Bermuda and the Salt Industry of the Turks Islands

Following the occasional short-term settlers (pirates, shipwrecked crews and sailors collecting salt), the first real settlers were Bermudians. Around the 1670s, Bermudians  began collecting salt from the naturally occurring salinas. It is claimed that in 1701 Bermuda sent 500 men, women, children and slaves to settle on the Turks Islands (Packwood, p47).

By the 1760's to 1770's the Bahamas took as much as 25% of Turks Islands revenue from salt sales as taxes, but they realized little benefit in return. The salt rakers opposed this arrangement. The King's Agent Andrew Symmer allowed an illegal free port to operate from Grand Turk.  This free port allowed illegal trade with French, Spanish, British and Bermuda ships. In a letter to Governor Shirley of the Bahamas, Sam Gambier, who was sent to Grand Turk to assess the situation in October 1770, wrote: “Two hundred sail of vessels had discharged their cargoes here, and taken in others, several of which were French & Spanish vessels laden with sugars, melasses, coffee, rum wines etc. which they had exchanged for rice, flour, pork and beef, lumber, naval stores, negroes, salt etc.” (CO23/19).

It is estimated that fewer than 20% of Bahamian slaves were African born. The majority were born into slavery. This is probably a similar situation in the Turks & Caicos. In the early years the Bermudians brought their slaves with them. One Bermudian slave, Mary Prince’s account indicates that many were born into slavery.
Many Bermudian slaves were experienced sailors. Bermuda's primary economic activity was trading by sea, particularly salt from the Turks Islands. By 1729, Spanish warships were attacking Bermuda vessels and seizing crews, both black and white, slave and freeman, along with ships and cargo. (Packwood, p 36). There is a lack of substantial documentation for this period.

In March 1807 the British Government outlawed the slave trade and abolished slavery in the United Kingdom. In the overseas territories, slavery was still legal. The Royal Navy set up special patrols to board ships and free slaves en route from Africa to the West Indies. Any captured slaves became the property of the government, were placed with the chief customs officer, and could be bound into apprenticeships for up to 14 years. The disparity between the rights of freed slaves in the United Kingdom and those enslaved in the West Indies caused  serious concern. The Abolitionist movement grew and formed a powerful lobby. In 1823 a new antislavery campaign promoted the publication of anti slavery literature, such as the account of Mary Prince in 1831. This movement put pressure on the governments of the colonies, who eventually succumbed to the mandate for emancipation. Slave owners could come to England with their slaves, who were then domestic servants. In reality they  had not gained freedom. They could at any time be taken back to the West Indies and slavery. Thus, in the case of Mary Prince, she gained her freedom, but was unable to rejoin her husband in Antigua, as she was not officially free outside Britain.

In August of 1833, the bill for the Emancipation Act was passed by Parliament in Britain. The Act took effect from 1st August 1834 and it gave the choice to each Colonial legislature to decide whether the slaves could be freed outright or had to undergo an apprenticeship scheme.

(reference: Turks & Caicos Museum website: http://www.tcmuseum.org/slavery/02c_the_bermudans_and_the_salt_industry/)