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| Caribbean Archive Network | |
|---|---|
| Name | Caribbean Archive Network |
| Formation | 2000s |
| Type | Archival consortium |
| Headquarters | Port of Spain |
| Region served | Caribbean |
Caribbean Archive Network
The Caribbean Archive Network is a regional archival consortium dedicated to collecting, preserving, and providing access to documentary heritage from the Caribbean basin. It operates across islands including Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Barbados, Bahamas, Grenada and Haiti, and engages with institutions such as the University of the West Indies, the National Archives of Jamaica, the Barbados National Archives, the National Archives of Trinidad and Tobago, and the British Library to support research on figures like Marcus Garvey, Frantz Fanon, Aimé Césaire, V.S. Naipaul, and events including the Haitian Revolution, the Morant Bay Rebellion, and the Federation of the West Indies.
The Network emerged in response to archival needs highlighted by scholars at University College London and practitioners at the International Council on Archives after disasters affecting collections such as the damage to holdings after Hurricane Gilbert and the destruction linked to the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Early collaborators included the Caribbean Studies Association, the Institute of Jamaica, the West Indian Commission, and heritage advocates connected to sites like Nelson's Dockyard and Port Royal, Jamaica. Key founding meetings involved representatives from the Commonwealth Foundation, the Caribbean Community, the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States, and the Caribbean Cultural Centre in New York. The Network’s chronology intersects with initiatives led by figures and entities including Edward Kamau Brathwaite, C.L.R. James, Derek Walcott, Caribbean Development Bank, and the UNESCO Memory of the World Programme.
The stated aims align with partners such as the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the Caribbean Cultural Heritage Network, and the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions to safeguard records relating to migrations like the Indentured labour movements involving India–Caribbean relations and the Transatlantic slave trade. Activities encompass cataloguing projects with institutions like the British Museum, training workshops with the American Library Association, conservation campaigns modeled after protocols from the National Archives and Records Administration and the Society of American Archivists, and outreach with cultural festivals such as Crop Over, Caribbean Carnival, Notting Hill Carnival and commemorations like Emancipation Day (Bahamas).
Holdings span manuscripts, maps, oral histories, newspapers, photographs, and audiovisual material tied to personalities and entities including Alexander Bustamante, Norman Manley, Eric Williams, Cheddi Jagan, Derek Walcott, Edwidge Danticat, Celia Cruz, Bob Marley, Hugo Chavez (regional diplomacy), Evelyn Waugh (Caribbean travel writing), and corporate records from companies such as the East India Company and estates tied to plantations in Barbados, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, and Saint Lucia. Collections feature periodicals like the West Indian Gazette, the Daily Gleaner, the Trinidad Express, and legal records including documentation from the Privy Council and treaties such as the Treaty of Amiens insofar as they affected Caribbean territories. Archived oral testimonies reference migrations to metropolitan cities including London, Miami, New York City, and Toronto.
The Network’s digitization programs mirror partnerships with platforms such as the Digital Public Library of America, Europeana, HathiTrust, and projects inspired by the British Library's Endangered Archives Programme. Digitized materials highlight movements like Pan-Africanism, debates at the West Indies Federation convention, and cultural productions linked to festivals at St. Lucia Jazz Festival. Access systems integrate metadata standards promoted by the International Council on Archives and the Dublin Core Metadata Initiative, and employ preservation workflows akin to those used by the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian Institution to manage collections including photographs of Calypso Rose and recordings of Steelpan pioneers.
Governance draws on board membership models practiced by the Caribbean Development Bank, the University of the West Indies governance structures, and advisory input from bodies such as UNESCO, UNDP, and the European Union Caribbean programmes. Funding sources include grants and donor relationships with the Ford Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, as well as government contributions from ministries in Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Belize, and Antigua and Barbuda. Emergency recovery funds have been mobilized in response to storms like Hurricane Ivan and Hurricane Maria with assistance from Oxfam and the Red Cross.
Collaborative networks include academic alliances with the University of Havana, Pontifical Xavierian University, McGill University, Columbia University, University of Miami, and archives such as the National Archives of the United Kingdom, the Library and Archives Canada, and the New York Public Library. The Network works with heritage NGOs like the Caribbean Conservation Association, cultural institutions such as the National Gallery of Jamaica, film archives including the Caribbean Film Academy, and community groups active in towns such as Kingston, Jamaica, Port of Spain, Castries, Bridgetown, and Roseau. Collaborative digitization and research projects have been co-sponsored by the Prince Claus Fund, the Rockefeller Foundation, and regional bodies like the Caribbean Export Development Agency.
Scholars in fields represented by the Caribbean Studies Association, the Latin American Studies Association, and the Oral History Association cite the Network’s materials in studies of figures including Toussaint Louverture, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, Aimé Césaire and Stuart Hall. Cultural producers from Trinidad and Tobago to Cuba use holdings for exhibitions at institutions like the Museum of London Docklands and the Museum of the City of New York. The Network’s work has informed reparatory debates in forums such as the Caribbean Reparations Commission, contributed to heritage tourism initiatives tied to UNESCO World Heritage Sites like Brimstone Hill Fortress and Historic Bridgetown, and supported curricula at the University of the West Indies and the City University of New York.
Category:Archives in the Caribbean Category:Caribbean culture