On a recent Friday evening at the St. George’s Episcopal Church, Dr. Patricia Turnbull “introduced” Wiola Martin, one of the liberated Africans who lived on Tortola in the 1800s.
The 18-year-old was brought to Tortola on a seized Spanish schooner in 1814, Dr. Turnbull told about 40 people who attended the annual Dr. Norwell Harrigan Memorial Lecture on July 22.
Ten years after her arrival, Ms. Martin was working as a washerwoman, according to official records documenting her appearance before the colony’s commissioners. She had gone to them to complain that her mistress had not allowed her to attend class meetings at a Methodist chapel to be christened, Dr. Turnbull explained.
Beyond these few details, history is mostly silent about Ms. Martin.
She is not alone. The washerwoman was among hundreds of Africans brought to Tortola when they were freed from ships caught illegally transporting slaves after Britain abolished the trade in 1807. They came from at least five such ships that were condemned in VI waters between 1807 and 1819, according to the researcher.
See the Aug. 11, 2011 edition for full coverage.