Group comprises:

Two pay lists (2 slim volumes, folded in half) for HMS AMELIA under Commodore Sir Samuel Hood for the capture of the Spanish ships CONCEPTION (December 1804) and COMMERCIO (January 1805), plus a 20th-century envelope with typed description.

A “Duplicate Conveyance and Assignment of Estates Slaves and Chattels in the Island of Jamaica”. 6 pages of lists of enslaved Africans, 9 pages concerning the estate, all on parchment, sewn together with green ribbon, sealed with red wax. Dated 1834. Paper document (4 sheets) attached with red ribbon.

A "Duplicate Conveyance of Baker's Estate in St Vincent with the slaves and stock thereon" 9 parchment sheets. Dated 1823. Sewn together with green ribbon, sealed with red wax.

8 slave returns for Barbados, all for the 1st August, 1834 (+2 blank forms, so 10 printed pages in all), for various estates and owners. Lists the values of different classes of slave, quantity of each, and gives a total value for each estate.

Administrative / biographical background
The Royal Navy documents relate to HMS AMELIA (1796) during the years 1804-1805, under Commodore Samuel Hood, specifically the capture of 2 Spanish ships and the distribution of the prize at a Court of Vice Admiralty in Barbados. The Transatlantic Slave Trade documents are long and detailed deeds which relate to the Islands of Jamaica and St Vincent, several important slave owning families (e.g. the Delpratts of St Davids, Jamaica), their property and estates. The dates ecompassed in these documents (1817-1834) represent an interesting period in slavery history, as the African slave trade had been abolished by the English Parliament in 1807. Theoretically this meant that no more slaves could be brought from Africa to the colonies in the British West Indies, but slaves could be transported from one colony to the other. Recognizing that the law was not being adhered to, the House of Commons in England passed a bill in 1815 requiring the registration of slaves. It became effective when it was adopted by the colonial legislatures. In 1816 an act was passed for a return of slaves with more information, effective in June 1817, to keep a stricter check on any movement of the slaves. These documents represent the new method of recording slave numbers, and notably contain a column specifying their colour, whether the slave is Creole or African, and in some cases their ancestry (usually the mother's name). In 1823 (the date of the St Vincent deed) the British government pledged to adopt measures for the abolition of slavery in the colonies. By December 1833 there was a Bill for the abolition of slavery, and it became effective on August 1, 1834 (which is the date of the Returns, HSR/Z/42/4). At that time all slaves became apprentices. Therefore the Jamaica deed, dated July 1834, and the Return documents, may be some of the last to refer to ownership of 'slaves' instead of 'apprentices'. They remained working for the same slave masters. The system was a failure, and that too was abolished. Slaves received their unrestricted freedom on August 1, 1838.