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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
This word cloud is based on Volume II of Robert Charles Dallas's 1803 publication History of the Maroons. This 940-page book of letters demonstrates an Enlightenment-influenced style of writing. He is sympathetic to the rights of the oppressed and…