Slavery and Revolution

Category Archives: Family

Simon Taylor to Simon Richard Brissett Taylor, 30 August 1806

By Christer Petley |

Taylor’s letters reflect the dilemmas of slaveholding colonial planters with British identities who had, nevertheless, become disillusioned about their place within the empire. By 1806, Taylor was recommending his nephew, and principal heir, Sir Simon Brissett Taylor, who was by then aged twenty-two, to explore the possibility of moving the Taylor family and their investments […]

Also posted in Kingston, North America/USA, Slave trade abolition, The Letters | Tagged , | Comments Off on Simon Taylor to Simon Richard Brissett Taylor, 30 August 1806


Simon Taylor to Chaloner Arcedeckne, 11 October 1786

By Admms |

Taylor’s brother died of a fever, although the evidence available in Taylor’s letters does not allow for a more precise diagnosis of his illness. Here, Taylor reflects on the medical treatment that his brother received, on his own health, and on the preponderance of sickliness among whites in Jamaica. He also discusses the debts of […]

Also posted in Disease/health, Kingston, The Letters | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Simon Taylor to Chaloner Arcedeckne, 11 October 1786


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, Hurricanes, Kingston, Natural disasters, Plantation management, The Letters | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Simon Taylor to Chaloner Arcedeckne, 1 June 1786