"Landship", Citizenship, Entrepreneurship and the Ship of State in Barbados: Developing a Heritage Consciousness in a Postcolonial State

This essay explores the politics of the heritage industry in Barbados and the ongoing role heritage practices play in the lives of community members. I examine the Barbadian tradition called Landship to highlight tensions between vernacular forms targeted as key elements in state sponsored tourism development strategies and the role such forms continue to play in the lives of community members. I conclude that the ongoing commercial and ideological potential of traditional practices that attracts state involvement may provide unintended yet uneven benefits to the community itself.