The Wreck of the Slave Ship Peter Mowell: History, Archaeology, & Genealogy
Author(s): Corey Malcom; Michael Pateman
Year: 2018
Summary
In 1860, the New Orleans-based slaving schooner Peter Mowell wrecked along the shore of Lynyard Cay in The Bahamas, while attempting to carry 400 captive African people to Cuba. Bahamian wreckers rescued the survivors and took them to Nassau: the crew was jailed and released, and the Africans were made indentured servants. After completing their indentures, the shipwrecked Africans blended into Bahamian society but maintained distinctive traditions from their homelands. In 2012, a Bahamian/US research partnership mounted a successful quest to locate the remains of the Peter Mowell. The wreck site was surveyed and selected artifacts were recovered for display. Research since then has identified descendants from the various groups tied to the Peter Mowell – from Africans, to crew, to wreckers – creating modern human connections that make the shipwreck’s tale particularly powerful. Today, the Peter Mowell is featured in Nassau’s Pompey Museum of Slavery and Emancipation and other, traveling exhibitions.
Cite this Record
The Wreck of the Slave Ship Peter Mowell: History, Archaeology, & Genealogy. Corey Malcom, Michael Pateman. Presented at Society for Historical Archaeology, New Orleans, Louisiana. 2018 ( tDAR id: 441553)
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Keywords
General
Afro-Bahamian
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Shipwreck
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slave-trade
Geographic Keywords
North America
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United States of America
Temporal Keywords
Nineteenth Century
Spatial Coverage
min long: -129.199; min lat: 24.495 ; max long: -66.973; max lat: 49.359 ;
Individual & Institutional Roles
Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology
Record Identifiers
PaperId(s): 882