Commodities

Slave account (reference: DD/P6/1/22/22)

This account comes from an account book of Sir Robert Harley, a Nottinghamshire gentleman who owned plantations in the Caribbean which used slave labour.

The account is dated 19 March 1663/4. It describes how five 'Indians' and 18 'Negroes' were sold to various other individuals in return for sugar. Each individual is worth so much sugar depending upon how much of the crop they could harvest or carry. In total 23 people were sold for the sum of 49,100 pounds of sugar.

The document shows how human beings were treated as commodities and rated only on their value in working on the plantation.

Find out more...

• Larger version of the account: see the account in more detail here [PDF 442KB]
• Transcript: read the account here [PDF 23KB]
• Setting up a plantation: find out more about Sir Robert Harley establishing a plantation in Jamaica and his use of slaves
• The Slave Trade: find out more about the history of the slave trade here
• Terminology: find out more about some of the terms used
• Further information: explore other web sites and online resources

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