Reading to Barbados and Back

Robert Haynes, born in 1769 and heir to a large sugar plantation, was destined to become an important public figure in early-nineteenth-century Barbados, rising to Lieutenant-General of Militia (the 'General') and later the Speaker of the House of Assembly. He took great pride in his family origins, believing himself to be descended from a Berkshire family traceable back to the time of Henry VIII, and wrote it all down in his 'notes', first published in 1910. This book examines every claim made by the General and reconstructs his family history from the early sixteenth century into the seventeenth, their departure for Barbados and their emergence as notable sugar planters (and slave owners), and as members of the legislature in the eighteenth and nineteenth. It is a warts-and-all narrative, taking us behind the scenes for a glimpse of the working of the Elizabethan royal household, where three Haynes brothers were employed, two being dismissed for dishonesty and the other narrowly escaping being embroiled in a Catholic conspiracy. On Barbados the family survived volcanic eruptions, devastating hurricanes and tornadoes and the slave rebellion of 1816. At least one family member was a notable pirate.