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Africans
It will be
obvious to many that the largest group of migrants
from Africa were brought over against their will to
be slaves. But there were also several groups of
African migrants that came to Trinidad as free men,
as well as people who returned to Africa after
Emancipation.
The history of
African migration to and from Trinidad can be
divided into two time periods, pre-Emancipation and
post-Emancipation, each comprised of many different
migrant groups. Use the links to the left to
navigate through these topics.
Slavery
We will not try
to detail the entire slave trade on this site, but
will instead refer you to sites such as the
Spartacus
Internet
Encyclopedia
for more information.
Free
Colored
Among
the people of African origin in Trinidad were
several groups of free colored. Some of these
people came from French colonies after the Cedula
of Population was issued as planters, and they
often owned slaves themselves. Others were former
slaves who were given or bought their freedom under
relatively liberal Spanish laws, which the English
also kept in place after their conquest of the
island.
One interesting
group of free colored in Trinidad were the former
slaves from America that earned their freedom
fighting for the British during the War of 1812. As
a reward they were granted lands in Trinidad. They
created settlements that became known as the
Company Villages. A researcher named John Weiss has
done extensive research on this group and has
published a booklet with further information.
West
African Workers
Liberated
Slaves
The
British abolished the slave trade in 1803, and were
aggresive in their enforcement of this ban. When
they captured ships that were illegally trading in
slaves, the liberated people were often sent to
British colonies in lieu of returning them to
Africa.
African
Repatriots
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