Sugar:
Pickerings
(or Pickering's) refers to sugar plantations in Barbados named after the
Pickering family, who owned them from the late 17th century and held
enslaved people there as part of the island's plantation slavery
system.cd9905
Ucl
Barbados
was a major early English/British sugar colony and one of the first fully
developed large-scale Black slave societies in the Americas. Enslaved
Africans (and their descendants) formed the bulk of the labor force on
plantations like these from the mid-17th century until emancipation in the
1830s. Records of ownership, mortgages, sales, and slave numbers come
primarily from sources such as the Barbados Department of Archives,
Hughes-Queree Index of Plantations, and the UCL Legacies of British
Slavery database.acef70
Ucl
Pickerings
in St. Lucy (main association with the family)
Named
after the Pickering family, who had owned the plantation since around
1674.b46640
Ucl
Early
links include Col. Joseph Pickering of St. Lucy and his son/heir John
Pickering (who also held property in St. Michael by 1716).
Later
owners/associates included Joseph Pickering (London attorney, previous
owner, d. ~1789) and his son Tobias Pickering (of Middlesex, England;
mortgaged the estate in the late 1780s while it was already
debt-encumbered).fcd7f9
Ucl
Size
and enslaved population examples:
1788:
~356 acres, 129 enslaved people.
1791:
~356 acres, 131 enslaved.
1815:
~338 acres, 135 enslaved (sold via Chancery Court after James Maxwell's
death; bought by Ward Cadogan for £25,646; land valued at ~£13,520 and
enslaved people at ~£11,032, with peak valuations around £140 for adult
males).
1817–1832:
typically 160–165 enslaved people under Cadogan (with attorneys managing
it).7bbec5
Ucl
Compensation
claim at emancipation: Barbados 4763 (Pickerings) for £3,864 9s 2d.759b06
Ucl
The
estate continued into the 20th century (e.g., listed at 383 acres in 1913
under Fenwick ownership). Parts of the land have been discussed or
developed more recently.874ce5
Ucl
Pickerings
/ Pickering's in St. Michael
A
separate but related property (northeast of Wildey). Originally
established around 1674 (by William Marshall); by 1680 it was ~180 acres.
By 1716 it was held by John Pickering of St. Lucy (son/heir of Col. Joseph
Pickering), who owned both a St. Lucy plantation and this one; an annuity
for his mother Ann was secured on both. In 1736 John mortgaged it (246
acres, 69 enslaved people).ba4f0a
Ucl
Later
history: owned by Sir Francis Ford before 1795 (sold that year to George
Wilson for £7,500 sterling); then passed through estates, Timothy William
Halls, and others. Bought by Bezsin King Reece from Chancery in 1835. Some
land later used for St. Barnabas Chapel School.c1118a
Ucl
Enslaved
numbers varied (e.g., 91 in 1795 on 205 acres; higher figures like 149 in
1817 under earlier ownership; lower later under Halls). Compensation
claim: Barbados 129 (Pickering's) for 61 enslaved people and £1,322 9s 2d
(contested).91a7d1
Ucl
Early
Pickering presence in Barbados dates to at least the 1630s–1670s (e.g., a
Joseph Pickering gent. with land and some enslaved people in St. Lucy by
the late 17th century). The family name stuck to the estates long after
direct ownership ended. Like other Barbadian sugar plantations, these were
part of a system based on the forced labor of enslaved Africans, with high
mortality, debt/mortgage financing common among planters (including
absentees in Britain), and British government compensation paid to owners
(not the enslaved) upon emancipation.db94c7
Gdcooke
For
primary details, the UCL Legacies of British Slavery estate pages (e.g.,
for the St. Lucy and St. Michael properties) and Barbados archival indexes
are the key modern compiled sources. Local place names and modern
development references (e.g., Pickerings area in St. Lucy) still reflect
the historical plantation.
Documentaries
related to Barbados slavery and sugar plantations (no major films
specifically focused on the Pickerings estate itself appear to exist;
coverage centers on the broader system and better-known sites like Drax
Hall).
Strongly
relevant / recent
The
First Plantation (dir. Jason Fitzroy Jeffers, feature documentary, in
production/supported by ITVS, Doc Society, Sundance, etc.)
Personal
investigative film by a Barbadian filmmaker about Drax Hall—the oldest
continuously operated sugar plantation in the Americas—its role as a model
for plantation slavery, the Drax family's ongoing ownership, Barbados
becoming a republic, and the modern reparations debate. Highly relevant to
the island's plantation history and legacy.23c192
Documentary
Britain's
Forgotten Slave Owners / Britain's Forgotten Slave Traders (BBC / David
Olusoga series)
Includes
substantial material on Barbados as Britain's first fully developed slave
society. Segments cover the rise of sugar plantations in the 17th century,
the 1661 Barbados Slave Code, and the later compensation paid to owners
(not the enslaved) at emancipation. Clips such as "The Sugar Plantations
of British Barbados" and "Barbados: the First Slave Society" are widely
available on YouTube.11dc3c
YouTube
Other
focused documentaries and programmes
Heart
and Soul: The Church's Slave Plantation (BBC World Service Documentary
Podcast, 2023)
Two-part
investigation into the Church of England's (Society for the Propagation of
the Gospel) ownership and operation of the Codrington plantations in
Barbados, one of the most documented missionary/slavery experiments.
Explores historical involvement and present-day consequences.2ba141
BBC
The
Redlegs – Ireland's Sugar Slaves (2010, ~50–55 min)
Documentary
on the tens of thousands of Irish people transported and sold into forced
labour on Barbados sugar plantations in the 17th century under Cromwell,
and the possible links to the later "Redleg" poor white community. Covers
early labour systems that preceded and overlapped with large-scale African
enslavement.dd0c61
Moondance
Rebel
Sounds: Musical Resistance in Barbados (BBC Radio 3 Documentary)
Opera
singer Peter Brathwaite (himself of Barbadian descent) explores the music
of enslaved people on the island's plantations, resistance through
culture, and his own family history involving both enslavers and the
enslaved.c39c7f
BBC
Blood,
Sweat and Sugar (Al Jazeera Featured Documentary series)
Broader
look at the sugar industry's history of slavery, exploitation, and lasting
social/environmental impact, with relevance to Caribbean plantation
systems including Barbados.fea214
Al
Jazeera
Shorter
/ archival clips and related viewing
YouTube
hosts multiple short extracts from the Olusoga series and other history
programmes that specifically discuss Barbados as the prototype "slave
society," the early sugar boom, and plantation conditions. Searching
"Barbados first slave society Olusoga" or "sugar plantations British
Barbados" will surface them quickly.
These
films and programmes place plantations like Pickerings in the larger
context of Barbados's role as an early, intensive model for racialised
chattel slavery that influenced the wider Americas. For primary archival
material rather than film, the UCL Legacies of British Slavery database
remains the best starting point for specific estates.
Here
is everything compiled into one clear text block with hyperlinks included:
PICKERING
/ PICKERINGS BARBADOS SLAVERY SUMMARY
================================================
Pickerings
(or Pickering's) refers to sugar plantations in Barbados named after the
Pickering family, who owned them from the late 17th century and held
enslaved people there as part of the island's plantation slavery system.
Barbados
was a major early English/British sugar colony and one of the first fully
developed large-scale Black slave societies in the Americas. Enslaved
Africans (and their descendants) formed the bulk of the labour force on
plantations like these from the mid-17th century until emancipation in the
1830s.
MAIN
SOURCES:
PICKERINGS
IN ST. LUCY
-
Named after the Pickering family, who had owned the plantation since
around 1674.
-
Early links: Col. Joseph Pickering of St. Lucy and his son/heir John
Pickering.
-
Later: Joseph Pickering (London attorney, previous owner, d. \~1789) and
his son Tobias Pickering (of Middlesex, England).
-
Examples of size and enslaved numbers:
• 1788: \~356 acres, 129 enslaved people
• 1791: \~356 acres, 131 enslaved
• 1815: \~338 acres, 135 enslaved (Chancery sale after James Maxwell's
death; bought by Ward Cadogan for £25,646)
• 1817–1832: typically 160–165 enslaved under Cadogan
-
Compensation claim at emancipation: Barbados 4763 – £3,864 9s 2d
-
Still listed in 1913 at 383 acres (Fenwick ownership)
PICKERINGS
/ PICKERING'S IN ST. MICHAEL
-
Separate but related property (NE of Wildey).
-
Established \~1674; by 1716 held by John Pickering of St. Lucy (who owned
both plantations).
-
1736: 246 acres, 69 enslaved people (mortgaged by John Pickering).
-
Later owners included Sir Francis Ford (sold 1795 to George Wilson for
£7,500), then Timothy William Halls, and Bezsin King Reece (bought from
Chancery 1835).
-
Compensation claim: Barbados 129 – 61 enslaved, £1,322 9s 2d (contested).
DOCUMENTARIES
RELATED TO BARBADOS SLAVERY & SUGAR PLANTATIONS
============================================================
1.
The First Plantation (dir. Jason Fitzroy Jeffers – feature documentary)
About Drax Hall (oldest continuously operated sugar plantation in
the Americas), reparations, and Barbados's history.
Links:
2.
Britain's Forgotten Slave Owners / Britain's Forgotten Slave Traders (BBC
/ David Olusoga)
Covers Barbados as Britain's first fully developed slave society,
the rise of sugar plantations, and the 1661 Slave Code.
YouTube clips:
3.
Heart and Soul: The Church's Slave Plantation (BBC World Service, 2023)
On the Church of England / SPG ownership of the Codrington
plantations in Barbados.
4.
The Redlegs – Ireland's Sugar Slaves (2010, \~50–55 min)
About Irish people transported and forced to labour on Barbados
sugar plantations.
5.
Rebel Sounds: Musical Resistance in Barbados (BBC Radio 3)
Explores music of enslaved people on Barbadian plantations.
6.
Enslaved: The Lost History of the Transatlantic Slave Trade (Samuel L.
Jackson series)
Broader series on the transatlantic trade with relevant Caribbean
context.
These
films and programmes place plantations like Pickerings in the larger
context of Barbados's role as an early, intensive model for racialised
chattel slavery that influenced the wider Americas.