How to search the legacies of British Slave-ownership database

Discover how to search the website for biographical information about slave owners, and details and whereabouts of the plantations, and so learn more about the legacies of colonial slavery, the land and wealth involved, the owners  – and the background to the lives of enslaved people.

Step 1

Go to the website here and search on your names of interest

Step 2

The search results list provide information about number of enslaved people owned, their monetary value and the planation.

Step 3

The advanced search allows you to search more precisely.

Step 4

An example of a search result, showing the amount that the owner, Ann Molineux was awarded in 1836 in compensation for the freedom of her slave.

Step 5

You may also search among the 101,759 records for the 11,881 estates on which enslaved people were held.

Step 6

View the map to see areas associated with slavery in Britain. Zoom in to see the places that slave owner compensation claimants came from. The is a work in progress and not all places cited in the database are marked on the map. The maps for Barbados, Jamaica and Grenada all show the location of plantations.