Hi Ernest Yeah I would imagine the shipbuilding link a good one As with Nova Scotia and Maine (Sir William Codrington orders his new "Guinea Sloop" from a location in Maine and seems to know just how to do it and what he wants .....yet the source of the Codrington's rapid acquisition of enough wealth to subsidize the Relief of St Christopher]s and various military adventures is presumably a green thumb for growing cane...Yup Could there be some Supply Side Economics at work in the 17th century? The Robber Barons of America were not the first to realize the path to wealth meant cutting out the middlemen. I held back on overall Scotish involvement because the original note seemed focused on Aberdeenshire and I was too lazy to confirm the home towns of the 20 odd scotsman of prominence on Antigua circa 1740 such as Dr Walter Tullideph and William Sydserfe ....... Jamaica is chock full...., archedekne, patterson the two Campbell lines,Ogilvy...... some of whom were correspondents with Tullideph in Antigua etc And there is Oswald and Grant who ventured into the development of British East Florida from their financial foundations in Jamaica and London and took the lease on Bance Island from the Royal African Company, built a Golf Course to discourage the rampant alcoholism killing their employees as fast as they could arrive, and are unlikely to actually have made any real profit on that venture (though surely they made money on many voyages and trading ventures at other times. But I was kinda shootin at the whole "direct" thing as if to be directly connected to a Slave Ship makes you the real Blue eyed Devil and the other people witless dupes of the Great mercantile(european) conspiracy against human rights...None of which existed anyway. I'd love to interview Col John Codrington in 1684 (a couple years before some humans cut him down on Barbuda) and get the contemporary response to the notion of "Human Rights". After a passing dullness to the eyes he probably would have said something to the effect that any Man who can swing a sword has a right to strike his colors before he is boarded and cut down or something to that effect. No doubt qualified by exceptions for Papists, church reformers, most of the French and all but a few of the Spanish. Most likely he would have been more inclined to respect his Coromantes than the Irishmen on Barbuda.... Keep in mind I would have to stay upwind of him and his men, avoid the slightest drift of his breath and be damned sure to address him as mi lord or Sir at the least....or having affronted him through my lack of common courtesie he take me down immediately. Anyway despite the tragedy of human slavery(and are there not still many forms?) I think there is a much bigger vision to be had here. I admire the Scots I've studied. God forbid I was there and could not bear up to the challenges those men faced in their time whatever their origin. Visiting it now through study, I am humbled. Were men hypocrites? Yup and many still are. Was slavery a crime against Humanity? Yup. Slavery killed many women men and children but racism, and the victorian rationale for it is guilty of killing more souls than slavery ever did. I don't approve of any of it. But Racism is the real killer and the part we are all suffering from in some way right now. Mankind has an "Other" problem....and it's not over yet Actually each of the groups active in West Indies history at some point are prodded to take decisive action to survive their status as "The Other" perhaps that is the best unifying principle in this history. Anyway I think the Scots are an amazing people. If anyone doubted their mettle they proved in the West indies 1600-1800. One other thing...Walter Tullideph practiced early smallpox vacination on planters AND slaves using the Cow Pox method..... No doubt it was beneficial to his self interest, but notable nevertheless Cod -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Ernest M. Wiltshire Sent: Wednesday, January 30, 2008 8:16 PM To: [email protected] Subject: RE: Bicentenary of Abolition of the Slave Trade Cod has given a very detailed response, but I would just add that though there may not appear to be a DIRECT link between Aberdeenshire or North-East Scotland and the slave trade, one should certainly consider the possible involvement of the Scottish ship-building industry in the slave trade. Though Bristol & Liverpool were probably the two most important slave-trading ports in Britain, they must have acquired their ships somewhere, and the most likely source would seem to me to be Scottish shipyards. In addition, the Scots were huge land-owners (often absentee landlords) with large sugar estates in several West Indian islands (in particular, but not only, in St. Vincent, Tobago, and to some extent Jamaica). Moreover, many of the attorneys, factors, overseers etc. of sugar estates may have been Scots (good with money???). David Dobson's books on Scots in The West Indies are indeed an obvious start for examining possible links. Ernest M. Wiltshire -----Original Message----- On Behalf Of [email protected] Sent: Wednesday, January 30, 2008 5:04 PM To: [email protected] Subject: FW: Bicentenary of Abolition of the Slave Trade Dear Members I'm forwarding an email I received from David Atherton, an Arts & Education Officer in Aberdeen, currently developing a project for schools in the north-east of Scotland. I'm wondering if any of you can help/advise him? Tony T ------ Forwarded Message From: [email protected] ...The project that I am pursuing is very much based on the African experience of slavery; of the great Diaspora that occurred between the 17th and 19th centuries. My probelm is making this relevant to the North-east of Scotland, where there appears to have been little DIRECT link with slavery.... Any ideas? David Atherton No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.516 / Virus Database: 269.19.16/1250 - Release Date: 1/29/2008 10:20 PM ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message -- I am using the free version of SPAMfighter for private users. It has removed 193 spam emails to date. Paying users do not have this message in their emails. Get the free SPAMfighter here: http://www.spamfighter.com/len