In 1800, 118 enslaved African(s) were “liberated” in a state-run scheme usually resulting in involuntary indentures, conscription, or re-enslavement. Under the jurisdiction of 7, Case ID LA-E-3900 occurred via the United States District Court for the District of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
| RegID | LA-E-3900 |
|---|---|
| Case Name | Phoebe |
| Year | 1800 |
| Government Department | Justice and State Departments, United States of America |
| Court | United States District Court for the District of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia |
| Trial Outcome | Condemned |
| Enslaved Total | 143 |
| Liberated Africans Total | 118 |
| Registered Total | 110 |
| Notes | Captured as prize during the Quasi War and under the terms of a law passed on May 10 1800, namely "An Act in addition to the act intituled "An Act to prohibit the carrying on the Slave Trade from the United States to any foreign place or country," which was initially passed in 1794. A special meeting of the Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery was called at the suggestion of the committee on the slave-trade; their minutes were produced, by which it appears that two American vessels, having on board a considerable number of black people, supposed to have been bound to the Havanna, had been captured by one of the armed vessels of the United States, and sent into this port; and that the said black persons are now in circumstances demanding the attention of this Society. A committee was appointed to watch over their situation, and that of any others who may be hereafter brought in under the acts of Congress, against the slave-trade, and to afford them such assistance and protection, by co-operating with the officers of the General and State Governments, as may be necessary, and to provide places for such as are found to be free. That committee subsequently reported, that at the request and under the direction of the Marshal of the United States for the District of Pennsylvania, they had placed out, principally in the country, one hundred and twenty-six persons, the survivors of the cargo of slaves taken from the schooners Phoebe and [Prudent]. The Pennsylvania Abolition Society took charge of the 126 surviors, whom they indentured for periods of eight years. These people were resettled in various counties in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. |
| Sources | Edward Needles, An Historical Memoir of the Pennsylvania Society for the Abolition of Slavery… (Philadelphia: Merrihew and Thompson, 1848), 46-47; Michael Kearney, dir., The Ganges Families History Project, https://thegangesfamilies.com/, (accessed 2022); SlaveVoyages, www.slavevoyages.org (accessed 2020), Voyage ID: 96992. |
| Cite as |
| X Capture | -9068405.246140 |
|---|---|
| Y Capture | 2649230.963336 |
| 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. | Rivers of West Africa |
| 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 | Bunce Island |
| Capture date at sea or on land, if known. Date of the sentence. Include YYYY-MM-DD, if known. | 1800-07-21 |
| Location | Off Matanzas |
| Navy | USA |
| Ship | Ganges |
| Captain | Mullonwy |
| 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. | 1800-08-04 |
| 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. | East Coast North America |
| 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 | Philadelphia |