Where did Kit live before going on this journey in The Witch of Blackbird Pond?

Kit lived in Barbados before moving to Wethersfield.

After Kit’s mother and father died, she was raised by her grandfather in Barbados.  Barbados was at the time a British colony in the Caribbean.  Kit’s grandfather was wealthy enough to have a plantation and many slaves.  She led a privileged life.

Kit much prefers Barbados to Connecticut.  Whereas Connecticut is cold and mostly underdeveloped, Barbados was warm and beautiful.  Kit is disappointed when she first sees America.

The bleak line of shore surrounding the gray harbor was a disheartening contrast to the shimmering green and white that fringed the turquoise bay of Barbados which was her home. The earthen wall of the fortification that faced the river was bare and ugly, and the houses beyond were no more than plain wooden boxes. (Ch. 1)

Moving to Wethersfield is a big adjustment for Kit.  She is used to having slaves do all of the household work.  However, that is not how things are done in Wethersfield.  Hard work is constant.  The people also do not approve of her reading choices, because she reads Shakespeare in addition to the Bible.  That is considered inappropriate by the Puritans, who think Barbados is a “heathen island.”

Kit’s ways are unusual, but one of the other problems is that she never told her Connecticut family members that she was coming.  She just showed up.

 "Yours? Seven trunks? What can be in them?"

"Why--my clothes, and a few things of Grandfather's."

"Seven trunks of clothes, all the way from Barbados just for a visit?" (Ch. 3)

Kit had to explain that she was not just visiting, but wanted to stay with them.  For them, this meant one more mouth to feed and someone else to squeeze into their house.  Kit did not know how to do any of their chores, so she was next to worthless.

Nat compared Kit to a tropical bird, like those that could be found in Barbados.  She simply did not fit in there in Connecticut with the harsh winters and even harsher rules.  Although she tried to accept their way of life, she eventually decided that she did not need to change who she was, and married Nat instead of a Puritan.