SlaveryABAA
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1834100531<p>Single small folio leaf printed on both sides. Faint creases whee originally folded probably removed modest aging and browning a couple of very small spots or stains; overall very good. Over forty years after William Wilberforce presnted evidence of the brutality of slavery to Parliament and following Thomas Clarkson's tireless efforts the crown finanlly put an end to salvery in the West Indies and her colonies. The act included a provision that all slaves above the age of six were to present themselves for apprenticeship. The crown also set aside 20 million pounds to compensate the slave owners who could retain their workforce for a modest sum.</p> Ordered by the House of Commons, books
37208Each document a single manuscript page 8-1/2" x 12-1/2." Each with official stamp one also has a decorative illustrated green stamp at the head. Light wear and toning Good.<br/><br/> Each document names the slaveholder and the enslaved person granted "libertad" and the cost in escudos or pesetas of that liberty. The slaves liberated here are Saturnia "morenita criolla" age 14; Gabriela "esclava mulata" age 15; and Dolores "parda criolla" age 16. unknown books
1842313227Philadelphia: stereotyped by L. Johnson 1842. First edition. 140 pp. 1 vols. 8vo. Original brown ribbed cloth rebacked with original spine laid down titled in gilt. Marginal dampstaining throughout scattered foxing some wear to boards good. First edition. 140 pp. 1 vols. 8vo. First edition of this report of this monumental Supreme Court decision regarding escaped slaves preceding by 15 years and rivaling in importance the Dred Scott case of 1857. "In Prigg the Court identified slavery as a core constitutional commitment with which states could not interfere. In this case the Court struck down northern states' 'personal liberty laws' established to protect alleged fugitive slaves from recapture without due process of law. When the professional 'slave catcher' Edward Prigg tried to remove Margaret Moran an alleged runaway he was unable to meet the burden of proof set out by Pennsylvania's 1826 Personal Liberty Law and failed to obtain the legal certificate permitting him to remove her. When Prigg proceeded to ignore this and removed Moran illegally to Maryland Pennsylvania convicted him of kidnapping. The US Supreme Court however overwhelmingly overturned Prigg's conviction 8-1 and pronounced state laws interfering with the return of alleged runaways a violation of the Fugitive Slave Clause." Beaumont The Civic Constitution 2014 p. 128. Blockson 9905; Dummond p. 140; Sabin 61207 stereotyped by L. Johnson unknown books
1865231171865. Civil War Black Military Slavery Virginia Confederate government imprint documenting one of the clearest bureaucratic efforts to formalize the use of enslaved labor in direct support of the Confederate war effort at the very moment of institutional collapse. Issued in Richmond Virginia in January 1865 and printed by the Confederate House of Representatives. The document responds to a congressional inquiry into the impressment of enslaved people explicitly acknowledging state-directed seizure of enslaved men for military labor. Within the text the Confederate state attempts to regulate this extraction noting limits such as "no more than one out of five male slaves between the ages specified. from any one owner" while simultaneously confirming large-scale requisitions including "5000 slaves from the State of Virginia for service with the army of Northern Virginia." The language reveals both the administrative reach of the Confederate state and its dependence on enslaved labor as a logistical backbone in the war's final phase.<br /> <br /> Octavo pamphlet measuring 9.5" x 6" 5 pages printed in Richmond Virginia January 1865. The text includes titled sections "Message of the President" "Communication from Secretary of War" "Resolution of House of Representatives" and "Response of Superintendent of Conscription" along with dated correspondence from December 1864 through January 1865. The imprint corresponds to Parrish and Willingham 2298. As a primary source the pamphlet holds substantial institutional value for collections in African American history Civil War studies and the history of slavery particularly for research into the transition from plantation labor systems to militarized coercion and the administrative mechanisms of late Confederate governance.<br /> The pamphlet is especially significant for how it exposes internal contradictions within Confederate ideology. While the Confederacy had long resisted arming or formally incorporating enslaved people in ways that might destabilize slavery this document demonstrates a late-war shift toward coercive mobilization framed as "employment" to "increase the efficiency of the army." Additional correspondence from Brig. Gen. Jno. S. Preston and Major Gen. J. L. Kemper details the mechanics of requisition emphasizing proportional seizure across slaveholders and acknowledging prior errors in impressment including the improper inclusion of enslaved people outside prescribed categories. Condition shows light toning minor spotting and edge wear consistent with age; paper remains stable with clear legible text throughout; faint institutional stamp present on front. Overall very good condition. This document underscores how the Confederate war effort relied on systems of exploitation applied to enslaved African American men. unknown
1870231221870. Slavery Cuba Spanish colonial slave sale manuscript recording the transfer of four enslaved individuals in Cuba in 1870. Produced within the official bureaucratic framework of Spanish colonial governance the document reflects the legal normalization of slavery in Cuba even as abolitionist pressures mounted across the Atlantic world. The document records the sale of four enslaved people described as "criollos" and African-born individuals situating the transaction within a labor system that combined locally born and imported enslaved populations. Created at a time when Spain had formally restricted the transatlantic slave trade but continued to permit slavery itself the manuscript demonstrates the persistence of legalized human commodification and the integration of enslaved labor into the island's economic structure sixteen years prior to abolition in 1886.<br /> <br /> Official Cuban slave contract documenting the sale of four enslaved individuals to Don Pedro Catasús by Don Enfemia Ochoa for the sum of 1100 pesos on November 29 1870. Single manuscript leaf written in Spanish cursive in black ink measuring 8.25" x 12". A green "50 cs de escudo" revenue stamp is affixed at the top center with a blind embossed Spanish crest at the upper left and a circular black ink government seal impressed at the lower left. Large vertical docketing appears on the verso. A stylized watermark is visible within the paper. The text organizes the enslaved individuals within a standardized transactional structure while the signatures of Enfemia Ochoa Pedro Catasús and A. Díaz de Rada authenticate the exchange and identify participants within the slaveholding economy.<br /> <br /> By 1870 Cuba remained a central node in the late Atlantic slave system with plantation agriculture especially sugar dependent on enslaved labor despite mounting abolitionist pressure. Although Spain had curtailed official slave imports earlier in the century illegal trafficking persisted into the 1860s and other coerced labor systems including the importation of Chinese indentured workers overlapped with slavery into the 1870s. The presence of both Creole and African individuals in this document reflects the layered composition of the enslaved population during this period. Light toning scattered foxing and edge wear visible. A closed wormhole extends from the upper right margin approximately five inches into the sheet resulting in partial loss of text. Evidence of prior tape reinforcement visible on the verso along with offsetting from previously adjacent material. Overall in very good condition. This document provides named transactional evidence of late-period slavery in Cuba offering concrete material for examining race labor and legal practice within Spanish colonial society. unknown
1870231191870. Slavery Cuba Spanish colonial manuscript documenting the late persistence of slavery in Cuba recording the sale of five enslaved Creole individuals including women and children 1870. Produced within the official bureaucratic framework of Spanish colonial governance the document reflects the legal normalization of slavery in Cuba even as abolitionist pressures mounted across the Atlantic world. The presence of multiple children within the transaction underscores the hereditary nature of enslavement and the commodification of family units offering direct material evidence of how slavery functioned socially and economically in its final decades on the island. Although Spain had formally ended the transatlantic slave trade earlier in the century illegal trafficking and internal slave markets persisted and slavery itself would not be abolished in Cuba until 1886 placing this document within a crucial transitional period marked by reform debates gradual emancipation laws and continued exploitation.<br /> <br /> Official Cuban slave contract recording the sale of five enslaved individuals identified as "criollos" including one adult woman and four children from Santiago Simón Fambi to Don Pedro Catasús for the sum of 1200 pesos on November 21 1870. Single page manuscript leaf measuring 8.25" x 12". The manuscript is written in Spanish cursive hand in black ink. The upper left bears a blind embossed crest of Spain while a circular black ink government seal is impressed at the lower left partially overlapping the text. The text enumerates the enslaved individuals with ages and names embedding human lives within the formulaic language of sale and valuation while the bold signatures of both seller Santiago Simón Fambi and buyer Pedro Catasús anchor the transaction in identifiable actors within the colonial economy.<br /> <br /> By 1870 slavery in Spanish Cuba remained central to the island's plantation economy particularly in sugar production which had expanded rapidly in the mid-19th century with industrialized mills and global demand. Enslaved people were primarily forced into agricultural labor under highly regimented and brutal conditions though others were used in urban domestic service skilled trades or as hired laborers generating income for their owners. This document exhibits light toning edge wear and scattered foxing throughout. A closed wormhole extends approximately two inches from the upper right margin inward not affecting legibility of the text. Minor losses and small tears along the edges. Overall in very good condition. Given that this document records a woman and four children the family was likely intended for a combination of field labor and domestic or auxiliary work with the children gradually incorporated into plantation labor as they aged reflecting the system's reliance on both immediate exploitation and the reproduction of enslaved labor over time. unknown
1858WRCAM53597Charleston 1858. 16pp. Original printed wrappers. Spine perished held together with brass tacks; light chipping and soiling. Paper lightly and evenly toned. Good. Report submitted to the South Carolina Senate which concludes that slavery is essential to the agricultural production of the South. Additionally the committee felt that the slave trade helped relieve Africa from "the pressure of a redundant population as might be afforded by emigration in the only form in which its benefits can be extended to them." unknown books
1815201561815. Manuscript fiscal records from antebellum Virginia demonstrate how enslaved people were formally incorporated into legal and economic systems as taxable property. These documents record enslaved individuals not as citizens but as items of assessed value within the personal property systems that structured the slave economy. Such records provide direct evidence of the bureaucratic mechanisms through which slavery functioned in the United States revealing how local governments and property holders catalogued enslaved African Americans alongside land livestock and other assets. The present group of Virginia documents dating from 1815 to 1854 records the ownership and taxation of enslaved people in Washington County during the decades preceding the Civil War.<br /> <br /> Archive of three manuscript fiscal documents from Washington County Virginia dated between 1815 and 1854. The earliest document dated 1 April 1815 records "A list of land & slaves owned by Jacob Campbell the first day of April 1815. The first district of Virginia Washington City." A second associated receipt enumerates eight enslaved persons identified by gender and age categories with assigned monetary values totaling 2170 dollars. A later tax receipt dated 1848 documents revenue obligations for Robert L. Berry and John Berry and includes "Slaves" among taxable property categories alongside horses clocks and land. The third document a tax receipt issued to Miss Francis Jane Irby in 1854 records taxable categories including "Black" titheables in addition to land salary and road levies reflecting the legal classification of enslaved African Americans within Virginia's tax system. Together the documents demonstrate the routine administrative recording of enslaved people as financial assets within county taxation and property accounting.<br /> <br /> Virginia occupied a central role in the history of American slavery. The first documented Africans arrived in the English colony of Virginia in 1619 and by the mid nineteenth century enslaved African Americans constituted a substantial portion of the state's population. By the 1860 census more than one third of Virginia's inhabitants were enslaved people whose labor sustained the agricultural economy of the region. Manuscript tax records such as these provide stark evidence of the legal and economic framework that reduced human beings to taxable property within local government systems. Three manuscript documents measuring approximately 6.75 x 2 inches to standard letter size. Original folds present with minor foxing and a small chip to the lower left corner of one document; docketing on versos; text clear and legible. Overall condition very good. unknown
1807177680London: Richard Phillips 1807. First edition of this account of the British colonies within modern-day Guyana. Bolingbroke was a staunch supporter of the Transatlantic slave trade which he discusses in Chapter Five and dedicated this work to the colonial secretary William Windham. Henry Bolingbroke 1785-1855 was a Norfolk merchant who first visited Demerara in 1798. This region had been under the control of the French and Dutch until it was captured by the British in 1796. Bolingbroke remained in the colony until 1805; he then travelled to Surinam in Dutch Guiana to become Deputy Vendue Master in 1807 responsible for public sales and auctions including those of enslaved people. He was one of the 16 MPs who voted against the abolition of slavery in March 1807. In Chapter Five Bolingbroke writes about slavery and what he viewed as its economic importance. In his dedication to Windham 1750-1810 he praised him for relaxing monopoly restrictions and "resisting the abolition of a liberty essential at new settlements of importing additional labourers" p. iii. Quarto pp. xii 400. Folding engraved map. Original green paper-covered boards rebacked modern spine label edges untrimmed. Signature of one George Atkinson on front pastedown a few pencil notes internally. Spine head stabilized boards marked foxing and toning to map and contents two small closed tears to map repaired offsetting to title page: a very good copy. Sabin 6182. hardcover
1774PHO-1474La Haye, Gosse et s.e., 1774-1781,11 volumes in 8°et 1 Atlas in-4, texte; XII-585, XII-386, XIII-586, XII-508, XII-407, VI-375 (1), XI-430 pages ,chaque volume comporte une gravure en frontispice d'après Eisen et une grande carte dépliante, et pour le supplément; XVI-604pp.,XV-574pp.,XV-492pp.,VIII-434pp.,avec un titre séparé Tableaux pour l’intelligence … 2ff. Et 23 tableaux dépliants ,reliure d'époque en plein veau ,dos lisse ornés,filets aux plats et roulettes à l’intérieur, tranches rouges , quelques coiffes usées, petits trous de ver,un tableau déchiré et son Atlas in-4 , 23pp. Et 50 cartes , relié pleine basane racinée époque, dos lisse avec pièce de titre et tomaison, petits frottements , coins usés
1856218<b>First edition of "the most complete record available" of the controversial Pennsylvania case on fugitive slaves establishing a "precedent set in federal and state courts… and important cause célèbre for the antislavery movement" crucial in asserting a clear path for the following year's Dred Scott decision and provoking a "legal crisis… that led to the Civil War" elusive in original cloth. An overall clean text with soiling on top of pages 1-16 & pgs. 161-191 and contemporary ink marginalia by Strawbridge on a few pages. John Strawbridge is inscribed in old ink on page prior to title page. A book which has become difficult to find in the original cloth.</b> Uriah Hunt & Son hardcover
208865A la Haye, 1754 in-12, 258 pp., veau brun, dos à nerfs orné, tranches rouges (reliure de l'époque).
17810042251781 Genève, Pellet, 1781. Dix volumes in-8 (130 X 207 mm) basane fauve marbrée, dos lisse orné à la grotesque de motifs dorés, pièces de titre et de tomaison grenat et vert, coupes ornées d'une guirlande dorée, coiffes filetées, tranches jaspées (reliure de l'époque). Tome I : portrait, XVI pages de faux-titre, titre, avertissement et table, 348 pages, (1) f. d'errata, (2) tableaux dépliants ; Tome II : frontispice, XII pages de faux-titre, titre et table, 378 pages, (1) f. d'errata, (4) tableaux dépliants ; Tome III : frontispice, VII pages de faux-titre, titre et table, 372 pages, (1) f. d'errata ; Tome IV : frontispice, XII pages de faux-titre, titre et table, 308 pages, (1) f. d'errata, (3) tableaux dépliants ; Tome V : frontispice, VII pages de faux-titre, titre et table, 259 pages, (1) f. d'errata, (1) tableau dépliant ; Tome VI : frontispice, XII pages de faux-titre, titre et table, 308 pages, (1) f. d'errata ; Tome VII : frontispice, XVI pages de faux-titre, titre et table, 359 pages, (1) page d'errata, (5) tableaux dépliants ; Tome VIII : frontispice, XII pages de faux-titre, titre et table, 352 pages ; Tome IX : frontispice, VIII pages de faux-titre, titre et table, 262 pages, (1) f. blanc, (1) f. d'errata, (9) tableaux dépliants ; Tome X : frontispice, V pages de faux-titre, titre et table, 348 pages, (1) f. d'errata. Quelques petites restaurations à la reliure.
1775PHO-1053A Genève, chez les libraires associés, 1775 3 tome in-4 (26 x 20 cm) de (4) -IV-III-VIII-719, (4) -VIII-662 et (4) -VIII-658 pages. L'illustration comprend un portrait de l'Auteur gravé par Legrand d'après Cochin, 7 planches hors texte non signées, 4 cartes repliées aux contours colorés époque et 3 vignettes en-tête de Marillier. , relié plein veau blond, dos à nerfs ornés avec titre, tomaison et « rel. par Langlois à Lyon »en pied, filets sur les plats, tranches marbrées, coins usés, coiffes T1 et 3 un peu usés Première édition publiée au format in-4 établie sur la deuxième édition originale.
1845PHO-2067Paris, Imprimerie Royale, 1845, 2 volumes in-12 (15x9,5cm), CLXX, 154 pp. 105, (1), 202 pp., demi toile et coins moderne, pièce de titre et tomaison, couverture conservée, coupé en tête, mouillure, cachet répétés.
1743PHO-1218La HAYE ,Jean Neaulme, 1743, deux volumes in 4° (260x210mm) reliés plein veau marbré, dos orné à 5 nerfs, pièce de titre, tranches rouges ,(2 plats détachés),coiffes arasées, coins usés, papier bruni ,Épître à Frédéric roi de Prusse imprimé en rouge et noir, XLIV-414pp./IV-192 pp., à la suite extraits de plusieurs auteurs anciens et autres pièces ,178 pp. ,orné de 12 cartes dont 9 dépliantes et 21 planches dont 5 dépliantes, une planche de musique et un fragment de la célèbre carte de Peutinger , ex-libris de Charles Kettaneh Première édition en français,
19082201030038xbvkBlackburn, R. Denham & Co. / Southport, Shackerley Literary Agency; 1908. viii pages incl. foretitlepage, photographic frontispice-plate on glossy paper, titlepage, Dedication, 'Prelude', 'Contents' and prefaces to the first (''Feb. 16th, 1907.'') and this second edition (''Jan. 1st, 1908.''); 92 pages, except the photoplate printed on untrimmed handmade rag-paper throughout. - Publisher's illustrated cardboard-wrapper, titled in red and black, ornamentally framed; 8vo.(ca. 19,5 x 13,5 cm).
1833PHO-614Paris, Firmin Didot frères, 1833. In-8, VII-365pp. Relié plein veau marron époque,liseré fleuri sur les plats, dos orné avec pièce de titre et auteur en maroquin dos orné , plat détaché, cachet de bibliothèque.
1804PHO-1919Paris, L. Pelletier, An XII-1804. In-8, (200 x 128) : (2 ff.), VIII, (5)-194 pp., errata. Demi-basane aubergine, dos lisse orné avec titre (reliure de l'époque), timbre sec (Henry Deydier, Aubenas), légères rousseurs.
1819190417Albemarle County VA: 1819-1823. A revealing survival from early 19th-century Virginia: the last will and testament of Isaac Hardin a prominent citizen and first legal owner of the land now known as the Greenwood historic district in Albemarle County. The will transfers ownership of 13 enslaved persons. In his will written in June 1819 and notarized and effected in May 1823 the ailing Hardin leaves the vast majority of his possessions to his wife Elizabeth. This includes the mansion house and plantation along with a number of enslaved persons: Juber Milly Milly's children Willis and Mary Ann and two girls named Hannah and Pheby. The enslaved people are mentioned in the will after Hardin's property and before the listing of his livestock. Later in the will he also transfers legal ownership of a man named Anderson to his oldest son Berry M. Hardin and of six other enslaved people to his daughter Lucinda Scott. The will was signed by Hardin with his mark and witnessed by four individuals on June 26 1819 and was later notarized on May 31 1823. We can assume that Hardin's will was carried out upon his death in 1820 and advertisements for a trust sale in 1830 tell us that much of this same property was later auctioned off including all of the enslaved men and women left to Elizabeth except for Hannah and Pheby who were singled out as Elizabeth's "to have and to hold and to dispose of as she may think proper". Bifolium handwritten on three pages docketed and with remnants of wax seal on fourth page. Old folds some damage to second leaf from where seal was removed not touching text. Very good. unknown
1817PHO-1170Paris, F. Bechet ; A. Égron, février 1817; 2 volumes in-8 ,xxxii,403,[2]; [4],394,[2]pp., relié plein veau raciné époque , dos lisse orné avec pièces de titre et tomaisons rouges, dos lisses. Édition originale.
184537320Havana 1845. Each document 8-1/2" x 12-1/2" entirely in ink manuscript with decorative official printed ornamentation at head of each and signature "O'Donnell" in the left margins. Some toning and a few holes not affecting text. Good. <br/><br/> Leopoldo O'Donnell y Jorris 1st Duke of Tetuán 1809-1867 was a Spaniard of Irish ancestry from Tenerife. He went to Cuba as Captain General in 1843 and later served three separate stints as prime minister of Spain. He approved each of these requests for travel. The named Cuban Slaves are of "Lucumi" ancestry originally from the Yoruba tribes of Benin and Nigeria. The documents all dated in October 1845 refer to the slaves Joaquin Garcia de Angarica and Florentino Armenteroy Regidor.<br/> These requests were made to transfer the slave from one hacienda to another for work purposes the terms of work engagement frequently stated here. unknown books
130002Very Good. Quarto 4 pages a bifolium comprising 3 pages of text with the last page used for address purposes. Creased where folded for posting; slight loss to the leading edge of the second leaf where torn open removing one word of text; overall in excellent condition. The letter dated 10 December 1791 and carried privately by ship from Kingston is addressed to 'Messrs Newton Gordon & Murdoch Merchants Madeira'. A number of lesser matters are touched upon but the letter deals primarily with the importation of wine: 'I cannot at present ascertain what quantity of wine I shall be able to dispose of next year as I have 20 pipes on hand and sales are slow from the great quantity at market; however you will please ship me twenty pipes of York market wine Barbadoes Gauge & 12 Iron hoops at first convenient opportunity'. As often with letters of any age the first paragraph contains an apology for the tardy response: 'I have first to beg your excuse for my silence and then to explain how it happen'd. The beginning of March last I set out in haste for the Havana with a small cargo of negroes and expected to sell them immediately but was detain'd there till the end of July'. unknown
1830List2931Mahébourg Mauritius 1830. Single unsigned fourteen-page letter measuring 8 x 12 ¾ inches. Folded with some stains and pencil marks. Overall near fine. In 1830 Mauritius was a British colony captured from the French in 1810 during the Napoleonic Wars. It was originally a Dutch colony and the Dutch had introduced enslaved labor to the islands. Enslaved people were imported from Madagascar India and Southeast Asia to harvest the valuable ebony trees and later to farm sugarcane. It became a French colony in 1715 and among other provisions the French government awarded upper-class colonists large land grants each with twenty enslaved people to work them. Slavery was abolished in 1835 under British rule after which the planters still farming sugarcane turned to indentured servant labor from India and China alongside illegal slavery.1<br /> <br /> Offered here is a lengthy single letter written by an unknown author to an unknown recipient from Mahébourg in 1830 shortly before this radical change. The letter describes the lives and economic circumstances of the planters and merchants and of the non-white population particularly Malabar people and free and enslaved Black people.<br /> <br /> Noting that “every inch of ground that will produce sugar cane is planted with it†including “the former fine gardens to some of the Habitations†the author reports on the situation for sugar planters:<br /> <br /> “The price of sugar here is not more than 20/per Cwt. for the best quality which does not now remunerate the Planter as his expenses are becoming every day more heavy in consequence of their slaves diminishing . The want of Slaves induced many of the Planters to send for Chinese Labourers and several hundreds were imported at a great expense but unfortunately they did not answer and were obliged to be reshipped for their native Country again at the charge of those who sent for them.â€<br /> <br /> The author later notes that “nearly everyone of the Planters have heavy mortgages on their Estates and are obliged to pay this immense Interest which keeps them poor and will I fear ultimately ruin themâ€. In fact the planters in British Mauritius had extra duties on their sugar exports compared with their Caribbean counterparts. The shopkeepers on the other hand “calculate on retiring with a fortune in five years– therefore you will fancy what must be their prices also their profits.â€<br /> <br /> Though writing from Mahébourg the author describes the capital city of Port Louis at length especially its Malabar Indian and free Black residents—the lives of the latter particularly the free Black women seem especially grim. They write:<br /> <br /> “The Centre of Port Louis is inhabited by all the respectable people and many most excellent houses buildings– the Catholic Chapel the English Church amongst the number. The Suburbs to the West is the part occupied by about 3000 Malabars called ‘Malabar Town.’ – They are dressed mostly in white with Turbans ear rings c c and the females with ornaments in their noses and on their Toes as they generally go bare foot. – Once a year they have what is called a ‘Yamsee’ or a festival in honor of Mehomet which lasts for about a fortnight during which time they seem to get no sleep a continual beating of tom toms – jingling of bells – carrying pagodas which are made of various coloured paper and most richly ornamented followed by all the population of their Caste with their faces daubed with red white c and which has a most ludicrous appearance. The Suburbs to the South is called ‘black Camp’ – the Houses being very small and poor and inhabited by all the free blacks as well as many Mulattoes. – Also a certain class of females of the population of colour – who are visited immediately on the Arrival of a Ship the Crews soon enquiring the way to the ‘Camp.’â€<br /> <br /> As regards relations between the races the author recounts an incident that followed the 1828 abolition of the color bar which would ostensibly give the free non-white population the same rights as the whites:<br /> <br /> “The Theatre is a very good one but has been closed for several months past the Actors Actresses gone to Bourbon in consequence of the promulgation of the act ‘causing all free people of the population of Colour’ to have the same laws – the same privileges as the Whites’ fearing they ought come to the Theatre which they had hitherto been forbidden thereby cause disturbances as the French Whites detest them wd. not sit in the same box it was considered best to shut the Theatre which is a great loss to the Place it being the chief public amusement and indeed the only one we have here.â€<br /> <br /> Overall a detailed letter giving insight into life in a slave colony at a time when significant changes were on the horizon. Of interest to scholars of the colonial history of Mauritius and the second wave of British colonialism.<br /> <br /> 1 Truth and Justice Commission Report of the Truth and Justice Commission Vol. 1 Mauritius: Government Printing 2011. unknown
18784011Various places in Cuba 1878. Overall good. 29 leaves varying sizes. In contemporary ad hoc selfwrappers loosely stitched. Rear wrap tattered. Varying degrees of toning and wear. Scattered offsetting throughout. Fascinating gathering of documents and letters that present several cases of Cuban slaves applying for their own freedom in 1878. The gradual abolition of slavery on the island was enacted by Spain in 1880 but prior to this there were several bureaucratic mechanisms by which enslaved people could apply for or purchase their own manumission. The most interesting case amongst the present manuscript documents is the claim of a male slave that states he was born free in Puerto Rico but was somehow included in an inheritance as a young boy transported to Cuba and sold into slavery:<br /> <br /> "Un individuo que hoy se encuentran en la Cárcel del Alacranes y que dice nombrase Juhan ó José Julian Quintana y ser esclavo actualmente de Dn. Serapio Hernandez dueño de los ingenios Escorial ubicado en Colon y Sta. Rosa en Limonar y vecino de esa Ciudad calle del Rio ha solicitado se le restituyan un derechos de libertad por haber nacídolibre en Puerto Rico de donde á la edad de 5 ó 6 años le trajeron à esta Ysla y vencieron como esclavo."<br /> <br /> Interesting for the study of manumission in late-colonial Cuba and certainly worthy of further research. unknown
