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2.7 million
British slave records now online
Date Posted: April 07, 2008.
The descendants of slaves of the British Empire can now
delve into their history online as
www.Ancestry.co.uk
completes the launch of the Slave Registers of Former
British Colonial Dependencies, 1812-1834.
The registers form the definitive collection of slave
records for the former colonies, listing the details for
more than 2.7 million slaves and 280,000 slave owners. This
collection will enable thousands of Britons the opportunity
to trace their sla`ve ancestry for the first time.
With the recent launch also of DNA testing on Ancestry.co.uk,
those interested in exploring their slave ancestry will now
be able to combine both history and science in their search
as DNA testing can create a geographical starting point for
those descended from slaves.
The collection lists slaves and their owners from a total of
17 former colonial dependencies – Antigua, Bahamas,
Barbados, Berbice, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), Dominica, Grenada,
Honduras (Belize), Jamaica, St. Kitts/Nevis, the British
Virgin Islands, St. Lucia, Trinidad, Tobago, St. Vincent and
Mauritius.
Dating from 1812-1834, the registers were originally put
together after slave trading was made illegal by the
Abolition of Slave Trade Act passed in 1807.
The Act required all colonial territories to keep tri-yearly
registers of slaves and their owners, allowing the British
government to monitor slave ownership and prevent illegal
trading.
The records are searchable by name, estimated birth year and
gender of the enslaved, or by the name of the slave holder,
as often slaves were given the surname of their master.
There are more than half a million Britons of black
Caribbean origin - the majority being descended from slaves
– making this collection a vital resource for those Brits
wishing to explore their slave origins.
Famous modern-day Britons who have ancestors descended from
the islands include supermodel Naomi Campbell (Jamaican
descent), Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton and England and
Chelsea footballer Shaun Wright-Phillips (Grenadian
descent), and British talkshow host Trisha Goddard
(Dominican descent). The full list available upon request
With virtually no historical records available for slaves
living in former British colonial dependencies or previously
in their original mother countries pre-abolition, another
key to unlocking the ancestry history of many black Britons
is through DNA testing, available at
www.dnaancestry.co.uk.
A simple mouth swab test can shed light on a user’s ancient
ancestry and pinpoint their ethnic origins. Similar tests on
runner Colin Jackson for the series Who do you think you
are? enabled him to explore his slave history by proving a
link with the Jamaican Taino Indians who mixed with escaped
slaves to form their own community, from which Colin is
descended.
Ancestry.co.uk spokesperson Simon Harper comments: “The
Slave Registers are a vital resource and are for many the
only record of their ancestor’s existence. Now online for
the first time, the registers are hugely important to
historians, academics and anyone with an interest in tracing
slave ancestors or discovering more about this period in
history.
To view the this collection and for a step-by-step guide to
tracing slave ancestry, log on to
www.ancestry.co.uk/slavery .
