Promising Freedom at the Edge of an Empire
Event Type
Presentation
Location
EHFA 137
Start Date
6-3-2020 1:45 PM
End Date
6-3-2020 3:15 PM
Description
Once the British Parliament abolished the trans-Atlantic slave trade in Africa, the Bahamas became a primary locale for the re-settlement of these captives. Between 1811 and 1860, some 6,000 liberated Africans, as they were called, were re-settled in the Bahamas. These Africans served apprenticeship periods of six to sixteen years, at the end of which they were to be free. Archival documents and archaeological evidence suggest that these indentured Africans were able to maintain a stronger African cultural identity as they settled into their new lives in these tiny islands in the Americas. However, an 18th century black cemetery in Nassau indicates that, long before this population of "unacculturated" Africans were being settled in the Bahamas, earlier communities such as this one were devising means for allowing members of their communities to express and maintain their African cultural identity. These examples provide insight on the processes through which African peoples in the Americas managed to adjust to new lives in new environments. Further, documentary evidence also suggests that British colonial officials used the Bahamas as a repository for the eventual release, not only of African captives freed from slave ships by Britain's Royal Navy, but also for enslaved Africans brought to the Bahamas from foreign territories.
Recommended Citation
Turner, Grace, "Promising Freedom at the Edge of an Empire" (2020). International Gullah Geechee and African Diaspora Conference. 6.
https://digitalcommons.coastal.edu/iggad/2020/fullconference/6
Promising Freedom at the Edge of an Empire
EHFA 137
Once the British Parliament abolished the trans-Atlantic slave trade in Africa, the Bahamas became a primary locale for the re-settlement of these captives. Between 1811 and 1860, some 6,000 liberated Africans, as they were called, were re-settled in the Bahamas. These Africans served apprenticeship periods of six to sixteen years, at the end of which they were to be free. Archival documents and archaeological evidence suggest that these indentured Africans were able to maintain a stronger African cultural identity as they settled into their new lives in these tiny islands in the Americas. However, an 18th century black cemetery in Nassau indicates that, long before this population of "unacculturated" Africans were being settled in the Bahamas, earlier communities such as this one were devising means for allowing members of their communities to express and maintain their African cultural identity. These examples provide insight on the processes through which African peoples in the Americas managed to adjust to new lives in new environments. Further, documentary evidence also suggests that British colonial officials used the Bahamas as a repository for the eventual release, not only of African captives freed from slave ships by Britain's Royal Navy, but also for enslaved Africans brought to the Bahamas from foreign territories.
Comments
Theme: Diasporic Movement; Moderator: Shari Orisich, Coastal Carolina University