Black Harbour: Slavery and the forgotten histories of Black people in Newfoundland & Labrador

by Heather Barrett, Xaiver Campbell

It has been largely assumed that Black people are only recently settlers in Newfoundland and Labrador. In fact, the sordid history of Black slavery within the British colony—and the role of Newfoundland merchant families in promoting the trade in human beings—has been denied, obscured and forgotten.

With contributions from historians, folklorists and other experts, Xaiver Campbell and Heather Barrett discover a Black population was present in early Newfoundland and Labrador, and that some of this history is rooted in the horrors of the transatlantic slave trade.

Part personal commentary, part documentary, Black Harbour is an illuminating, important, and sometimes uncomfortable exploration of Newfoundland and Labrador’s colonial history—and what it means to those who live here today.

Genres: History

Kindle Edition

Published October 20, 2023

Reviews

[Allie Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this novel. It was a required book for one of my courses i’m doing in university and I am very glad to have read it. I feel as a Newfoundlander it is extremely important to know about the provinces past. I believe most if not all Newfoundlanders should read this novel.

[Megan George · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Campbell moved to Newfoundland, he was surprised by similarities between the island of NL and his home island, Jamaica. These similarities include food staples such as salt cod and molasses. I’ve never stopped to consider why generations of NL recipes would have molasses and coconut as key ingredients or why these particular ingredients came to be on the island of NL in the first place. Or how and why Jamaican Rum ended up as the base product in the famous Newfie Screech.

In Black Harbour, Campbell and Barrett explore the origins of these connections. What they found is a history that is little known or ever talked about. NL was a hub of the Triangular Trade route. There are records of black people being in the ports of NL and being transported around the world on ships built in the harbours. There is evidence of families in NL owning enslaved persons. However, these aren’t stories we hear about or the history we remember. This book was a quick read and sometimes repetitive, many questions still have no answers, but I also learned quite a bit. I’d recommend anyone from NL or even Canada read this book so we can learn a little more about our past, the part that wasn’t written down.

Read more reviews: meganevelyn.com/books

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fish, rum, molasses… just the start. Five stars for subject matter. The “Come From Away” chapter in particular blew me away and changed my worldview. I actually read it again a day later to see if it would have the same impact and it did. I’m a Newfoundlander, and mother to two biracial children, and I’m not the same person I was before and after I read this. This topic is so critical to the socioeconomic fabric of our province that I hope momentum only builds from this book and podcast. This book only scratches the surface - there is a lot more research that can be done. It could use some more work in terms of editing and flow, but overall five stars for putting this book into the world.

[Gabriel Walsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eye opening and fantastic. One of my favourite definitions of history is “answering the second question; where did it come from?” And black harbour does a remarkable job exploring the little talked about origins of significant portions of Newfoundland culture.







It also provides me with documentation that snowballs are called snowballs and not “fiddle diddles” so I can use it against that one person in a decade long argument 😁

[Taylor Burke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Black Harbour is a well-written and comprehensive book on Newfoundland and Labrador’s ties to the Transatlantic slave trade. The book takes recorded instances of Black people in Newfoundland in an attempt to give a platform to stories that are most often unheard of/forgotten. It is deeply unfortunate that the contents within this book are not currently being taught in the intermediate NL history course in our province.

[Philip Girvan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Does a fine job situating Newfoundland within the Empire, and its dealings in slavery. Makes clear that Newfoundland, like Canada, was, as Dr. Aufa Cooper puts it, “a society whose economy was based on slavery—but it was a society with slaves.”

[Anna P · Rating 5 out of 5]

For a brand new introduction to Newfoundland, it was perfection. It was easy to read, covered astounding topics, and was well researched. The structure was a bit loose, but overall, I was enthralled.