Betty's Hope Historic Sugar Plantation
Betty's Hope is a sugar plantation site where one of the two sugar mill towers, complete with sails, has been fully restored. This heritage property is definitely worth a visit, with a modest interpretation center and interpretive markers across the estate. Betty's Hope was one of the first sugar plantations, established in 1651.
Betty's Hope, like other large estates, was an agricultural and industrial complex that housed a huge number of people. Hundreds of individuals of African heritage lived out their lives on these and similar plantations, first as slaves, then as laborers following their emancipation in 1834, under the supervision of a few of European administrators. They gained remarkable talents as craftsmen, boilers, and distillers as a result of the hardships of harvesting and refining sugar under grueling conditions. Betty's Hope residents were extremely adept, and the Estate's reputation for brilliance endured to this day.
Betty's Hope has played an important role in Antigua and Barbuda history and has influenced the lives of many generations of Antiguans. Today, around 112 sugar mill towers dot the countryside of this independent nation, reminding people of the days of enslavement under King Sugar. The Interpretation Centre displays a map of the remaining mills.
- Google Rating: 4.1/5
- Website: N/A
- Phone: +1 269-462-1469
- Opening Hours: Daily, Interpretive Center - Mon to Sat 9:00 to 16:00
- Address: 37J3+9PW, Pares, Antigua and Barbuda
