Great Thatch ruin

Great Thatch ruin is a ruin on Great Thatch island in the British Virgin Islands. The ruin probably dates from the sugar plantation era, but may be earlier. It was presumed abandoned during the economic collapse of the British Virgin Islands during the mid-1800s, when many plantations were abandoned. The ruin covers a significant estate, and is an indicator of some wealth. Because of its close proximity to the Danish Antilles next door (the modern day United States Virgin Islands), the inhabitants of the island were under long suspicion of smuggling by the British authorities. For many years, the island boasted its own customs house and post office, due to its proximity to Charlotte Amalie, but these were not manned at night.

It is not clear when the ruin was finally fully abandoned, although bottles found on the site from the Portobello bottle company in Edinburgh, Scotland suggest that it may have been as late as 1907. The cistern on the site does not exhibit the same level of deterioration as similar parts of ruins in the Territory which are known to have been abandoned during the 1850s.

The island itself was the site of significant act of civil disobedience in the year 1856 (three years' after the British community of the British Virgin Islands had largely fled during the insurrection of 1853). On 24 November 1856 the sub-Treasurer of Tortola sought to seize a boat belonging to an inhabitant of Thatch Island (as it was then known) for trading without a licence. He was assaulted and his crew badly beaten. Two days later a force of four constables was dispatched to arrest the offenders, but upon their landing they were obstructed by a crowd of 40 to 50 people. They persisted in making the arrest, and were also severely beaten. The following day, a force of some 30 men, principally rural constables, 12 of whom were armed, landed on the island to quell the insubordination and apprehend the perpetrators of the violence. In the event, it was only the intervention of Wesleyan missionaries who were influential amongst the inhabitants which enabled arrests to be made without further violence. Isaac Dookhan cites this as an example of the general spirit of unrest which prevailed in the the Territory during the 1850s. [See generally, Isaac Dookhan, "A History of the British Virgin Islands", ISBN 0-85935-027-4, at pages 150-151]

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