diverse and colourful history that is the heart of this island and the pulse of its people.
We begin our search for the spirit of Anguilla by winding our way to the village of East End. There, nestled opposite the East End Pond, which has a history all its own, we find Heritage Collection, a private museum that takes us on a sojourn to an Anguilla we will not find on the beach, or in a brochure or a travel magazine. At Heritage Collection, we will find the true Anguilla that many are yet to unravel. Guided by the museum’s curator, Mr Colville Petty OBE, one of Anguilla’s leading historians and writers, Anguilla slowly and engrossingly reveals itself to us.
Through the impressive array of artifacts at Heritage Collection, we learn that our love for Anguilla is not unexplained, but the result of an indescribable force that keeps drawing us back to its shores — no matter how far away we go. It is this same force that, over four thousand years ago, brought the Arawaks, an Amerindian people from the Orinoco region of South America, to this thirty-five square mile island where they established some forty villages and made a living from its shallow soil.
At Heritage Collection, we discover that the heart of Anguilla is its people’s history of perseverance. This is evidenced in the museum’s documentation of Anguilla’s settlement by the British in 1650 whose cash crop, sugar, led to the mass importation of Africans as slaves. In spite of the inhumane conditions of the plantations, these slaves persevered and eventually became landowners — a feat not realised by many slaves in the other Caribbean islands. The museum also showcases this persevering spirit in its documentation of the desire of the Anguilla populace to remain on Anguilla, in the face of plans to depopulate it because of the difficulty of sustaining a livelihood on the island. It showcases the ability of Anguillians to endure and rebuild after several natural disasters, including drought and hurricanes, which devastated the island, its people and its limited natural resources.
The pulse of Anguilla beats at Heritage Collection where, through various displays, we are transported into the minds of Anguillian people. There we encounter the innovativeness of Anguillians who, because of the island’s limited land mass and natural resources, took to the sea and became expert seafarers and boat-builders. We encounter the resourcefulness of Anguillians who exploited the salt ponds and developed a thriving salt industry; and who fashioned and built various household items because the commercial variety was either unavailable or unaffordable.
Heritage Collection is the door to the soul of Anguilla which is the determination of its people. The museum details the most celebrated turning point in Anguilla’s history — the 1967 Anguilla Revolution — which saw the uprising of an entire nation in search of self-determination and a better life. This Revolution resulted in the birth of several unlikely leaders who are and will be lauded by Anguillians, past, present and future, as national heroes.
These aspects of the true Anguilla and many more can be experienced through the exhibits at Heritage Collection. The museum is the gateway that allows us to step back in time and retrace the footsteps of the many inhabitants of Anguilla from Before Christ to the present. It is here that we find the spirit of Anguilla; the spirit that beckons us to its shores time and time again; the spirit that brightens the smiles of all Anguillians; the spirit that causes us to remain here “in spite of the hardships” and makes us all call Anguilla “home”.
Come home to Anguilla at Heritage Collection, where the spirit of Anguilla comes to life.
Heritage Collection
Pond Site, East End, Anguilla
Cell.no: 1 264 235 7440 or 1 264 497 4092
Open Monday to Friday: 10:00 am to 4:00 pm.
