| Notes | This Spanish schooner, under the command of Juan Raymundo Vergel, began its voyage at Havana on 25 April 1833. It set sail for Bonny loaded with a cargo of tobacco, gunpowder, aguardiente, dry foods, and specie. On 15 September, this ship sailed from Africa with 348 people on board and 19 individuals died during the middle passage. On 10 November, the HMS schooner Nimble, under the command of Lieutenant Charles Bolton, engaged with this ship for about an hour off the southern tip of the Isle of Pines around 21°28'0" N. and 83°13'0" W. During the skirmish, Vergel died, several crew wounded and 2 enslaved Africans killed. Before reaching Havana, another 3 enslaved Africans died of dysentery, while another 6 people died during the trial. On 21 November, the court condemned this slave vessel for sale and issued emancipation certificates for 318 people. Following this trial, the issue of where to "deposit" these people became a major concern. The predominately white upper class population in Havana believed the spread of cholera was largely a racial problem. As a result, there were very few corporations or private individuals willing to apprentice Liberated Africans. The case of Negrita set the precedence to send people to Trinidad "immediately after having been brought into the Havana." On 30 November, an initial proposal was agreed upon in principal to send all the females from the Joaquina, along with an equal number of males, as well as an additional 12 females and 12 males from elsewhere so that the total number would be 200 people. On 7 December, the Manuelita arrived to Havana and complicated the situation. On December 18, the Captain General of Cuba sent a letter to the British Commissioners demanding people from the Joaquina be sent to Trinidad. On 21 December, the Manuelita was condemned, meaning more Liberated Africans were in Havana, and thereafter, these two cases became intertwined concerning the removal of people from Cuba. By early January 1834, the Cuban government agreed to pay for the transportation of groups of people from both slave ships to Trinidad, provide one month's notice to the Governor of Trinidad, pay for provisions and clothing, and send an equal number of men and women. On 16 January, the Havana Slave Trade Commission made a register containing people from both slave ships who were sent to Trinidad. These records include African names, Christian names and a register number corresponding to the larger and more complete registers (making it possible to determine who left Cuba from which ship). In addition, the register also demonstrates the substitutions of 7 people before departure. On 21 January, 43 women and 5 men from the Joaquina, along with 63 women and 101 men from the Manuelita, were sent to Trinidad on board the Manuelita, under the command of Salvador Castello. During the passage from Cuba, 5 people died. On 27 February 1834, the Manuelita arrived to Trinidad and 1 person died shortly after. At this time, the Governor of Trinidad stated that he "will receive 1,000 Africans to consist of 500 males and 500 females under 30 years of age (the males not to have been more than two years captured)." |
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| Sources | The National Archives, UK, FO 84/137, "Declaration of the Captor," 18 Nov. 1833, f. 111-113; Henry B. Lovejoy, “The Registers of Liberated Africans of the Havana Slave Trade Commission: Implementation and Policy, 1824-1841,” Slavery & Abolition 37, no. 1 (2016): 23-44; Henry B. Lovejoy, “The Registers of Liberated Africans of the Havana Slave Trade Commission: Transcription Methodology and Statistical Analysis,” African Economic History 38 (2010): 107-135; SlaveVoyages, www.slavevoyages.org (accessed 2020), Voyage ID: 1295. |
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