| Description | The collection consists of several categories of material relating to the business, estates and personal affairs of the Pinney family, covering their management both of estates and properties in Britain (in Bristol, Dorset and Somerset) and their involvement in the Caribbean plantation economy with financial interests in plantations in Nevis, St Kitts, St Croix, St Vincent, Antigua and Demerara (now part of Guyana). The family owned estates on Nevis which they operated as enslaved labour plantations for the production of sugar and sugar-based products such as rum and molasses. The Pinneys were also involved in the trade of goods largely between the Caribbean and Britain, and founded partnerships with various members of the Tobin, Ames and Case, Bristol-based firms which engaged in trade and pursued investments in the Caribbean plantation economy.
The collection appears to have been originally split into two main series of 'Domestic' and 'West Indies' papers (now renamed Caribbean papers, under DM58/2), which have largely been retained, with additional material grouped into series according to format and content: account books (DM58/3); letter books (DM58/4); Anna Maria Pinney boxes; 'Miscellaneous Volumes'; 'Numbered Folders'; 'Red Boxes'. As part of a recataloguing project, the series of Caribbean papers (DM58/2), account books (DM58/3) and letter books (DM58/4) have been assigned new reference numbers and catalogued in greater detail. The remaining series have not been recatalogued but are summarised; more detailed descriptions of some parts of these series can be found in bound paper lists in the Special Collections reading room.
The recatalogued series can be summarised as follows:
DM58/2: Caribbean [previously 'West Indies'] papers of the Pinney family and business partnerships
This series contains a range of deeds, legal papers, estate papers, correspondence, accounting papers, and other documentation relating to the Pinney family's ownership of and investment in named Caribbean estates and plantations, their involvement in legal and managerial work in connection with such estates, and their engagement in trade between the Caribbean and Britain including through business partnerships with members of the Tobin, Ames and Case families.
DM58/3: Account books of the Pinney family and Pinney business partnerships
This series contains account books relating to the business and personal activities of members of the Pinney family in both Britain and the Caribbean, and of the business partnerships with members of the Tobin, Ames and Case families through which the Pinneys managed trade and investments.
DM58/4: Letter books of the Pinney family and Pinney business partnerships
This series consists of the letter books of the Pinney family and their business partnerships, which largely contain copies of outgoing correspondence sent by individual members of the Pinney family or jointly by the partners of the firms through which the Pinneys engaged in business with members of the Tobin, Ames and Case families.
Where relevant, the descriptions of documents in these three series identify the names of Caribbean estates and plantations, the names of estate owners and enslavers, and the names of enslaved people as they appear in the documents.
The collection contains material which relates to the trafficking of enslaved Africans, and to practices and events which occurred on enslaved labour plantations in the Caribbean. Please note that racist, ableist and dehumanising language has been identified in many of the documents contained in DM58/2-4, primarily used in reference to enslaved or formerly enslaved people. Wherever possible, content notes have been provided in the descriptions of files and items in order to indicate the presence of offensive and/or outdated language, and to indicate sensitive subject matter. In some cases, instances of racist, ableist and dehumanising language have been quoted from the original documents in the descriptions of this catalogue, for the purpose of accuracy; any quotations from archive material are indicated by single quotation marks [' ']. Square brackets [ ] have also been used to indicate the presence of information not provided in the original document, such as alternative spellings of place and personal names, or other contextual information. |