Dr Rita Pemberton

Nestled between Culloden Bay and the villages of Seaview, Mt Thomas and Golden Lane, the village of Culloden was one of four communities which developed after Emancipation on land previously part of the Culloden estate. Culloden developed on a track which veered off the main road between the other three settlements.

This village presents an unusual weave of history which is reflected in its place names and the practices of its inhabitants.

The Scottish-owned estate was named after a village in Scotland and reflects the prevalence of Scottish estate owners in Tobago during the British establishment of plantations after 1763.

This Scottish district featured in the wars for the British, and was the scene of Jacobite (a radical French-supported group) attempt by James Edward Stuart to obtain the throne of England, Ireland and Scotland for the exiled Stuart dynasty in 1715.

The area called Killiecrankie is a very steep, uninhabited area in Old Culloden, between Culloden and Arnos Vale, named after a district in Scotland with similarly rugged terrain which was also the scene of a brutal battle of the Jacobins in 1689.

The name hints at the plantation owner's loyalties and helps to explain the heavy Scottish presence among plantation owners in Tobago: it was the practice for those defeated in the wars to be sent to the colonies, where they could pose no further threat to the British royal family.

This village possesses some very interesting place names. There is a Majuba Hill, reminiscent of the disastrous British defeat in the 1881 first Boer War in South Africa, and Coco Gully carries the African name for the calabash, in an area where the plant is prolific. Sandy Hill is believed by some to be named after the enslaved man who led the quest for freedom at Courland and other estates in November 1770.

The prominence of female street names in the village is also very striking. The entry to Culloden is at Salt Fish Junction, which leads to Sandy Hill Road. Along this road are several street markers unofficially named by the villagers after the women of the area, who were usually at home during the day, when the menfolk attended their gardens. The first street marker is Belle Allen Street, which leads to Christiana Hill, Alphosene Flat, up Katie Hill, Audrey and Winne Hill, Evena Flat and Belle Hamlet.

At the end of the village is the lone street with a male name. Smith Hill was named after the man who worked his garden at the end of the road to Culloden Bay.

Also named after women are the areas which were used to carry out traditional funerary practices. Ma Lucy Bay, on one side, and Washer Woman Bay, on the other end of Culloden Bay, were used for washing in the deathbed rites. At a distance from Washer Woman was Pickaree Bank Hill, an area known to be the home of the wild pig (peccary).

One interesting geographical feature of Culloden is an area where, during low tide, the retreating sea leaves a number of small ponds called Peas Grain, at Culloden Point. These ponds