"...the recent Foreign Relations Ministers Conference of Non-Aligned Nations, held in Georgetown, Guyana. Reflecting the will of almost one half of the countries in the world--with a total population of more than a billion people--...concentrated its discussion on, colonialist, imperialist wars of aggression..."

"...[56]pp...Folio. Contemporary three-quarter calf and marbled boards, marbled endpapers...Clipping from the July 15, 1797 issue of the St. James's Chronicle, or the British Evening Post laid in.

A significant account book documenting transactions with several plantations in the West Indies in the last years of (legal) slavery in the British Empire. Possibly belonging to a bookkeeper for a plantation agent/merchant, the manuscript records document debits and credits, noting trade in rum, cattle, flour, sheep, sugar, wine, lumber, oats, and even lottery tickets. There are also two slavery transactions (embedded in larger transactions), both dated July 9, 1832: '...to the sum assumed on A/c of Miss Mary Robertson for the manumission of Thomas a slave belonging to Meldrum [Estate]...assumed the sum on A/c of Miss Bess Urquhart for the freedom of her daughter Nancy...' The account also includes orders for books of magazines, including Blackwood's Magazine, Glasgow Courier, and a copy of J. W. Norie's Epitome of Practical Navigation, acquired for Daniel Polson. There are also expenses for 'repairing the clock' (July 22, 1833), 'Shoeing a horse on his fore feet' (June 24, 1834), and credit related to the 'Hurricane at Barbados' (June 25, 1832).

This book appears to have functioned as a receipt book, and it seems unlikely that it was the master record for the merchant or plantation agent to whom his bookkeeper reported. The transactions are not ordered chronologically or alphabetically. Each set of transactions are headed by a name, although it is not clear how the name is associated with the transactions listed. Finally, there are transactions with the entries 'Remitted to my Parents...' throughout, and a few transactions with entries 'Cash given you...' and 'To your order...' which seems to lack the formality or clarity expected in a ledger. Nevertheless, the hand is professional, strong, and clear through about two-thirds, at which point it changes to a smaller, tighter hand. Corrections are rare, although a few pages have partial pages pasted over previous entries.

A number of individuals and estates recur throughout the volume. As well, a few of the individuals noted are non-resident owners (or trustees or beneficiaries), with addresses in England and Scotland. Notable recurring people include: Alexander George Milne (London), John Dallas, George McLean, William Kirkland, and Simon Fraser. Many of these people owned or held shares in several different estates, sold and bought estates from each other, and were often related through marriage. Estates mentioned include: Harvey Vale, Craigston, Limlair, Beausejour, Dumfries, Belair, Grand Bay, Orange Vale, and Meldrum. The prevalence of Scottish names is due to the large number of Scottish settlers who came to the Caribbean as prospects in Scotland diminished after the Jacobite rebellion and subsequent Highland clearances.

One particularly interesting figure mentioned in the volume is Edward Gibbs, of Edward Gibbs & Co. of Grenada and London. Gibbs was a 'free man of colour' and acted as the London agent of the 'free coloured' community of Grenada. While not larger, the freed community played a significant role in the plantation economy. At the same time, it is likely that most of the owners had not forgotten that Julian Fédon, who led the slave revolt in 1795, was a 'free coloured' Grenadian (his mother was a freed slave from Martinique) who owned a substantial plantation and many slaves.

An intriguing glimpse into the plantation economy of Grenada as slavery was ending." –Description from William Reese Company

A commemorative album printed in Havana, Cuba to celebrate the Dominican Republic's centennial since it declared independence from the Republic of Haiti on February 27, 1844.

4 page document. In this letter, Mr. Bunn mentions that the Antigua claims will receive his closest attention. He also writes that he has met with Mr. Newman.

Account of American Ship "Nancy" Captured off Haiti by Indomitable French Privateer "Recontre"

2 page document. Copy of Mr. Hooper's account. This copy was sent to Matthew Christian of the island of Antigua. Mr. Hooper mentions that his annuity is in the life of his daughter Elizabeth, and son George.

1 page document. This document mentions George Hooper's annuity amount. It also lists plantations and the number of slaves on each one.

"Two manuscript appraisals of the virtually unknown Cardiff Estate in Saint Mary Parish, Tobago, valuing the land, buildings, slaves, and livestock. The 1810 document features the signatures of three appraisers, and an addendum annotation signed by attorney John Reid who requested the assessment on behalf of Messrs. ... 4 pages on a double-leaf, laid watermarked paper of T.J. Edmonds 1804, featuring the Britannia." -Voyager Press Rare Books

"This decree authorized foreign vessels to transport African slaves for sale in Martinique, Guadeloupe, Saint Lucia, and Tobago, to meet the needs of those islands which had been abandoned by French slave traders in favor of the colony of Saint-Dominique; funds raised by the decree, which imposed a payment of 100 livres per head, were to be paid as a bonus rewarding captains of French slave trading vessels who brought slaves to the islands." –description from James Cummins, bookseller

4515 E. Assignment of a Term in a third part of Longville Estate in Clarendon, Jamaica subject to redemption. Samuel Scudamore Fleming and Mary Charlotte Fleming his wife and their trustees to Richard Green and Daniel Richards. 2 leaves of vellum joined at foot with 4 seals. Dated 22 January 1793. #4515 F. (copy of #4515 E)

"This indenture of 1814-15 records the assignment to the wealthy slave owner and politician Christopher Bethell Cordington by the trustees and grandson of Sir Peter Parker the rights to a sugar planation on Antigua called Skerretts. The document recites details concerning the history of ownership of the estate. Numbering 500 acres in the parish of St. John, it was named after owner Robert Skerrett and later became known as Clare Hall estate." –Description from Samuel Gedge, bookseller

4515 H. Description in "Jamaica Docs" folder in Drawer 7. Assignment of the residue of a term of 500 years of a third part of a plantation in Jamaica called Longville, with the Slaves and Stock therein for securing 5000 euros in interest. 7 leaves of vellum.

"Attorney Charles Baldwin reassures his client, Gelston, U.S. Collector of Customs for the Port of New York under Presidents Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe, that Congress would pass a bill to pay the $130,000 court judgement against him in the case of the ship American Eagle. Eight years earlier, Gelston had seized the vessel, which was being fitted out in New York to carry arms or supplies to Alexandre Petion, first President of the Republic of Haiti, who was then locked in civil war with his rival, Henri Christophe. Gelston maintained that he was merely following orders from Washington, being told that President Madison believed the ship was being 'fitted out for illegal purposes' as defined by the 1794 Neutrality Act, which forbade any 'military expedition or enterprise,' including a 'foreign vessel,' from being 'set on foot' within U.S. territory against 'any foreign prince or state.' After the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the judgment against Gelston, his only recourse was to petition Congress to appropriate funds to pay the judgment in favor of the ship's owner. Baldwin was certain that in light of the 'gross injustice' of the court judgment, Congress would appropriate the money to compensate Gelston for his legal debt. This proved to be correct. One month later, the bill passed the House of Representatives by the narrow vote of 59 to 60.

Coincidentally, it was the same month that Alexandre Petion died from yellow fever. Though none of the contemporary news reports of the American Eagle case mentioned the political complications that may have influenced the seizure of the vessel, Petion was a 'quadroon,' a free mean 'of color,' born to a wealthy French father and a mixed-race mother. Despite his exalted status in the 'Black Slave Republic,' Petion, as President, 'often showed support for the oppressed;' he seized commercial plantations from the rich gentry, redistributed land to his supporters and the peasantry, and established the foundation for a system of public education. One wonders if these principles made him unpalatable to President Madison, the wealthy slave-owner, and may have led to Washington's order to prevent the American Eagle from sailing to Petion's support.

Gelston himself had been caught in the middle of the legal muddle which ensued. He was himself a New York lawyer and politician who had served in the Continental Congress before first being appointed to the Collector's position, a powerful political plum, by President Jefferson. He remained in office for two more years after being saved by Congress from a debtor's prison, and before his death in 1828, he was considered for a seat on on the U.S. Supreme Court." –Michael Brown Rare Books