An Archaeological Perspective On The Transition From Enslavement To Freedom In The Colony Of Bermuda

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Comparative Perspectives on European Colonization in the Americas: Papers in Honor of Réginald Auger" , at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

The archaeological study of enslavement within the plantation economies of the West Indies has also documented the period of transition to freedom through "amelioration" and actual emancipation. Though not parts of plantations, domestic sites where enslaved people lived on Bermuda also show continuity in residence and other material conditions of post-emancipation daily life. Since the excavation of the first such site on Bermuda in the summer of 1988, many other archaeological examples have come to light, some only surveyed and tested, and others almost fully excavated. A plan for historically contextualizing and interpreting these important sites, their architectural remains, and their archaeological assemblages is outlined. Key elements of a long-term comparative research, curation, and public education plan are presented that would integrate the collections of both the Bermuda National Trust and the National Museum of Bermuda recovered over the past thirty years.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2020   •
• Comparative Perspectives on European Colonization in the Americas: Papers in Honor of Réginald Auger

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 1049