Category Archives: Kingston
Simon Taylor to Chaloner Arcedeckne, 26 November 1781
26/11/1781
Taylor saw enslaved people as little other than units of production but understood the necessity of enforcing routines that were conducive to efficient and sustained work. Here he talks about the value of having a medical doctor resident at Arcedeckneās Golden Grove estate and critiques the practices of the white overseers who superintended the daily […]
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Simon Taylor to Chaloner Arcedeckne, 28 August 1781
28/08/1781
Taylorās callous disregard for enslaved people as anything other than commodities and units of labour is evident in his reaction to the effects of the storm at Arcedeckneās Golden Grove estate, which he managed as Arcedeckneās attorney. The shocking human cost of the hurricane is nevertheless apparent, although Taylor conflates this with a diatribe about […]
Also posted in Disease/health, Enslaved people, Famine, Food/provisions, Navy, Plantation management, Spain, Taxes/duties, The Letters, Trade, War Tagged Chaloner Arcedeckne, Simon Taylor Comments Off on Simon Taylor to Chaloner Arcedeckne, 28 August 1781
Simon Taylor to Chaloner Arcedeckne, 26 June 1781
26/06/1781
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, Hurricanes, Navy, Sugar, Taxes/duties, The Letters, Trade, War Tagged Chaloner Arcedeckne, Simon Taylor Comments Off on Simon Taylor to Chaloner Arcedeckne, 26 June 1781
Simon Taylor to Chaloner Arcedeckne, 8 April 1781
08/04/1781
Jamaica was prone to natural disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes, and droughts. The 1780s witnessed a succession of hurricanes. These, mixed with other factors, such as the scarcity of food provisions as a result of the American Revolutionary War, led to ill-health and starvation among enslaved people in Jamaica. Here, Taylor recounts to Chaloner Arcedeckne […]
Also posted in Disease/health, Drought, Famine, Food/provisions, Hurricanes, The Letters Tagged Chaloner Arcedeckne, Simon Taylor Comments Off on Simon Taylor to Chaloner Arcedeckne, 8 April 1781
Simon Taylor to Chaloner Arcedeckne, 8 April 1781
08/04/1781
What began as a fairly small conflict between Britain and the rebellious colonists of Massachusetts had, by 1781, escalated to become a global war between Britain and her traditional Catholic rivals, France and Spain. With the entry of the Dutch into the war, Britain found herself facing an even more formidable hostile alliance, a war […]
Also posted in Armed forces, Army, Disease/health, Navy, The Letters, War Tagged Chaloner Arcedeckne, Simon Taylor Comments Off on Simon Taylor to Chaloner Arcedeckne, 8 April 1781