The great mystic Neville Goddard was born into poverty on the island of Barbados in 1905.

Neville was one of ten children, and his family owned a grocery store. He mentioned his youth on the island from time to time, and I always had trouble picturing it.

A little about the island: Barbados population is 92% black. English is the official language on the island but many people speak an English-based creole language. Nearly half the population of the island lives in the capital city of Bridgetown. The weather is generally warm and sunny with an average temperature of 86°.

It’s difficult to find pictures of Barbados from the turn of the century. These are the first I’ve seen.

The pictures in this post, except for the portrait of Neville, are all from the Caribbean Archive and are all titled Street Scene, Bridgetown, Barbados. They were taken in 1906, the year after Neville was born.

There’s a dreaminess to these photographs. Many women carry baskets filled with fruit on their heads. You have to have great posture to balance a basket on your head. I suppose nearly everyone is wearing all white clothing to keep as cool as they could.

I saved the most interesting picture for last. Do you feel the tension? I wonder what was going on. The man and woman on the left seem to be of a higher class than the couple on the right. I’m not actually sure the two on the left are a couple but the man and woman on the right are. They’re obviously working people. The man is carrying tools and the woman seems to be holding him protectively.