Antigua's welcoming infrastructures for a naval presence, brought an extra measure of security to the island throughout its early years, when hostile foreign ships and pirates plied the surrounding waters. Straddling the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, about midway between the Leeward and Windward islands, Antigua is aptly referred to as The Heart of or The Gateway to the Caribbean.
Newport functioned successfully as a major trading and export center in earlier times with rum, candles, fish, furniture and silver being major exports. In addition to trade, Newport's history is rich with notable artists, writers, scientists, educators, architects, theologians, landscape designers and craftsman. Two well-known craftsmen in Newport's history, Townsend and Goddard, had strong Caribbean connections, importing mahogany from the West Indies to craft fine furniture.
Newport and Antigua each played a significant role in the Triangle Trade of the 18th & 19th centuries in which rum from New England was shipped to West Africa and traded for slaves, who were then shipped to the West Indies sugar islands to work the plantations. Molasses, a byproduct of sugar production, was in turn shipped to New England distilleries to produce yet more rum.
The sugar cane grown in Antigua was harvested and taken to large mills powered by the strong, steady Caribbean trade winds. Each mill could in a week grind about 200 tons of sugar cane to produce 5,500 gallons of syrup. The syrup was then boiled down to crystallization stage and the molasses drained off from the sugar crystals for use in rum production. While some of the molasses was distilled locally, the majority of it along with the sugar was exported.
During the 1700's and 1800's New England rum produced from West Indies molasses was considered the most desirable to be had, history recording that in 1761, Rhode Island had 22 distilleries and three sugar refineries. Indeed rum was a major factor in the subsequent industrialization of New England, as many of the profits were used to build textile mills and develop other manufacturing ventures.
Rhode Island outlawed slavery in 1774 and following the American Colonies independence from Britain, Parliament passed the Navigation Act of 1783 which prohibited American ships from trading with British Colonies and ended the Triangle Trade. Captain Horatio Nelson of the British frigate Boreas was charged with enforcing the Navigation Act. Slavery was finally abolished in Antigua in 1834 when King William IV issued a decree of full emancipation.
Newport's Old Stone Mill in Touro Park rather resembles the ruins of old sugar mills that today dot Antigua's landscape. Are they connected? Could Newport's stone mill actually have once been used in rum production? Wrought with speculation and controversy, this Newport landmark is believed by some to have been built by Vikings around the year 1000 A.D., yet others posit that it is merely the ruin of a windmill built by an early resident of Newport, Governor Arnold. But as with Stonehenge and Easter Island, the origins and purpose of Newport's Old Stone Mill remains an intriguing mystery.
During World War II Royal Navy Commander V.E.B. Nicholson purchased a 70 vintage 1903 schooner, Mollihawk. Following the war and his retirement, the Commander, with his wife and two sons, Desmond and Rodney, sailed Mollihawk from Ireland to the West Indies - arriving in Barbados on January 1, 1949. They meandered up the island chain, arriving in Antigua a month later, soon to settle in the village of English Harbour.
While refitting Mollihawk alongside at Nelson's Dockyard, the Commander and his sons were approached by a wealthy American from the newly established Mill Reef Club. He inquired if they might take him and his friends sailing down island. Thus began the official launch of the yacht charter industry in the Caribbean, and the humble start of the Nicholson legacy. Desmond & Rodney Nicholson both still live in Antigua with their families and both enjoy a visit to Newport whenever possible.