Barbados was one of the first Caribbean islands to be colonised by the British in the 17th century.

Powerful and connected families were given land on the island to turn into plantations and set up a home for themselves.

Merchants also bought plots of land and used it as a chance to get rich.

The land was cleared to start growing goods like tobacco and cotton, but eventually sugar cane became the main crop across the island.

Indentured servants were hired to do this work and grow crops on plantations.

Soon after, the British started to look at how other European countries were making money. Other countries were capturing and buying African people from local African leaders and forcing them to work on their plantations.

The enslaved Africans were forced into a lifetime of work and could never leave.

The British started doing this too and took millions of African people from their homes to the colonies in the Caribbean.

Barbados became one of Britain’s most profitable islands and this was all down to the forced labour of enslaved African people.

This terrible system continued for almost 200 years.

Edward Lascelles was recorded buying shares in a sugar plantation called Frames in 1648.

After that, other people with the name Lascelles appear in Barbadian records buying and selling sugar, rum and cotton. Some bought shares in ships and captained ships carrying these goods, others decided to stay in Barbados and invest in sugar planting.

Henry Lascelles was the first in the family to be directly involved in the trading of enslaved people in 1713. Henry and his brother George invested in ships that transported over 1000 enslaved people from Africa to the Caribbean over three years.

Henry went on to be involved in all areas of the Triangular Trade Route.

• He owned warehouses in London that sold sugar and rum
• He invested in slave ships that transported enslaved Africans across the Atlantic Ocean
• He invested in ships carrying goods from Africa like gold and elephant teeth
• He owned and managed plantations in Barbados
• He was a money lender to plantation owners
• He was Collector of Customs in Bridgetown in Barbados

Henry became one of the richest men in Britain. This money was used to buy the huge country estate that Harewood House stands on today.

Harewood House finished construction in 1771.

Henry died before Harewood was built. His son Edwin became Lord of the Manor and paid the best architects, craftsmen and designers to build his new country home. It took 12 years to finish and he spent over £1 million just on furniture!

Edwin took over the family business in the Caribbean and at one time, he owned and managed 24 plantations and over 3000 enslaved people. He even co-wrote a book on how to manage sugar plantations and enslaved workers.

Edwin died without any children in 1795. His cousin, Edward Lascelles, inherited the family fortune and soon moved into Harewood House. He also took charge of the Lascelles’ estates in the Caribbean.

The money the Lascelles made from the sugar trade and the Transatlantic Slave Trade helped them become important members of society.

Edward and his wife Anne eventually became the 1st Earl and Countess of Harewood. This title is still used by the family today.

In 1807, the Slave Trade Act was passed in parliament led by William Wilberforce. This ended the buying and selling of enslaved people in the British colonies.

At this time, the Lascelles were gradually selling their plantations in the Caribbean and the future 2nd Earl of Harewood, another Henry, was running for parliament.

The fight for the two Yorkshire seats was between William Wilberforce, Lord Milton and Henry Lascelles.

Henry spent a lot of money on the campaign, but his opponent Lord Milton used Henry’s family connections to the Transatlantic Slave Trade against him.

Henry told the public that he was against slavery and supported the new Slave Trade Act. The Lascelles family still owned and managed many plantations at this time, so it is possible that voters didn’t believe he was someone they could trust.

Election Results

William Wilberforce: 11, 806 votes
Lord Milton: 11, 170 votes
Henry Lascelles: 10, 989 votes

Henry came out of the election with the fewest votes, but his career in politics wasn’t over.

The 1807 election results show that people were thinking differently about the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

Small Acts of Resistance

The enslaved workers showed bravery and resilience by fighting back in small ways.

These are called small acts of resistance.

This could include:

• Running away
• Talking back
• Working slowly
• Going on strike
• Damaging crops
• Continuing African beliefs and traditions

There are very few records that show small acts of resistance, but a document in Harewood’s archive shows examples of West-African naming traditions.

Day names such as Cudjoe (Monday) and Quamin (Saturday) come from the Akan people in West Africa.

Carrying on with these traditions was a way enslaved people could feel part of a community and connect with their past.

Big Acts of Resistance

From the late 18th century, enslaved workers across the Caribbean and America gathered together to fight against their enslavers in a rebellion.

On the 14th April 1816, Barbados saw its biggest rebellion.

It was organised by a ranger called Bussa, so it was called Bussa’s rebellion. Bussa’s job meant that he was someone with more responsibility, in charge of walking along the edge of the plantation and meeting people to carry out daily tasks.

Some say the rebellion started because the enslaved community heard news that they were going to be set free and felt frustrated when this didn’t happen. Many blamed abolitionists for passing on ideas of freedom.

Hundreds of enslaved men and women tried to take their freedom for themselves, including those working on the Lascelles’ plantations. The Lascelles’ sugar cane fields were damaged and one of their plantations even became a battlefield. The family lost £3,989 (almost £400,000 in today’s money) because of damage to their plantations.

Bussa’s rebellion was over in three days and the enslaved people were defeated and captured by the army. They were not granted their freedom and many involved in the rebellion were punished or sent away.

It is important to recognise that their bravery helped bring an end to slavery. We should remember them as part of the abolitionist movement.

In 1833, the Emancipation Act was passed in parliament which meant that slavery was illegal and enslaved people in the British colonies were to be freed.

The government wanted to take small steps to ending slavery, so enslaved workers were forced to carry on working as apprentices.

In 1836, the Earl of Harewood received an anonymous letter saying that the managers on his plantations were treating the apprentices very badly.

Abolitionists heard about the terrible apprenticeship scheme and what was going on across the Caribbean, so they campaigned for the apprenticeship to end.

The apprentices were freed on 1 August 1838.

It was agreed that all enslavers would receive compensation money from the government for losing their enslaved workers.

The Lascelles family received £26,309 which is close to £2.5 million in today’s money. The formerly enslaved people received nothing to start their new lives, and many carried on working on the plantations.

People are still feeling the effects of the Transatlantic Slave Trade in the Caribbean today.

Harewood can’t change its past, but we are working towards a more inclusive future.

Now, Harewood is using exhibitions and its learning programme to celebrate Caribbean culture and share and educate others on the story of our past.

Our latest project called Missing Portraits was set up by the current Earl and Countess of Harewood.

It was started to add more people of colour to Harewood’s portrait collection and tell stories of inspiring people with connections to Harewood.