This really is a case of one man making a difference. When Arthur Torrington, secretary of the Windrush Foundation and project manager of the Equiano Society, heard that the National Archives in Kew had sold the records of enslaved Africans to a commercial company that would make them available online - at a price - he knew he had to step in.
The slavery records dating from the early 1800s are already physically available at the National Archives Kew base.
Torrington was adamant that to charge the public to access slavery records was akin to selling the slaves all over again.
And he argued that the issue was also important for those in the Caribbean who were unable to travel to Kew to access the free records. And so he embarked on a letter-writing campaign to have the records made freely searchable online.
In April 2007 Ancestry.co.uk advertised that its online records of enslaved Africans were available - but according to Torrington, it failed to say that there would be a charge to access them. In June 2007 a community group started an online petition to force free access.
This was submitted to the prime minister, Gordon Brown, but a year later he still held that the records were available free from the National Archives. Torrington began his campaign in June this year by writing to Brown and other government officials.
In November last year the National Archives wrote to Torrington confirming free online access. This is a coup for Torrington. His struggle against the establishment is inspiring. It's telling that neither the National Archives nor the government managed to come to this commonsense decision themselves.
The slavery records dating from the early 1800s are already physically available at the National Archives Kew base.
Torrington was adamant that to charge the public to access slavery records was akin to selling the slaves all over again.
And he argued that the issue was also important for those in the Caribbean who were unable to travel to Kew to access the free records. And so he embarked on a letter-writing campaign to have the records made freely searchable online.
In April 2007 Ancestry.co.uk advertised that its online records of enslaved Africans were available - but according to Torrington, it failed to say that there would be a charge to access them. In June 2007 a community group started an online petition to force free access.
This was submitted to the prime minister, Gordon Brown, but a year later he still held that the records were available free from the National Archives. Torrington began his campaign in June this year by writing to Brown and other government officials.
In November last year the National Archives wrote to Torrington confirming free online access. This is a coup for Torrington. His struggle against the establishment is inspiring. It's telling that neither the National Archives nor the government managed to come to this commonsense decision themselves.
Links
The records are difficult to find on the National Archives' site, so here the links: yourarchives.nationalarchives.gov.ukindex.php?title=Slave_registers
For slave registers of former British Colonial Dependencies, 1812-1834, go to: content.ancestry.co.uk
The records are difficult to find on the National Archives' site, so here the links: yourarchives.nationalarchives.gov.ukindex.php?title=Slave_registers
For slave registers of former British Colonial Dependencies, 1812-1834, go to: content.ancestry.co.uk
