Port Royal Habitation
This wooden habitation was built in 1605 near present-day Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia, after the settlement at Sainte-Croix Island, New Brunswick, across the Bay of Fundy proved unsuitable. There was no fresh water source on the island. And after many died of scurvy over the winter at Ile Sainte-Croix it was decided to move the settlement to Port Royal.
Samuel de Champlain (cartographer)
Library and Archives Canada
Chez Jean Berjon
1613
Copyright Expired
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Francais
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MIKAN No. 3919789
A Black Wood Cutter at Shelburne, Nova Scotia
This 1788 image is described by Library and Archives Canada as a "rare and early example" of a Black person in what was then the British colony of Nova Scotia. This watercolour by artist William Booth depicts a wood cutter, indicating lumbering as a significant industry at this time and place, as well as a job that was typical of a Black person's work in the colony.
William Booth
Library and Archives Canada
1788
Coverdale Collection
Copyright Expired
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MIKAN No. 2836297
Rose Fortune
Nova Scotian Rose Fortune is a good example of someone who led an interesting life. Born in Virginia in 1774, she was brought by her slave parents as Black United Empire Loyalists to Nova Scotia, where they settled as free people in the Annapolis Valley. Rose grew up to be an entrepreneur. She ran a cartage business, as well as a business providing wake-up calls at local hotels for passengers on departing ships. Her work in the area of the docks led to her take on a role as an enforcer of curfews – a role that made later generations designate her as the first policewoman in Canada. She lived into her 90s, but her grandchildren carried on the business she founded for another 100 years. More recently a scholarship in law enforcement was named in her honour, and one of her descendants became the first Black mayor in North America.
Unknown
Nova Scotia Archives
1830s
Permission on File
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NSARM Documentary Art Collection: acc. no. 1979-147/56 | NSARM neg. N-6955 CN-9813
Trial Documents for the Arson Trial of Marie Joseph Angélique
Marie Joseph Angélique was a Black slave woman living in Montreal in the early eighteenth century. She was accused of setting fire to her mistress’s house and, in doing so, burning down half of what is now Old Montreal. She was tried in a court of law and found guilty. Because she would not confess the name of her suspected accomplice and lover, her sentence was made harsher. She was paraded through the streets, tortured, hanged, her body burned at the stake, and her ashes cast to the winds. Today questions have arisen as to her guilt or innocence, as well as the fairness of her trial. Her story also demonstrates that public attitudes towards Blacks in the eighteenth century were not generous. Not only was slavery legal in Canada, or what was then New France, but Canadians subjected blacks to considerable racism.
Claude-Cyprien Porlier
Quebec Library and Archives
1734
Permission on File
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French
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TL4,S1,D4136, 1734-04-11A_3
Marie Joseph Angélique
Marie Joseph Angelique was a Black slave woman living in Montreal in the early eighteenth century. She was accused of setting fire to her mistress’s house and, in doing so, burning down half of what is now Old Montreal. She was tried in a court of law and found guilty. Because she would not give up the name of her suspected accomplice and lover, her sentence was made harsher. She was paraded through the streets, tortured, hanged, her body burned at the stake, and her ashes cast to the winds. Today questions have arisen as to her guilt or innocence, as well as the fairness of her trial. Her story also demonstrates that public attitudes towards Blacks in the eighteenth century were not generous. Not only was slavery legal in Canada, or what was then New France, but Canadians subjected blacks to considerable racism.
Teresa L. Fenton
Private Collection
2012
Permission on File
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The Triangular Transatlantic Trade (1600s-1700s)
Ships built in Europe travelled a roughly triangular route around the Atlantic during the 1600s and 1700s, and they rarely travelled empty. They carried guns, luxury items and manufactured goods to Africa, the West Indies and North America. In Africa, these goods were traded for gold, ivory, spices and human slaves. The slaves were transported to Europe, the West Indies and the United States, but not to Canada. Canada had slaves, but they did not come by ship directly from Africa.
Anya Langmead
UK National Archives
Maps in Minutes
2003
Permission Granted: ''For private study or noncommercial educational or research purposes as defined in the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (as amended), material included in this exhibition may be reproduced without seeking permission'' <a href="http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/pathways/blackhistory/copyright.htm">http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/pathways/blackhistory/copyright.htm</a>
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<a href="http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/pathways/blackhistory/africa_caribbean/docs/trade_routes.htm">http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/pathways/blackhistory/africa_caribbean/docs/trade_routes.htm</a><br /><br />
Pass Enabling Black Loyalist Cato Rammsay to Emigrate to Nova Scotia - 1783
Black Loyalists came from the United States to Canada after the American Revolution. This pass was a standard form to which the name of the specific Black loyalist was affixed, along with the date. The requirement to enter "He" or "She" at the bottom, indicates that both men and women were expected to come to Canada and each person received his or her own pass. And while it seems to have been expected that the emigrant would choose to go to Nova Scotia, it was not mandatory and he or she could go elsewhere.
Unknown
Nova Scotia Archives
Brigadier General Birch
April 21, 1783
Gideon White family fonds
Permission on File
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English
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Reference no.: Gideon White family fonds NSARM MG 1 vol. 948 no. 196 (microfilm no. 14960)
Book of Negroes - 1783
This extract from the title page of the Book of Negroes is taken from the British version of this document. Two of these hand-written records were made simultaneously - one by the British and one by the Americans - listing the names and descriptions of Black refugees departing from New York in 1783. The page reads: "Book of Negroes Registered and certified after having been Inspected by the Commissioners appointed by His Excellency Sir Guy Carleton R.B. General & Commander in Chief, on Burd ( Sundry Vessels in which they were Embarked Previous to the time of sailing from the Port of New York between the 23rd April and 31st July 1783 both Days Included"
Unknown
National Archives, United Kingdom
1783
Permission on File
The American version of the Book of Negroes kept at the National Archives at Washington
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Sir Guy Carleton Papers no. 10427 The National Archives, Kew PRO 30/55/100
Leonard Parkinson, a Captain of the Maroons NS 1796
The then British colony of Jamaica had a significant population of escaped American and West Indies slaves, called Maroons, who lived there in freedom. Some had lived in Jamaica for generations. After an unsuccessful revolt against the British colonial government in 1796, Britain made arrangements for 600 of them to emigrate to Nova Scotia where they were given assistance to establish themselves for the first few years. However, most were unhappy with their experience in Nova Scotia and the vast majority emigrated to Sierra Leone in 1800.
Abraham Raimbach
Nova Scotia Archives
1796
Permission on File
B. Edwards, The Proceedings of the Governor and Assembly of Jamaica, in Regard to the Maroon Negroes… to which is prefixed an Introductory Account… of the Maroons… (London, 1796)
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(F210 /Ed9) NSARM neg. N-6202
Dallas Word Cloud 1803
This word cloud is based on Volume II of Robert Charles Dallas's 1803 publication <em>History of the Maroons</em>. This 940-page book of letters demonstrates an Enlightenment-influenced style of writing. He is sympathetic to the rights of the oppressed and somewhat unsympathetic concerning the role of the church.
Allison Smith
Dallas, Robert Charles. <em>History of the Maroons: from their origin to the establishment of their chief tribe at Sierre Leone. </em>Vol. 2. London: Longman and Rees, 1803.
2012
Sinclair, Stéfan and Geoffrey Rockwell. <em>Voyant Tools</em>. ©2013 v.3.0 <a href="http://voyeurtools.org/">http://voyeurtools.org/</a> (accessed February 26, 2013).
No Copyright
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