Fresh information released in Garifuna prisoners of war exhibition

While most Vincentians know that approximately 5000 Garifuna and Kalinago people were rounded up and forcibly exiled by the British to Balliceaux in 1796, many do not know that 416 Garifuna were taken to Portchester Castle in the United Kingdom (UK).

The 416 were part of a group of roughly 2512 prisoners from St. Lucia and other parts of the region (which included over 2000 black and mixed-race soldiers), who were captured during the French Revolutionary Wars in the Caribbean, and transported across the Atlantic.

This piece of history was brought to the public’s attention at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Global Campus in Richmond on Friday, July 31, 2026 thanks to a two-day exhibition organised by Dr. Andrew Simmons and dubbed “The Exhibition of History, Heritage and Memory: Garifuna Prisoners of War”.

The event was two-fold as it also saw the launch of climate change publications by Dr. Simmons, a climate change practitioner and expert.

Addressing the gathering at the launch Dr. Simmons thanked educators from the University of Warwick and the St. Vincent and the Grenadines 2nd Generation (SVG2G) for helping to bring this piece of history to SVG.

Some of the people instrumental in uncovering this information include historian Dr. Abigail Coppins, Jacqueline Roberts, and Professor Katherine Astbury.

“The work that the SVG2G is doing is significant…they were able to…produce these documents and take them and put them in six panels, so that we in St Vincent [and the Grenadines] can experience these things…,” Dr. Simmons said, while noting that the researchers stumbled upon the piece of history.

“…one of them, I think, Abigail…she wanted a topic to do her PhD under the supervision of Professor Kate…and they found this information, and so I want to just to pay tribute to them…,” Dr. Simmons stressed.

“…from the records that were developed or extracted from our colleagues from Warwick University, we knew that 2500 prisoners of war were transported to Portchester Castle in Hampshire in 1796, after the surrender to the British in Saint Lucia, St Vincent, and Grenada.

“We also knew that some of them were Black indigenous people and persons of mixed heritage. It was a combined force of free people, including former enslaved people born in Africa, French revolutionaries, indigenous men, women, and children who fought against the British for their freedom,” Dr. Simmons pointed out.

He said that on arrival at Portchester Castle, officials registered their names to facilitate their exchange for British prisoners of war held in France.

“After the death of Chatoyer in 1795, the Garifuna French coalition were unable to sustain the attack from the British and surrendered in 1796…

“Researchers were also of the view that the surrender of the coalition forces made it easy for the British to exile the Garifuna people to Balliceaux and Battowia, and then to Belize and other countries in Central America,” Dr Simmons told those in attendance.

“The Garifuna fighters, in their own right, were revolutionaries. They were skilled in guerrilla warfare. They were also clever negotiators, persuading the British to treat them as prisoners of war, granting them the same rights and privileges that were given to the French. To me…this is a really serious accomplishment. They negotiated for such rights, and to me, this is the part that is very interesting. For such rights, not just to give to them, but to give them to their men, to their women and children…

“The researchers took time to cross-reference the British and the French records about the prisoners of war, and the reflection from this data enables researchers to provide an understanding of the inter-island co-operation in their struggle against colonialism…” Dr. Simmons pointed out.

He said that it was not just Garifuna people fighting the British, but people as far away as Puerto Rico to Venezuela and some Latin American countries, including Haiti.

“They were in St Vincent fighting, and…this gave us an idea in terms of the leadership of Chatoyer so this is something that we should consider, you know, because to be able to mobilize forces from across the Caribbean, from the Americas right down from North America right down to South America, to me, that is something that is a feat that we really need to do a bit more research in,” Dr. Simmons opined.

He also noted that the journey from St Vincent across the Atlantic to the UK was a treacherous one, so hundreds of the prisoners became victims of the cold winter and diseases during the crossing.

“Records showed they faced harsh conditions such as frictions with other European prisoners. Remember, they were predominantly black and people of mixed race…they were also denied the opportunity for parole before the process for release or exchange…”.

The dual event was sponsored by ACADO and also saw Dr. Simmons launching, “Impacts of Climate Change on Youth in Small Island Communities”, “Climate Change Adaptation Framework and Youth Entrepreneurship in West Africa”, and “Building Institutions for Resilience: Combating Climate Change” (Andrew Simmons and Andree-Ann Simmons (2023).

The launch event also heard addresses from Governor General Sir Stanley John (KC), Chief Executive Officer (CEO) ACADO (formerly Coreas Distribution Limited) Jimmie Forde, historian Dr. Adrian Fraser (Historical Relevance of the Exhibition), Minister of Youth, Sports, Culture and Creative Industries Kaschaka Cupid, and Director of Culture Maxine Browne among others.

The event was initiated by the Ministry of Youth, Sports, Culture, and Creative Industries and the JEMS Progressive Community Organization (JEMS Environmental Management Services).