Unearthed Pottery Reveals Cayman Islands Slave Trade

Ph.D. student Elysia Petras and archaeologist Dr. Brandi MacDonald made a significant find at Jackson Wall Manor in the Cayman Islands, where they unearthed 15 fragments of Afro-Caribbean pottery. Their research concluded that the pottery was imported from Jamaica, implying that enslaved individuals on the island likely engaged in inter-island trade between the Caymans and Jamaica.

Afro-Caribbean pottery, traditionally made by enslaved and free artisans of African descent, was often produced using local clay for both household purposes and trade. The discovery took place at Jackson Wall Manor, an 1828-built site now owned by the National Trust for the Cayman Islands. Although little remains of the structure aside from a staircase, the findings were published in the International Journal of Historical Archaeology.

Stuart Wilson, the Historic Programs Manager for the Cayman Islands National Trust, believed that the manor had the potential to shed light on the daily lives of enslaved people on the island, prompting the excavation. While much of Caymanian history focuses on the island's involvement in seafaring activities like turtling and shipwreck salvaging, its participation in the cotton and timber trades, which relied heavily on enslaved labor, has often been overlooked.

Wilson noted that while the legacy of slavery isn't widely discussed in the Cayman Islands, the local community has shown a growing interest in the historical findings at Jackson Wall Manor, particularly because many residents of African and European heritage can trace their ancestry back to this location.

The land where Jackson Wall Manor was eventually constructed was first surveyed in 1741. In 1828, after serving a prison sentence for murder, James Shearer Jackson built the manor. According to slave records from 1834, Jackson owned at least six enslaved individuals: Chattam, James Carlow, Elizabeth Sophia, Catherine Rachel, Collins, and Paul Jones. It’s possible that one of these individuals brought the Afro-Caribbean pottery to the site.

Similar pottery can be found across the Caribbean, with some items made locally and others traded between islands. The pottery was typically crafted in houseyards, with the skills passed down from generation to generation, likely originating from African traditions. While there’s no evidence that the Cayman Islands produced their own pottery—possibly due to poor-quality local clay or limited access to resources—more research is needed to understand this fully.

Petras has a theory regarding why Caymanians might have traded for pottery instead of producing it themselves. She suggests that enslaved individuals in the Caymans may have used pottery trade as a way to maintain connections with other islands, facilitated by sailors who acted as go-betweens. These sailors may have exchanged pottery for news or other goods like silver thatch weaving, a traditional craft in the Caymans that has been passed down for generations since the 1700s.

Once acquired, the pottery might have been used for water storage. Local resident Betty R. Banks shared a photograph of a Monkey Jar-style pot, brought from Jamaica in 1913, that resembles the shards found at Jackson Wall. Historian Edward Long also wrote in 1774 about enslaved people in Jamaica using similar pottery to carry and store water in the fields, keeping it cool and clean for extended workdays.

Considering that four of James Shearer Jackson’s enslaved individuals were field workers, they likely used similar pots in their daily tasks. This discovery highlights the resourcefulness and adaptability of the enslaved people in the Cayman Islands, showing how they maintained trade networks and cultural connections despite their harsh circumstances.