BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – LOCAL cultural heritage has been strengthened with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation’s (UNESCO) designation of the registers of the slaves of St. Kitts as a ‘Memory of the World’.
According to the UNESCO website, the Memory of the World Programme is an international initiative aimed at the preservation of valuable archive holdings and library collections the world over. It was launched in 1992 and features historical items and documents from over 60 countries.
St. Kitts’ historic achievement means the registers have joined the ranks of some of the world’s most significant documentary heritage. The documents are housed at the National Archives in Government Headquarters and date back to the early 1800s.
Historian Victoria O’Flaherty said the designation process, a long-time dream of hers, began in 2007.
“I’ve been at the archives for 13 years and I always thought it would be a good idea to apply to UNESCO for ‘Memory of the World’ status. I finally decided to go ahead with it two years ago and I heard Dominica was also pursuing that goal,” said O’Flaherty. “We then made it a regional project, and the memory inscription includes not just registers from St. Kitts, but also those from Dominica, Belize, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago.”
The historian gave insight into the origin of the local registers, noting the earliest dates back to 1817. She informed that the registers contained the names of the slaves, their race, gender, age, birthplace, position, and their masters’ names.
“The importance of the inscription lies in the fact that the register was the first time any effort was made to record the enslaved population of the region. It was based on the idea of James Stephen, who suggested that the keeping of a register would provide colonial authorities with a means to control smuggling after abolition of the slave trade,” O’Flaherty explained.
She highlighted the benefits of the designation, which she said included greater historical awareness by nationals and easier access to funding for preservation of historical material.
“So many persons are unaware of the breadth of information that is available in the archives...I hope this achievement compels them to come and learn about their heritage.
“I also hope it can facilitate the conservation that is so urgently needed, and encourage the preservation of the valuable archival collection that is already housed at the archives and the housing of collections that remain in so many unsafe locations around the island.”
