Slavery Abolition Documents To Be Displayed
In their upcoming exhibition “The Legal Instruments of Emancipation” the Bermuda Archives will be displaying various documents relating to the abolition of slavery in Bermuda.
The exhibition will be on display in the Public Reading Room at the Bermuda Archives from tomorrow [Oct 11] until October 29th, which coincides with the African Diaspora Heritage Trail Conference [from October 14 to 17] – the perfect opportunity to showcase Bermuda’s records to overseas conference visitors.
The Legal Instruments of Emancipation contains Bermuda’s original Slave Registers compiled in the period leading up to Emancipation in 1834. The Registers, mandated by the British Government, are among the most comprehensive sources for the study of slavery in Bermuda and are currently under consideration for inclusion in the UNESCO Memory of the World Register.
Bermuda Archives Director Karla Hayward said: “We are displaying the documents relating to slavery in Bermuda on the occasion of the African Diaspora Heritage Trail Conference. We are thrilled to be able to reveal these documents to our ADHT visitors for the very first time we are displaying one of the slave Registers from the 1820’s; the original Emancipation Act of 1834 and other manuscripts.”
Ms Hayward added: “We will also have on display a photograph of a former slave named Ollie which was taken in the 1850’s and two oval watercolours of her owners. We have attempted to reconstruct a bit about her life from the surrounding records on display.”
This exhibition marks the third time the Registers have been on public display since their restoration in 2004. Alongside the Registers on exhibit are contemporary documents, images and narratives linking slaves and their owners on a small island community in the Great Sound.
The Bermuda Archives is located on the Lower Level of the Government Administration Building, 30 Parliament Street, Hamilton HM 12 and in open from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 pm Monday to Friday.
Contact 297-7737 for further information or to arrange group visits.
