Slavery, Abolition and Archipelagic Connections in the Swedish Caribbean

The Swedish era as a colonial power in the Caribbean, while possessing the island Saint Barthélemy 1784—1878, was the most extensive period of Swedish slavery in modern time. Thousands of enslaved people living in the colony were affected by legal codes which subjected them to separate rights and punishments. The colony has long been seen as a historical parenthesis, but has garnered new interest in recent years. New research on the Swedish slave trade, legislation regarding
enslaved and free people of color, social conditions in the colony and the Swedish state's governance of the colony has contributed to new perspectives on the colony's history. These discoveries have raised more questions and demonstrated the necessity for further research on, among other things, the living conditions of enslaved and free black people.

With the help of the project team's digitization and access to documents (www.swecarcol.ub.uu.se), the research team will deepen knowledge of slave laws and legislation, the Swedish slave trade, the abolition of slavery, colonial demography, and issues of governance and colonial administration. These new findings are not only important for an expanded and nuanced understanding of Swedish colonial history, but also for Caribbean history in a wider context. The Swedish colony had close links to the French, British, Danish and Dutch colonies, which is particularly evident in the detailed Swedish colonial archive. This project is financed by the European Research Council.