In 1807 the British Government enacted The Abolition of Slave Trade Act, which made the trade in enslaved people illegal. In an attempt to combat a now illicit trade, many of the colonies run by Britain kept registers of enslaved people, some of which dated from 1813- 1834, and were updated every three years. These tragic, yet vital records, provide us with records of Caribbeans and Africans, the plantation owners and plantations they were exploited on and also the ‘freed negroes’ who owned enslaved people. Dr Wyporska will discuss these records as well as the Slave Compensation Commission documentation, 1812-1851, through which the Government paid slaver owners in order to free their ‘property’. She will also touch upon other records of interest to those tracing their ancestors in the Caribbean, including Chinese, Indian and Jewish ancestors.
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About the Speaker
Dr Wanda Wyporska
Dr Wanda Wyporska, FRHistS, FRSA was the Chief Executive of the Society of Genealogists before becoming CEO of Black Equity Organisation. She gave three lectures at Rootstech 2023 on a range of topics including on genealogy and history and genealogy and identity. She is a Visiting Research Fellow at the University of York, a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, and judged the 2021 Pen Hessell-Tiltman History Award. An historian of the Early Modern period, her first book, Witchcraft in Early Modern Poland 1500-1800, was shortlisted for the Katharine Briggs Folklore Award and she regularly contributes to a range of historical events, such as HistFest, podcasts and interviews. She was a Starun Senior Scholar at Hertford College, Oxford, has lectured at a number of universities and is a regular keynote speaker. She has spoken at the UN in Geneva, the Oxford Union, and the Women of the World Festival. Dr Wyporska was recognised as one of 21 to watch in 21 by Charity Times and as Best Charity CEO on Social Media in 2020. She is a trustee of Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and the National Football Museum.
01/10/2026
16:00 - 17:00
Society of Genealogists / Online
In Person talk with the option to watch on Zoom, by Wanda Wyporska, former SoG CEO.