On our hike to the top of Bordeaux mountain we stopped at three locations on the way. The Reef Bay Great House, Reef Bay Sugar Mill, and the Petroglyphs. We climbed to the Great House first. The great house had been where the sugar plantation owners had lived. It is at the top of a large steep hill and is still in fairly good condition. It's only inhabitants currently are a family of bats. I could imagine how hard it would be for slaves carrying supplies up that hill to the house.	The Stairs to the Great House
Venturing into the Great House	After checking out the house we headed down the hill to the Reef Bay Sugar Mill ruins. The mill ruins are located down close to the bay to allow for quick transport of processed sugar to the bay for shipment. The entire sugar plantation history of this island is very interesting. One event in particular stands out. At one point slaves from the plantations staged a organized rebellion against the plantation owners. The rebellion seemed to arise mainly due to a food shortage caused by lack of water and storms which wiped out the slaves crops.
The rebellion was synchronized by the beating of drums around the island. When the drums stopped beating the attack began upon the plantation owners. Some of the plantation owners had some early warning from slaves which were not taking part in the revolt and were able to sneak off the island before they were caught. The slave revolt was eventually put down by French soldiers who were hired by the Dutch. The soldiers hunted down all the revolting slaves and killed them. A remaining group of slaves was chased up to Ram's Head where they committed suicide by jumping from the peak to the rocks below.	The Sugar Mill