Page 19 - BLACK HISTORY IN BERMUDA red

Returns & Registers
of Slaves

Following the Abolition of the
Slave Trade Act in 1807 Britain
required its colonies to maintain
Registers of Slaves in order to
monitor slave ownership and stamp
out slave trading. Bermuda submitted
courtesy bermuda archives its first Register of Slaves in 1817

when slave owners, or their agents,
were required to complete a Return
of Slaves listing their slaves by
name, sex, colour, employment,
age and country of origin.

top left:
Return of Slaves 1833/34 John H Trott
agent for the Estate of Samuel Trott
(deceased) October 15, 1833

Inventories

An inventory is a complete list of
items such as the contents of a
house. One is sometimes made
of the possessions of a deceased
person to aid in the settlement
of their estate. Old inventories,
such as those found for some of
the owners of Verdmont, provide
a glimpse into the furnishings and
the use of the rooms whilst a telling
sign of those times was the listing
of slaves alongside other possessions.

bottom left:
Extract from the inventory of Thomas
Smith December 17, 1782 which lists
men, women and children.

courtesy bermuda archives

bermuda national trust | black history in bermuda