Slavery and Revolution

« Older posts |

Category Archives: Hurricanes

Simon Taylor to Chaloner Arcedeckne, 1 May 1787

By Admms |

Taylor’s discussion of breadfruit relates to the infamous 1787 expedition of the HMS Bounty, commanded by Captain William Bligh, to collect plants in Tahiti and introduce them to the West Indies, where it was anticipated that they would help provided food for the enslaved people on sugar estates and other properties. Taylor’s discussion on this […]

Also posted in British Government, Disease/health, Enslaved people, Food/provisions, Navy, Sugar, Taxes/duties, The Letters, Trade | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Simon Taylor to Chaloner Arcedeckne, 1 May 1787


Simon Taylor to Chaloner Arcedeckne, 1 June 1786

By Admms |

The 1780s were a transformative decade in Taylor’s life. The American War and its aftermath transformed his political outlook towards a distrust of the British government in London, a perspective that became more entrenched with the advent of the parliamentary campaign against the slave trade in 1788. His sugar estates were adversely affected by the […]

Also posted in Disease/health, Drought, Family, Kingston, Natural disasters, Plantation management, The Letters | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Simon Taylor to Chaloner Arcedeckne, 1 June 1786


Simon Taylor to Chaloner Arcedeckne, 10 October 1783

By Admms |

By the end of 1783, Taylor expressed his satisfaction with work at Golden Grove, under the supervision of the overseer, Madden. Taylor described his plans for improving the cultivation and productivity of Golden Grove, which included the purchase of more enslaved workers and the avoidance of ‘jumping crops’, which were years of heightened productivity created […]

Also posted in Disease/health, Enslaved people, Food/provisions, Lyssons (plantation), Pens/livestock, Plantation management, Slave trading, Sugar, The Letters | Tagged , | Comments Off on Simon Taylor to Chaloner Arcedeckne, 10 October 1783


Simon Taylor to Chaloner Arcedeckne, 18 August 1781

By Admms |

On 1 August 1781, another hurricane hit Jamaica. It was less severe than the hurricanes of 1780, and again much of the damage was in the west of the island. However, as Simon Taylor’s letter mentions, shipping was driven ashore in Kingston Harbour, and there was damage in eastern districts, where Simon Taylor’s Lyssons estate […]

Also posted in Disease/health, Enslaved people, Food/provisions, Lyssons (plantation), Plantation management, The Letters | Tagged , | Comments Off on Simon Taylor to Chaloner Arcedeckne, 18 August 1781


Simon Taylor to Chaloner Arcedeckne, 26 June 1781

By Admms |

The increase in the duty on sugar came in the budget of March 1781. A duty that had been a little under 6s 4d per hundredweight in 1776 now rose to over 11s 8d. The Prime Minister, Lord North, explained that the new tax was necessary because of the expenses of the war, which compelled […]

Also posted in British Government, Kingston, Navy, Sugar, Taxes/duties, The Letters, Trade, War | Tagged , | Comments Off on Simon Taylor to Chaloner Arcedeckne, 26 June 1781


« Older posts |