Hashtag: #SlaveryInBermuda
Champion of St. David’s Ties Dies
Alice Lopez, one of the strongest champions of cultural ties between Native American Wampanoags and St. David’s Islanders descended from members of the Massachussetts tribe, has died suddenly. She was 49. Ms Lopez – an activist on behalf of Wampanoag housing rights on Cape Cod and a walking respository of tribal lore – collapsed... Read more of this article
UK Museum Stages Mary Prince Drama
The Museum of London is launching a one-hour dramatic reenactment of the life of Bermuda slave Mary Prince for visiting school children. An actor will be portraying the Bermudian woman whose 1831 memoir helped to galvanise the abolitionist movement and end the institution of chattel slavery in in British territories two years later in a production... Read more of this article
History: Christmas Report from 1816
In “Slavery in Bermuda”, historian James E Smith records that the big holiday of the year was Christmas; but he goes on to say that “their festive activities were not always greeted with stoic calm by the rest of the community.” Mr Smith quotes a newspaper article from November 1816 that was looking forward to the coming Christmas of 1816,... Read more of this article
New Bermuda Book: Freedom’s Flames
The second book in the ‘Icon Series’ has been released by Colwyn Burchall Jr. – “Freedom’s Flames: Slavery in Bermuda and The True Story of Sally Bassett.” The book, which is aimed at younger readers, was written by Bermudian Colwyn Burchall Jr, who presently divides his time between freelance writing and working as a... Read more of this article
Sally Bassett & ‘The Dangerous Spirit of Liberty’
Bermuda’s role in what was called the “contagion” of slave rebellions which spread throughout Britain’s Caribbean and North American colonies in the late 18th century was scrutinised at a recent University of the West Indies forum. In the story Sarah (Sally) Bassett, one of the most renowned figures in Bermudian history and... Read more of this article
Book on Seafaring Bermuda Slaves Wins Award
The first ever social and cultural account of 18th century Bermuda – and the first book to explore the unique ties between black and white Bermudian mariners whose seafaring exploits aboard the island’s cedar sloops opened a new chapter in Atlantic maritime history – has won a top academic prize in the US. University of Rochester historian... Read more of this article
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... Read more of this article
We Celebrated Emancipation – Millions Cannot
While Bermudians are recuperating this Monday morning from a fun-filled weekend holiday celebrating the slaves emancipation in 1834, numerous estimates indicate there are 27 million people still enslaved today. Many researchers say that is a greater number than at any other point in the world’s history, and various organizations report that approximately... Read more of this article
Cup Match: History Behind The Holiday
[Written by Larry Burchall] Cup Match began as a day off to celebrate Emancipation Day 1st August 1834, the day when all slaves in Bermuda were freed. One year on ex-slaves who were now employed as paid workers simply did not turn up for work on 1st August 1835. They stayed off work and celebrated. Amongst black ex-slave Bermudians, the practice of... Read more of this article
North Village Band: A Living Link To Slavery
[Written by Larry Burchall] In Bermuda, on Emancipation Day 1st August 1834, slavery ended. Twenty-three years later, on 29th June 1857, a group of men, all of them musicians and members of the Grand United Order of Odd Fellows Alexandrina No. 1026 got together and formed the Alexandrina Band. These men were all black, and as Lodge members, probably... Read more of this article
Living Links: Alexandrina Hall & Swan Building
[written by Larry Burchall] Living Links appear in unexpected places. Standing on the hillside on the Court Street side of the House of Assembly grounds and looking east, you can see a living link between Bermuda’s heritage and past, and Bermuda’s present and future. On that hillside, looking east, the closest and biggest building that you see is... Read more of this article
Adverts From 1829: Slaves for Sale in Bermuda
Below we take a look at a dark part of Bermuda’s history. Below are actual adverts that were printed in the Bermuda newspaper of the day in 1829 offering “slaves for sale”. In her autobiography, Mary Prince speaks about being sold saying: I was soon surrounded by strange men, who examined and handled me in the same manner that a butcher... Read more of this article
