1773 Carib War medal. Cast silver, 55.2 mm, 69.4 mm including integral loop. Betts-529. Medal Yearbook-72, British Battles and Medals-19. Choice About Uncirculated.

1149.5 grains. An example of very fine quality, with lustrous surface and attractive toning on the chased surfaces. Granular at a microscopic level, as made, and with some evidence of the filing and chasing that the medalist performed once this cast medal left its mould. Details are sharply rendered, the portrait is in high relief, and the added rim is well formed and joined. This medal was issued locally in the West Indies, on the island of St. Vincent, to troops engaged in putting down an uprising of the native / creole Caribs in late 1772 and early 1773. The medal was authorized by the Legislative Assembly of the Island of St. Vincent, making this a true West Indian medal rather than an English one. Its production method - cast, not struck - underscores this distinction. The Carib War engaged the native Caribs, a creole population of indigenous and African descent, against the English in a classic battle between colonizers and the colonized. The population of Saint Vincent exploded after the island's 1762 conquest in the Seven Years (French and Indian) War, and the new arrivals all expected to find land to establish sugar plantations. Their entitlement forced English authorities into traditionally native lands, and the natives fought back. Five months of guerrilla warfare against superior numbers of better outfitted troops ended with a treaty and a promise of "firm and lasting peace and friendship." These words, for those who know the history of North American Anglo-native relations, or the medals attendant to them, may sound familiar. Offered with a modern red ribbon.

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From the Gem Collection. Earlier from our (Stack's) sale of the John J. Ford, Jr. Collection, Part XIV, May 2006, lot 304.