In 1866, 165 enslaved African(s) were “liberated” in a state-run scheme usually resulting in involuntary indentures, conscription, or re-enslavement. Under the jurisdiction of 1, Case ID LA-E-912 occurred via the Court of Vice Admiralty, Aden
| RegID | LA-E-912 |
|---|---|
| Case Name | Unspecified |
| Year | 1866 |
| Government Department | Colonial and Foreign Offices, Great Britain |
| Court | Court of Vice Admiralty, Aden |
| Trial Outcome | Condemned |
| Enslaved Total | 176 |
| Liberated Africans Total | 165 |
| Registered Total | 0 |
| Notes | In reply to your letter calling for information as to the condition and distribution of slaves landed at this port, I have to state that the inexpediency of overburdening this confined and already overstocked settlement, comprising an area of about 15 square miles, more than half of which may be styled uninhabitable, has already formed the subject of correspondence with the Bombay Government and the Commodore Commanding in Chief. Of 2,997 slaves landed at Aden between 1865 and 1869, 524 have been sent to Bombay, 743 await transport to Bombay, 684 have been distributed on service locally, and 1,046 have been allowed to seek employ, and return to their own country. The numbers which have to be sent to Bombay confirm the necessity for exempting this port entirely at present, as it can absorb no more as a depot. Owing to the limited accommodation at our disposal, the case of these unfortunate beings on first arrival here is a hard one. There is always at first a fear of some contagious disease, and they are therefore located m the only detached position we have, viz., an island in tie Inner Harbour, where there are no means of employing or amusing them. |
| Sources | British Library, India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/20/CA9, in Qatar Digital Library, "Disposal of Liberated Slaves," 13 Jul 1869, f. 434; Matthew S. Hopper "Liberated Africans in Indian Ocean Spreadsheet" (donated to Liberated Africans in 2018); Matthew S. Hopper, “Liberated Africans in the Indian Ocean World,” in Richard Anderson, and Henry B. Lovejoy, Liberated Africans and the Abolition of the Slave Trade, 1807-1896 (Rochester: Rochester University Press, 2020), 215-237; Matthew S. Hopper, Slaves of One Master: Globalization and Slavery in Arabia in the Age of Empire (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2015); The National Archives, UK, Admiralty, 53/8898. |
| Cite as |
| X Capture | 4929251.522924 |
|---|---|
| Y Capture | -1832486.424324 |
| Ship Status | Liberated Africans |
| Date of departure from a place or port in Africa generally following the purchase of enslaved people. Include YYYY-MM-DD, if known. | |
| Region of departure from Africa. Required entry. For more information about the geographical hierarchy used in this digital resource, please refer to AfricanRegions.org. | Madagascar |
| Place or port of departure from Africa, if known. A controlled vocabulary for place names are associated with geographic coordinates using Google Maps Global Mercator EPSG:900913. See https://epsg.io/transform#s_srs=4326&t_srs=900913&x=NaN&y=NaN | |
| Capture date at sea or on land, if known. Date of the sentence. Include YYYY-MM-DD, if known. | |
| Location | Cape St. Andrew (Madagascar) |
| Navy | Britain |
| Ship | Lyra |
| Captain | |
| Supporting Ships | |
| Sentence Date | |
| Date of arrival to the place where the trial, purchase, or asylum occurred, resulting in "liberation" and indenture. Includes YYYY-MM-DD, if known. | |
| Region of arrival around the world. Required field. For more information about the geographical hierarchy used in this digital resource, please refer to AfricanRegions.org. Other regions outside of Africa include, Western Europe, East Coast of North America, etc. | Middle East |
| Place or port of arrival around the world. Required field. A controlled vocabulary for place names are associated with geographic coordinates using Google Maps Global Mercator EPSG:900913. See https://epsg.io/transform#s_srs=4326&t_srs=900913&x=NaN&y=NaN | Aden |