"And That Is All He Knows": Witness Testimony and Local Knowledge of Transatlantic Slave Trading Connections in the Spanish Caribbean, 1620s–30s

This talk will focus on witness testimony gathered during investigations into illicit slave trading in Santo Domingo and San Juan in the 1620s and 1630s in order to understand the perspectives of local residents, both permanent and transient, on connections between their region and Africa. Sailing masters, crewmembers, and other travelers who participated in the transport of enslaved sub-Saharan Africans – primarily but not exclusively from Angola – frequently remained in the eastern Caribbean for extended periods of time, while slave purchasers, resident agents, and royal officials demonstrated substantial experience with or working knowledge of slave trading practices and pathways. However, accessing this local knowledge about the transport and sale of human captives proved challenging for royal investigators, as many of these witnesses benefited from keeping slave trading practices and commercial relationships hidden from the crown. A close examination of their testimony not only offers an illustration of the fluidity of slave trading networks and the long-distance circulation of free individuals around the Atlantic Ocean, but also indicates directions for tracing the movements and experiences of enslaved Africans in the period before the the end of the Portuguese asiento contracts in 1640.