A new database launched Wednesday lets Britons curious about their family history uncover information that some might wish to forget: their ancestors owned slaves. Researchers at University College London spent three years compiling a searchable listing of thousands of people who received compensation for loss of their "possessions" when slave ownership was outlawed by Britain in 1833.
The database has details of around 46,000 individual claims and awards made to those who either owned slaves or benefited indirectly from ownership.
The database has details of around 46,000 individual claims and awards made to those who either owned slaves or benefited indirectly from ownership.
In 1833, Parliament finally abolished slavery in the British Caribbean, Mauritius and the Cape. The slave trade had been abolished in 1807, but it had taken another 26 years to effect the emancipation of the enslaved. However, in place of slavery the negotiated settlement established a system of apprenticeship, tying the newly freed men and women into another form of unfree labour for fixed terms. It also granted £20 million in compensation, to be paid by British taxpayers to the former slave-owners. The database contains information about the payments made to former slave-owners.
You can find the new Database of British Slave Owners at http://www.ucl.ac.uk/lbs/.
The database does not list names of slaves. Instead, it lists the names of their owners. However, registers of the enslaved are held by the National Archives; you can read an account of them on the Moving Here site at http://www.movinghere.org.uk/galleries/roots/caribbean/lifeevents/lifeevents.htm#slaveregisters. However, those registers are not yet available online.
