Chattel houses of Barbados (and other old buildings)
A Barbadian chattel house is an iconic, movable wooden home developed by working-class citizens following the abolition of slavery. Because newly freed plantation workers did not own the land they lived on, they engineered these innovative structures to be easily dismantled, transported, and reassembled at a new location if a landlord-tenant dispute arose. Key features include modular timber construction, using mortise and tenon joints rather than nails, loose stone foundations, original symmetrical facades, steep gable roofs to deal with tropical rain and jalousie windows to cut harsh sun but allow air circulation.
