By Kimatni D. Rawlins
The Bahamas didn’t receive independence from the British until July 10, 1973; however, the prolonged period of torment, bondage, and colonization was not without resistance. I’m enamored with culture and history, so during my first visit to Nassau I made a point to visit the educational Pompey Museum of Emancipation & Slavery.
Situated among the shops and cruise ship activities in the heart of downtown on Bay Street, the Pompey Museum offers an opportunity to learn about the brutal chronology of slavery, the revolts, and the eventual freedom of the Bahamians. The colorful and artsy building, known as the Vendue House, enslaved Africans here and subsequently sold them on the auction block.
The fee is only $5, and you can expect to spend 45 minutes to an hour learning about Bahamian slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade through visual presentations, slave artifacts, and kiosks filled with information. The timeline begins with the origin story of the indigenous Lucayan population, who were native to The Bahamas and Turks and Caicos before the era of slavery. Unfortunately, they were decimated by disease, murder, hardship, and enslavement within a few decades by Christopher Columbus who arrived in 1492 thinking he had discovered a shorter route to Asia. Surrounded by shallow waters, the tropical island was originally called Guanahani by the Lucayans, but the Italian explorer selfishly deemed it San Salvador.
If you are wondering, the museum is named after a 32-year-old slave named Pompey who led a rebellion in 1830 against Lord Rolle. His heroism set the tone for the anti-slavery movement and created empathy across the board. The abolition of slavery finally came about in 1834, with complete emancipation following in 1838.
In 1841, Madison Washington and almost 20 other men led the most successful slave revolt in history aboard the Creole. After overtaking the crew, he had them sail for the British West Indies where freedom awaited on November 9 for the 128 enslaved people with him. Yet, Washington and the others involved in the violence were not allowed to go free and were charged with mutiny. Devastatingly, from the 1780s, slave Loyalists and their descendants occupied The Bahamas for two centuries.
For over 400 years, Africans were treated like commodities, including the harrowing walk to slave castles from their villages in West Africa and other territories to the cruel Middle Passage to the tribulation of cotton plantations by countries in the Western Hemisphere like England, Spain, Portugal, France, and The Netherlands all for financial gain. Today, we are still feeling the socioeconomic impact of colonization and slavery, be it hatred and racism, encoded laws, financial literacy, educational deficiencies, or property ownership. Yet, we shall overcome.
“If there is no struggle, there is no progress.” — Frederick Douglass
