Sea-serpent reports near Barbados and the Lesser Antilles

Record summary

Caribbean sea-serpent reports, including accounts associated with Barbados and other Lesser Antilles, circulated in travel narratives, newspapers and natural-history compilations before and during the nineteenth century. They matter for comparison because observers used maritime vocabulary inconsistently, often blending whales, sharks, floating objects, waves and legendary sea monsters. Individual reports must be identified by publication and date; there is no single standardized Barbados case. Their value lies in studying historical observation, editorial transmission and changing natural-history categories.