For many generations, Anegadians survived by fishing, raising animals and planting crops. The land outside of the Settlement, where people lived, was divided by stone walls about four feet high. The walls separated animal grazing areas from fields where crops such as corn, cotton, potatoes and bananas were grown. The goats and cattle, although capable of breaching the walls, were trained over generations not to. Docile easy-to-train animals were bred by sending those that proved difficult on a speedy trip to the dinner table.

Anegadians claim that Queen Victoria bequeathed all Anegada land to the residents of Anegada in the nineteenth century. This claim was tacitly recognized by the British Crown with the issuing of an ordinance in 1885 granting land to those who would have their property boundaries surveyed and registered. For one reason or another, no Anegadian ever followed through with this program, and land ownership on the island remained an unsettled issue until 1961 when a new ordinance defined the residential area known as the Settlement and identified other land to be used for communal animal grazing and agricultural cultivation. These lands accounted for 1,500 of Anegada’s 9,500 total acres. The remaining 8,000 acres were to be held in trust for Anegadians and could be leased but not sold.

In 1967, a Canadian developer, Kenneth Bates, described by the British press as “a man with the Midas touch,” presented the government of the BVI with his plans for the development of Anegada and Wickham’s Cay. He somehow was then awarded the lease to those 8,000 acres.

Part of the Bates master plan for Anegada and the BVI was to create the airport and service it with roads. The airport was located in the heart of the walled plantation area. The lands were cleared and many of the walls were knocked down, often in strategic places such as the walled off paths that led the animals back to the Settlement at night after being left to graze during the day. Animals and crops were neglected by the men of Anegada who found working on the Bates project to be more economically rewarding.

In 1971, the BVI government citing conditions in the Bates agreement that could be regarded as unfair in national terms, purchased Bates’ corporation and the plan came to an end. Meanwhile, the balanced pattern of animal husbandry and crop cultivation practiced in Anegada for almost 200 years was broken. Neglected by the farmers, the cattle learned to climb over what was left of the walls and the remaining crops were destroyed. The continued unrestricted grazing has led to such serious erosion that much of Anegada is now bare rock.

Life on the small island changed dramatically. Shortly after the demise of the Bates plan, nearly 40 % of the residents left Anegada. Now the only cultivation you see on Anegada is at the government Agricultural Station and on small home gardens.

The airport on this tiny island was named after Captain Auguste George. His daughter, Anegada-born Gracita Faulkner, earned international fame and appeared in leading roles in “La Traviata” and “Faust” for the American Opera Guild.