In 1841, 192 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-407 occurred via the Court of Vice Admiralty, Bahamas
| RegID | LA-E-407 |
|---|---|
| Case Name | Trouvadore |
| Year | 1841 |
| Government Department | Colonial and Foreign Offices, Great Britain |
| Court | Court of Vice Admiralty, Bahamas |
| Trial Outcome | Condemned |
| Enslaved Total | 193 |
| Liberated Africans Total | 192 |
| Registered Total | 0 |
| Notes | The Trouvadore was a brigantine sailing under Spanish papers from Santiago, Cuba. The crew were Spanish but during the crossing to Africa some died and were replaced by Portuguese sailors picked up on Sao Tomē. The ship wrecked on the Caicos Bank. The ship was carrying 20 crew and 193 Africans when it sank but soon after landing one African was shot dead. One of the first locals on the scene, Mr Stevenson, was offered $3000 by the Spanish captain to obtain a vessel to take the crew and slaves onto Cuba. Mr Stevenson delayed the Captain enough so that the authorities in Grand Turk could dispatch two ships and a detachment of 17 soldiers to pick up the survivors. Once collected the survivors were taken to Grand Turk where the ship’s crew were imprisoned in the upper room of the old court house and the Africans were placed inside the crowded prison. Of the 192 Africans, 168 were distributed amongst salt pond owners on Salt Cay and Grand Turk on a one-year contract. The 89 men, 26 women, 39 boys, 11 girls and 3 infants were given clothing, food, accommodation and medical care in return for their labour. The established church was to teach them to speak English and Christian ways, including being christened and attending services. Of the 24 remaining Africans, 20 men and 4 women, could not be absorbed into the local community and were taken to Nassau along with the slaver’s crew. At Nassau the crew of the Trouvadore were released into the custody of the Spanish Consul who took them to Cuba for trial, but the fate of the 24 Liberated Africans is uncertain. In the voyages dataset, this case involving the ship's condemnation has been confused with the Esperanza (ID 296) from 1837. |
| Sources | "Appendix 1: Reports of Liberated African Arrivals in the Bahamas from Governors' Correspondence," and "Appendix 2: Reports of Liberated African Arrivals in Trinidad from Governors' Correspondence," in Rosanne Marion Adderley, “New Negroes from Africa:” Slave Trade Abolition and Free African Settlement in the Nineteenth-Century Caribbean (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2006), 241-248; "Slave Ship Trouvadore," The Museum: Turks and Caicos, https://www.tcmuseum.org/projects/slave-ship-trouvadore/ (Accessed 2022). |
| Cite as |
| X Capture | -8040263.655031 |
|---|---|
| Y Capture | 2467516.932341 |
| 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. | Eastern Bight |
| 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 | Shipwreck near Caicos. |
| Navy | Britain |
| Ship | |
| 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. | Caribbean |
| 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 | Turks and Caicos |