In late 1751, at the age of 19, George Washington made his only lifetime trip outside of the continental colonies. He accompanied his older brother Lawrence, who sought relief for his tuberculosis in the climate of Barbados. The choice of this Caribbean island was not fortuitous.
Barbados was a major British sugar and slave colony and its capital, Bridgetown, was one of the most important port cities in British America. The island’s pleasant climate was well known, strong commercial ties had existed between Virginia and Barbados for many years, and the Washingtons had family connections on the island. During their seven week visit, the brothers had a busy social life, regularly dining with members of the planter class and the white elite.
It was at a dinner party, where smallpox was present in the host’s family, that George Washington probably contracted the disease, a regular presence in Barbados for much of the 18th century. Although he recovered and acquired lifetime immunity, Washington’s experience in Barbados left an enduring legacy, not only with the pockmarks on his face, but also his sensitivity to the dangers that smallpox posed to his vulnerable Continental army during the American Revolution.
For Further Reading:
Donald Jackson and Dorothy Twohig, eds. The Diaries of George Washington. Vol. 1 (Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1976)
John C. Fitzpatrick, The Diaries of George Washington, 1748-1799. Vol. 1 (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1925)
This Vignette Provided By
Jerome S. Handler, VFH Senior Scholar
