Shipwreck Recovered Slave Trade Button
The recovered button from a sunken ship bears the markings "T.P.," which was used by Thomas H. Porter, a slave trader from Barbados who operated along the southeastern coast of North America and dressed his slaves in uniforms. The slave uniforms carried these buttons.
- Recovered from a sunken ship.
Thomas H. Porter was a prominent figure in the Barbados slave trade during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He was born in Barbados in 1760 and came from a family of wealthy plantation owners. Porter inherited several plantations from his father, which included hundreds of slaves.
Porter became involved in the slave trade and established his own trading company in Bridgetown, the capital of Barbados. He was known to have conducted business with other slave traders in the Caribbean and Africa, where he would exchange goods such as guns, textiles, and rum for slaves.
Porter's business was highly profitable, and he was able to amass a great deal of wealth.
In addition to his involvement in the slave trade, Porter was also a member of the Barbados House of Assembly and served as the island's chief magistrate. He was a strong advocate for the rights of planters and slave owners, and he fiercely opposed any measures that would limit the slave trade or the rights of slave owners.
Despite his wealth and power, Porter was not without controversy. He was accused of mistreating his slaves and was involved in a number of legal disputes with other plantation owners. In one notable case, he was sued for damages by a fellow planter who claimed that Porter had illegally taken possession of some of his slaves.
Today, Thomas H. Porter is remembered as a symbol of the brutal and exploitative nature of the Barbados slave trade. His legacy serves as a reminder of the deep-seated inequalities and injustices that existed during this dark period of Caribbean history.
