History of Castle Bruce

re not working on the estates had to move and find land for themselves. The place where they used to live down by the bay on estate lands was known as 'Kai Neg'. It is now part of a village extension housing scheme and the old name is not in use. In the 1830s a new group of people of African origin came to Castle Bruce. In 1837 and at other times around those years, ships carrying enslaved West Africans across the Atlantic Ocean and destined for colonies and states where slavery had not yet been abolished, were captured by the British Royal Navy. The slaves on board were disembarked on the islands including Dominica and were liberated. Some of these free Africans settled in castle Bruce. Other areas where these persons were set free included Soufriere, Woodford Hill, Portsmouth and St.Joseph.

In the 18th century Joseph Senhouse owned land on the northern borders of Castle Bruce and that part of the new free village became called Senhouse. Other names such as Jalousie were given to different parts of the village as it grew up the hillsides. Life in the village was very simple. There was no electricity, piped water, telephones or motorable roads and everyone had to walk if they wanted to get to Roseau or go north through the Carib territory. The most direct way was to walk on a track through the forest past the Emerald Pool and then to Pont Casse and so to town. Otherwise people walked to Rosalie via St.Sauveur and over the Lake Road and then past Laudat. Some people who had a lot of produce to carry took a canoe all the way around the south of the island, but this could be dangerous. It was a life of self-help, Koudemain, when everyone helped each other. The entertainment was in the form of traditional dances such as Bele, Quadrilles, Flirtations and Lancers and with storytelling, 'contes' and 'tim-tim" tales.

20th century Castle Bruce

By the late 19th century