Over the years, some have disappeared, others are in ruins. A few, however, remain intact or have been restored in recognition of their historic value, and are open to visitors. Here's a sample:
JAMAICA
Though Rose Hall is perhaps the best-known great house in Jamaica, another nearby property -- Greenwood Great House -- is equally, if not more, impressive.
The Georgian-style home was the residence of the Barrett family of Wimpole St., London (Richard Barrett was a cousin of poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning). The Barretts had come to Jamaica in the 1660s and made a fortune with sugarcane plantations. By the mid-18th century, the family owned 33,000 hectares of land and 2,000 slaves.
The great house was built between 1780 and 1800, and mainly used for recreation and entertaining. It contains, according to a brochure, the "largest authentic antique collection in the Caribbean." The Jamaican government recognized its importance by declaring it a National Heritage Site.
Current owners Bob and Ann Betton live in the 15- room home, which they've opened up to the public as a museum. On display is the original Barrett family library containing books dating back to 1697, antique furniture, rare maps of Jamaica, family portraits, Wedgwood china made specially for the family, rare musical instruments, and a collection of coaches, which are housed in the stables.
From the verandah, with its stunning view of the sea, Bob Betton maintains you can see the curvature of the earth.
Greenwood is part way up a hill on a gravel road on the north coast, east of Montego Bay and open daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more, call Greenwood at 876-953-1077.
U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS
Sugarcane once covered almost every inch of arable land on St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands For more than two centuries, until the 1960s, enslaved and later free African American labourers toiled on these plantations. One of them, Whim Plantation, surveyed in 1733, has been restored and is one of the best places today to explore the remains of bygone days when sugar was king.
The main attraction of this National Historic Site is the elegant great house, built in 1760 at a time when Denmark owned St. Croix. The oval-shaped home, with walls nearly a metre-thick and 4-metre-high ceilings in its three interior rooms, was built of cut brain coral, limestone and rubble bonded with a mortar containing molasses.
Most of the antiques on display were purchased from or donated by island families.
There are about 20 points of interest at the site including a stone mail box, cookhouse, domestic quarters, sugar grinding mills, garden, library and archives, and a watch house where someone guarded the crop from fires and theft, and kept a lookout for runaway slaves.
Whim Plantation is open Mondays to Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m (November through April) and Mon. to Fri. from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. (May through October). See stcroixlandmarks.com.
GRENADA
One of the highlights of a trip to Grenada is the chance to visit a working spice plantation, such as the historic Dougaldston Spice Estate.
Grenada is often called "the spice island" and most of the island's spices -- nutmeg, mace, cocoa, cloves, allspice -- are grown here. Just south of Gouyave in St. John, the site includes traditional clapboard buildings with tin-roofs.
At one time, 200 people were employed here, now only about a dozen remain.
Spices are still dried the traditional way on racks, which are wheeled under the building if it rains. A worker will gladly tell you about the spices and explain the process.
While in the area, check out the Gouyave Nutmeg Processing Co-operative. Here you can see all the stages of production including drying, grading, separating of the nutmeg and mace, and packing.
Dougaldston Spice Estate is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mon. to Fri., and 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sat. For more, see grenadagrenadines.com.
ANGUILLA
Notable as one of the island's oldest homes -- and reportedly the only surviving plantation house in Anguilla -- Wallblake Plantation House dates from 1787, a time when both sugar and cotton were produced here.
It's believed the home, with its spacious rooms, wooden roof and shuttered windows, was built by a planter named Will Blake (Wallblake is possibly a corruption of his name). The entire complex of buildings including the kitchen, stable and workers quarters have survived intact. It was fully restored in 2004.
The site is maintained by the Wallblake House Management Committee and used for special events. Tours are offered Mon., Wed. and Fri. from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. See wallblake.ai.
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