Trouvadore Shipwreck

Trouvadore Shipwreck. . In 1841 a Brigantine ship sailing under Spanish papers left Africa with an illegal cargo of 193 Africans. The ship was the Trouvadore and it was sailing for Cuba, where the Africans were to be enslaved and put to work on sugar plantations. Slavery was illegal in the British Empire at that time, and the British Navy would have to capture the illegal slave ship if it encountered her., Fortunately for the Africans, after a month at sea, the Trouvadore wrecked off the Caicos Bank. One of the first locals on the scene of the sunken ship, Mr. Stevenson, was offered a bribe by the Spanish captain to take the crew and slaves to Cuba. Instead, Mr. Stevenson delayed the captain so that authorities from Grand Turk could detach two ships and 17 soldiers to pick up the survivors., The ship's crew was imprisoned in Grand Turk, and the Africans were temporarily placed inside the crowded prison. After debating options, the local authorities decided to free the Africans into the local community. Of the 192 surving Africans, 168 were released onto Grand Turk and Salt Cay. The church was to teach them to speak English and to be Christians., It is thought that the remaining 24 Africans may have been located on Middle Caicos or South Caicos. It is thought that most Turks Islanders today are partly descended from these freed Africans who integrated into local society.