Lashmar takes deep dive into Drax family in latest book

Dr Paul Lashmar’s latest book Drax Hall takes a deep dive into the history of Barbadian plantation owner James Drax, his role in reshaping the labour force model and his resulting fortune. Author of Drax Hall Dr Paul Lashmar Speaking to Barbados TODAY, Lashmar, an investigative journalist revealed that work on the book took six years to complete, and was driven by a desire to take a closer look at Richard Drax, a former Member of Parliament and one of the wealthiest politicians. “To cut a long story short, because of Black Lives Matter I was driving past where he lives, which is a large estate, and I just got curious because I’ve never seen anything much written about him, and that was in June 2020. “I started off just trying to assess his wealth and how much land and property he owned and then about three months into my research, somebody suggested that his family was connected with a plantation in Barbados. Little did I know how significant that was at that time,” he stated. Lashmar joined up with former journalist Johnathan Smith and they wrote an article after discovering that Richard Drax was the sole beneficiary of Drax Hall plantation, which garnered attention not only in the United Kingdom, but also in several other countries interested in issues relating to enslavement and reparations, including Barbados. Drax Hall holds a significant place in Barbados’ history as one of the first plantations to grow sugar commercially and where chattel slavery, one of the most brutal forms, was first implemented. The Drax family has continuously owned the property for over 400 years, a story that Lashmar felt needed to be told. “I started looking at the family and it just became clear to me this was a book that had to be written as no one else had.  “The history of the family, its relationship with enslavement, chattel slavery, and the sugar industry, and what all that means, because it wasn’t just the first Drax to arrive on the island in 1627 who became Sir James Drax, but for instance, his son Henry is very famous because he wrote the manual that is now notorious, describing how one should run a plantation that’s worked by enslaved people. That document still exists,” Lashmar said. “So that’s another example of how closely linked the Drax family have been with slavery. And then, about 100 years later, another member of the family, called Edward Earl Drax, who also owned both Drax Hall and the estate in Britain, wrote a new version of how to run a plantation, and that’s kept in the Barbados museum.  “As a journalist, I just thought this is an extraordinary story, very historically important, and I had to write it. So I did, and it’s been published,” he added. The book, launched in Barbados last week at the Barbados Museum and Historical Society, has been well-received both locally and in the UK, especially by those actively involved in the fight for reparations.  Ambassador to CARICOM David Comissiong was presented with a copy of Drax Hall by author Dr Paul Lashmar. (GP) While Lashmar made it clear that he did not see it as his place to dictate a course of action, he urged that those with a legacy in slavery must be given the opportunity to outline what they believe constitutes appropriate reparations.   (JB) The post Lashmar takes deep dive into Drax family in latest book appeared first on Barbados Today.