Estate and plantation records
Scottish families who settled in the colonies maintained contact with their relatives in Scotland, and extensive series of correspondence survive in some Scottish estate collections. In these letters, the work and life of enslaved people on the plantations is often touched on, and we also learn how enslaved individuals rebelled against their captivity, either by absconding from their enslavers or through organised rebellion.
Although most enslaved people were made to work on their enslaver’ plantations, enslaved individuals were often employed in their enslaver’ households as servants, and would occasionally be mentioned in letters or diaries. It was mostly these enslaved individuals whom enslavers would take with them if they returned to Scotland. Accounts reveal any expenditure made for enslaved persons, such as clothing, food and vaccines but also things like shackles and collars. Estate collections sometimes include household inventories drawn up at the death of the estate owner, which might mention enslaved people. Estate plans might show how enslaved individuals were accommodated. Some examples of plantation records in the NRS are Cameron and Company, Berbice, 1816-1824 (NRS reference CS96/972), William Fraser, Berbice, 1830-1831 (NRS reference CS96/1947), Robert Cunnyngham, St Christopher’s, 1729-1735, (NRS reference CS96/3102) and Earls of Airlie, Jamaica, 1812-1873, (NRS reference GD16/27/291). Our online catalogue can be searched by planter’s name, plantation name or by keywords such as ‘slavery’, ‘slaves’, 'negro', 'negroes', ‘plantation’ or a combination of keywords.
Business records of merchants and enslavers
Business records (such as correspondence, accounts and ledgers) give an insight into how the slave trade was operated. Letters between slave traders can reveal how slave markets and auctions were identified and how slaves were transported to the colonies and sold there.
Merchants’ correspondence relating to the slave trade often concerns the triangular trade with the colonies but may also include references to the abolition of the slave trade insofar as it affected their business. Letters to and from purchasers tell us about the characteristics customers typically looked for in enslaved individuals. Accounts will usually give the sum of money paid or received and may also mention the purchasers' names and the physical condition of the enslaved person. Although enslaved people's names are occasionally included as an ‘identifier’, normally only their first name is given. Examples of business records in the NRS, referring to the slave trade are Buchanan & Simpson, Glasgow, 1754-1773 (NRS reference CS96/502-509) and Cameron and Company, Berbice, 1816-1824 (NRS reference CS96/972-983). The CS96 records normally relate to Court of Session cases, whose references may be found in the same catalogue entry. To find relevant business records, you would ideally know the name of the company or individual dealing in eslavement, as the entries in our online catalogue are arranged by record creator. However, the above examples were identified by using relevant search terms such as ‘slave’, ‘slaves’ and ‘slave trade’.
