Trinidad slave records featured in new digitized archive

A newly digitized archive containing nearly 4 million slave records from 20 former British colonies is now available for online search. The collection, known as the Former British Colonies Enslavement Registers, spans the years 1813 to 1840 and consists of approximately 300,000 pages.

Trinidad holds a unique position within the archive, as its 1813 registers are the oldest in the collection and are noted for being exceptionally detailed. These records include information such as occupations, physical descriptions, family relationships, and specific regional or African origins, offering significant genealogical value for tracing ancestry.

The project was a collaborative effort between Ancestry, University College London’s Centre for the Study of the Legacies of British Slavery (CSLBS), and The National Archives (UK). The registers were originally established by the British government following the 1807 abolition of the transatlantic slave trade to regulate the enslaved population and prevent illegal trading.