Browse Items (33 total)

Joseph Papineau - 1825.png
This image of Joseph Papineau was painted 26 years after he presented the citizen's petition endorsing the abolition of slavery in Lower Canada.

Port Royal Habitation - 1605.png
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…

William Hall - Postage Stamp - 1859.png
William Hall was born in Horton Bluff, Nova Scotia, the son of former American slaves. He began his naval career on an American trading vessel in 1844 when he was only seventeen years old. In 1852 he joined the British Royal Navy and fought in the…

MJA face.JPG
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…

Rose Fortune - NS - 1830s - White Border.png
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…

Cato Rammsay - Black United Empire Loyalist - Certificate to Enter NS - 1783.png
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…

Book of Negroes Title Page - NY - 1783.png
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…

Governor John Graves Simcoe.png
Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe played a significant role in the passing of a law in Upper Canada in 1793 that was intended to gradually eliminate slavery. While existing slaves would remain slaves, the law disallowed any new slaves from…

Map of Northwest Territory - 1787.pdf
This map shows the new territory created in the United States in 1787 as a "free" territory. Any slave entering the state after 1787 was deemed free, although slaves already residing there remained the property of their owners. Since this territory…

Layout of Slave Ship.png
This illustration shows the way slave ships were packed with slaves during the Atlantic slave trade. The illustration was used as evidence presented to a select committee of the British House of Commons in 1790-1791. However, it took another…
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