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4 unusual facts about Slavery in the British Virgin Islands


Slavery in the British Virgin Islands

Although there is evidence that Tortolian planters evaded the law by illegally trading with privateers from St. Thomas, slaves clearly became exponentially more valuable, and were treated accordingly.

Emancipation freed a total of 5,792 slaves in the Territory, but at the time of abolition, there were already a considerable number of free blacks in the Territory, possibly as many as 2,000.A number of settlers in the Territory, John C. Lettsome and Samuel Nottingham amongst them, had manumitted large numbers of slaves.

In 1690 the Brandenburgers built slave pens on Peter Island, however, they later abandoned them in favour of an agreement with the Danes to set up a trading outpost on St. Thomas.

In 1665 the Dutch settlers on Tortola were attacked by a British privateer, John Wentworth, who is recorded as capturing 67 slaves which were removed to Bermuda.



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