Slave-ownership in Jamaica, Nevis and St Kitts: panel discussion

19th February 2014, 5.30pm-7.30pm, UCL Institute of the Americas, 51 Gordon Square, London, WC1H 0PN

Kate Donington and Kristy Warren from the LBS project team will discuss aspects of the Structure of Slave Ownership in St Catherine, Jamaica and Nevis, 1817-1834.

Kate will present a paper on The structure and significance of British Caribbean slave-ownership: a case study of St. Catherine, Jamaica. The paper will be based based on research undertaken on slave and estate ownership in the parish of St. Catherine in Jamaica. Different forms of slavery existed within the parish of St. Catherine, which encompassed both large scale sugar plantations as well as the urban centre of Spanish Town. This paper will explore some of the initial findings including the identification of large scale plantation owners in the area and the networks established through commercial, familial and marital relationships. It will end with a brief case study of the Ellis family, early settlers in Jamaica who had made a fortune in plantation ownership.

Kristy's paper will be Using the Slave Registers as a Source for Gathering Information about the Enslaved: A case study of St. Kitts and Nevis.

Slave Registers provide a wealth of knowledge about enslaved people but also have limitations as a source. Drawing on the research of Barry Higman, the paper will explore the possibilities and limits of these records by first providing a general overview of the registers and then examining the specific registers of St Kitts and Nevis, highlighting the similarities and differences between the records of each island. The paper also investigates some preliminary findings concerning the information the registers can provide about the lives of enslaved children in St. Kitts.

Further details of the event are on the Institute of the Americas website.

The event is free but you will need to register here.