Dr. Karl Stewart Watson, the renowned Barbadian historian, archaeologist, university lecturer and naturalist has died.

He passed away at his home at the Garrison, St. Michael, Barbados, on Saturday evening, 11th January, after battling with cancer.

Dr. Watson was Senior Lecturer in the Department of History, University of the West Indies, and he also taught at the Mona Campus, UWI, Jamaica during the 1980s.

He was the Editor of the Journal of the Barbados Museum for 20 years and served on the Museum board. He was Honary Secretary and, for a time, President of the Barbados National Trust, Chairman of the George Washington House Restoration Committee, and the Barbados/Carolinas Committee.

His publications include, ‘Barbados, The Civilised Island, A Social History 1750 to 1816’, ‘The White Minority of the Caribbean’ and ‘Old Doll, Matriarch of Newton Plantation’, among numerous other articles and papers for both general and academic magazines and journals.

Dr. Watson was an expert on the Jewish presence in Barbados and just before his passing he completed a book on the Jewish synagogue in Bridgetown.

He taught archaeology at the Cave Hill Campus and led archaeological fieldwork at sites in Bridgetown, primarily at Jubilee Gardens, the Pierhead, and in the grounds of the Jewish synagogue and at George Washington House site at the Garrison.

He was also a leader in the archaeology of the African presence in Barbados and had particular interest in the cemetery of the enslaved at Newton plantation.

In addition, he was also involved in field research of the pre-Columbian indigenous people of Barbados and had developed a master’s programme in Heritage Studies.

Dr. Watson also had a stint as an officer of the Barbados diplomatic service and served in Latin America and Europe, attached to consulates in Venezuela, Frankfurt Germany, and Canada. He was fluent in French, Spanish, and German.

He was awarded the Gold Crown of Merit in 2011 for his services to Barbados.