Slave Trade records from all Ports, 1513 to 1888 (National Archives and Records Administration) • MuckRock

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Communications

From: ROBERT BROWN

12/07/2022

Subject: Freedom of Information Act Request: Slave Trade records from all Ports, 1513 to 1888 (National Archives and Records Administration)

Portal

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:

The “slave trade” and “anti-slave trade” records of the United States Government---federal, state, county and municipal, its predecessor entities, and related records from 1513 to 1888.

The following information will clarify our request:

The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database (TASTD 2022) estimates that 4,369 voyages trafficked (traded) captive and enslaved Africans to and from US Ports between 1513 and at least 1866. An estimated 2,459 of these voyages flew US and/or British flags; an estimated 1,216 of them flew Portuguese and/or Brazilian flags; an estimated 288 of them flew the French flag; an estimated 230 of were not registered and did not fly a legal flag; an estimated 130 of them flew Danish and/ or Baltic flags; an estimated 43 of them flew Spanish / Uruguayan flags; an estimated 2 of them flew Other flags; and an estimated 1 of them flew the Duchy of Courland flag.

Captive and enslaved Africans were trafficked (traded) to and from the following and other US ports: Amelia Island, Annapolis, Baltimore, Beaufort, Biloxi, Boston, Bristol (RI), Carolinas, Charleston, Delaware River, Florida, port unspecified, Georgia, port unspecified, Hampton, Maryland, port unspecified, Massachusetts, port unspecified, Mississippi, Mobile, New Bedford, New England, New Haven, New London, New Orleans, New Providence, New York, Newbury, Newport, Newport and Boston, Newport and Salem, Norfolk, North Carolina, port unspecified, North Hampton, North Kingston, North Potomac, Patuxent, Pennsylvania, port unspecified, Pensacola, Perth Amboy, Philadelphia, Piscataqua, Portland, Portsmouth (NH), Potomac river, Providence, Puerto Rico, port unspecified, Rappahannock, Rhode Island, port unspecified, Salem, San Juan, Savannah, South Carolina, port unspecified, South Potomac, St. Augustine, St. Croix, St. Thomas, Upper James River, USA, location unspecified, Virginia, port unspecified, Warren, and York River.

Enslaved Africans were also trafficked (traded) on US flagged, constructed, financed, and crewed ships to and from a host of other ports in Africa, the Americas, Europe and Asia. The products that enslaved labor produced---especially tobacco, sugar, and cotton---were also trafficked (traded)on U.S. and other flagged ships, to and from US and other ports.

The US constitution and related treaties, laws, and regulations---federal, state, county and municipal---required these and other ships and voyages to register; and to file and update all required and related documents. These documents are preserved at the National Archives.

We request that you search the following and other record groups and records of all these 4,369 voyages, and all other similar voyages. We will file FOIA requests to each of the agencies listed below, and will keep you and them informed of the progress:, the U.S. Customs Service, 1745 - 1982; Adjutant General's Office, 1780's - 1917; Boundary and Claims Commissions and Arbitration; Bureau of the Census (crop schedules and international trade records); Civil War Special Agencies of the Treasury Department; Continental and Confederation Congresses, and Constitutional Convention; Department of Justice; Department of State; Department of the Interior, and it’s Secretary; Department of the Treasury, and it’s Solicitor; District Courts of the United States; Office of Naval Records and Library; Publications of the U.S. Government, 1790-1888; Supreme Court of the United States; United States, and its Predecessor’s Documents Relating to Foreign Affairs, 1513-1888; United States General Accounting; United States House of Representatives; United States Senate; the Colonial Predecessors of the U.S., and their “Mother” Countries; the Government of Puerto Rico, and its predecessor entities; and the Government of the Virgin Islands, and its predecessor entities.

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 20 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

ROBERT BROWN

From: National Archives and Records Administration

12/08/2022

Subject: Fwd: Freedom of Information Act Request: Slave Trade records from all Ports, 1513 to 1888 (National Archives and Records Administration)

Dear Mr. Brown:

Thank you for submitting your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to
the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) via email to
foia@nara.gov. We received your request on December 7, 2022. Your request
concerns *the “slave trade” and “anti-slave trade” records of the United
States Government---federal, state, county and municipal, its predecessor
entities, and related records from 1513 to 1888*.

Our office handles FOIA and Privacy Act requests for NARA’s operational records
(records created by this agency). Because your FOIA request is for
records that may be archival records (records created by or originated in a
different agency but that may have been transferred to the legal custody of
NARA), we are forwarding it by this email to our Office of Research
Services, Textual Reference (RR2RR) staff who handle FOIA requests for
textual archival records.

That office will assign your request a tracking number and respond directly
to you. In the future, if you need to follow up with that office directly,
please contact them at the address below, or electronically via email
(email is preferred).

National Archives and Records Administration
Research Services, Textual Reference Branch (RR2RR)
8601 Adelphi Road, Room 2400
College Park, MD 20740

Phone: 301-837-3091
Fax: 301-837-1752
Email: archives2reference@nara.gov

Because your request is for records that may be textual archival records,
we are also forwarding it by this email to our Textual Reference (RR1RR) branch
at our Washington, DC facility that handles FOIA requests for archival
records for the date range you requested. Textual Reference will assign
your request a new tracking number and respond directly to you. In the
future, if you need to follow up with that office, please contact them at
the address below, or electronically via email (email is preferred).

The National Archives and Records Administration
Research Services, Textual Reference Branch (RR1RR)
700 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20408-0001

Tel: 1-866-272-6272
Email: archives1reference@nara.gov <archives2reference@nara.gov>

For your reference, a copy of your request is below.

Please visit our website at www.archives.gov/foia for further information
about making a FOIA request to NARA. On our main website,
www.archives.gov, you
can learn more about the resources we offer to the public, and you can
access our online catalog.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and pursuant to guidance received from the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB), NARA had adjusted its normal
operations to balance the need of completing its mission-critical work
while also adhering to the recommended social distancing for the safety of
our staff. As a result of this re-prioritization of activities, you may
experience a delay in receiving a substantive response to your FOIA
request. We apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your
understanding and patience.

Sincerely,
Ashley A. Bryan
Government Information Specialist
Office of General Counsel (NGC)
National Archives and Records Administration
8601 Adelphi Road
College Park, Maryland, 20740-6001
301-837-3642

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: <requests@muckrock.com>
Date: Wed, Dec 7, 2022 at 8:49 PM
Subject: Freedom of Information Act Request: Slave Trade records from all
Ports, 1513 to 1888 (National Archives and Records Administration)
To: NARA General Counsel FOIA Office <foia@nara.gov>

Nat'l Archives & Records Admin
FOIA Office
Room 3110
8601 Adelphi Road
College Park, MD 20740

December 7, 2022

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following
records:

The “slave trade” and “anti-slave trade” records of the United States
Government---federal, state, county and municipal, its predecessor
entities, and related records from 1513 to 1888.

The following information will clarify our request:

The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database (TASTD 2022) estimates that 4,369
voyages trafficked (traded) captive and enslaved Africans to and from US
Ports between 1513 and at least 1866. An estimated 2,459 of these voyages
flew US and/or British flags; an estimated 1,216 of them flew Portuguese
and/or Brazilian flags; an estimated 288 of them flew the French flag; an
estimated 230 of were not registered and did not fly a legal flag; an
estimated 130 of them flew Danish and/ or Baltic flags; an estimated 43 of
them flew Spanish / Uruguayan flags; an estimated 2 of them flew Other
flags; and an estimated 1 of them flew the Duchy of Courland flag.

Captive and enslaved Africans were trafficked (traded) to and from the
following and other US ports: Amelia Island, Annapolis, Baltimore,
Beaufort, Biloxi, Boston, Bristol (RI), Carolinas, Charleston, Delaware
River, Florida, port unspecified, Georgia, port unspecified, Hampton,
Maryland, port unspecified, Massachusetts, port unspecified, Mississippi,
Mobile, New Bedford, New England, New Haven, New London, New Orleans, New
Providence, New York, Newbury, Newport, Newport and Boston, Newport and
Salem, Norfolk, North Carolina, port unspecified, North Hampton, North
Kingston, North Potomac, Patuxent, Pennsylvania, port unspecified,
Pensacola, Perth Amboy, Philadelphia, Piscataqua, Portland, Portsmouth
(NH), Potomac river, Providence, Puerto Rico, port unspecified,
Rappahannock, Rhode Island, port unspecified, Salem, San Juan, Savannah,
South Carolina, port unspecified, South Potomac, St. Augustine, St. Croix,
St. Thomas, Upper James River, USA, location unspecified, Virginia, port
unspecified, Warren, and York River.

Enslaved Africans were also trafficked (traded) on US flagged, constructed,
financed, and crewed ships to and from a host of other ports in Africa, the
Americas, Europe and Asia. The products that enslaved labor
produced---especially tobacco, sugar, and cotton---were also trafficked
(traded)on U.S. and other flagged ships, to and from US and other ports.

The US constitution and related treaties, laws, and regulations---federal,
state, county and municipal---required these and other ships and voyages to
register; and to file and update all required and related documents. These
documents are preserved at the National Archives.

We request that you search the following and other record groups and
records of all these 4,369 voyages, and all other similar voyages. We will
file FOIA requests to each of the agencies listed below, and will keep you
and them informed of the progress:, the U.S. Customs Service, 1745 - 1982;
Adjutant General's Office, 1780's - 1917; Boundary and Claims Commissions
and Arbitration; Bureau of the Census (crop schedules and international
trade records); Civil War Special Agencies of the Treasury Department;
Continental and Confederation Congresses, and Constitutional Convention;
Department of Justice; Department of State; Department of the Interior, and
it’s Secretary; Department of the Treasury, and it’s Solicitor; District
Courts of the United States; Office of Naval Records and Library;
Publications of the U.S. Government, 1790-1888; Supreme Court of the United
States; United States, and its Predecessor’s Documents Relating to Foreign
Affairs, 1513-1888; United States General Accounting; United States House
of Representatives; United States Senate; the Colonial Predecessors of the
U.S., and their “Mother” Countries; the Government of Puerto Rico, and its
predecessor entities; and the Government of the Virgin Islands, and its
predecessor entities.

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and
this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform
me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer
the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or
CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I
look forward to receiving your response to this request within 20 business
days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

ROBERT BROWN

View request history, upload responsive documents, and report problems here:
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For mailed responses, please address (see note):
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DEPT MR 137598
263 Huntington Ave
Boston, MA 02115

PLEASE NOTE: This request is not filed by a MuckRock staff member, but is
being sent through MuckRock by the above in order to better track, share,
and manage public records requests. Also note that improperly addressed
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From: National Archives and Records Administration

12/21/2022

Subject: Freedom of Information Act Request -- Brown (RR1R-23-12570)

*Reply to: RR1R-23-12570-DD*

Robert Brown
MuckRock News
Dept MR 137598
263 Huntington Avenue
Boston, MA 02115

via EMAIL: requests@muckrock.com

Dear Mr. Brown:

This is in response to your recent Freedom of Information Act request to
the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in which you asked
that we search several record groups listed below for all information
pertaining
to the "slave trade" and anti-slave trade" among the records of the United
States Government. Your request was received by this office on December 8,
2022, and assigned case number 23-12570.

(Please note that your request was also forwarded to the Archives II
Textual Reference Branch in College Park, Maryland. You can expect to
receive a separate reply from staff in that office.)

Specifically, you have requested records relating to 4,369 voyages of
trafficked (traded) captive and enslaved Africans to and from US Ports
between 1513 and at least 1866: the U.S. Customs Service, 1745-1982;
Adjutant General's Office, 1780's-1917; Boundary and Claims Commissions and
Arbitration; Bureau of the Census (crop schedules and international trade
records); Civil War Special Agencies of the Treasury Department;
Continental and Confederation Congresses, and Constitutional Convention;
Department of Justice; Department of State; Department of the Interior, and
it’s Secretary; Department of the Treasury, and it’s Solicitor; District
Courts of the United States; Office of Naval Records and Library;
Publications of the U.S. Government, 1790-1888; Supreme Court of the United
States; United States, and its Predecessor’s Documents Relating to Foreign
Affairs, 1513-1888; United States General Accounting; United States House
of Representatives; United States Senate; the Colonial Predecessors of the
U.S., and their “Mother” Countries; the Government of Puerto Rico, and its
predecessor entities; and the Government of the Virgin Islands, and its
predecessor entities.

Your request for all records pertaining to the trans-Atlantic trafficking
of captured Africans to and from US ports between 1513 to 1866 is far too
broad for us to assist you and is essentially a request for us to conduct
in-depth research on your behalf. Although NARA's reference division does
provide basic assistance to researchers, we do not have the resources to
conduct substantive research for individuals upon request. Please note that
the Freedom of Information Act does not obligate Federal agencies to
conduct research for a requester. Additionally, a requester must provide an
agency with enough specific information about specific documents to allow
said agency to conduct a reasonable search of its records. As a matter of
policy we can only provide information about the records in our custody as
well as guidance on how to perform research in our holdings. As such, we
can only direct you to relevant records that may help you in conducting
your own research.

As the repository of the permanently valuable, non-current records of the
Federal Government, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)
only houses records that were generated by the various institutions and
agencies of the U.S. Federal Government, or from activities that were under
direct Federal jurisdiction. NARA does house any official records generated
in the colonial/pre-Revolutionary era since that was prior to the
establishment of the United States Government as an entity. NARA also does
not house state, county, or municipal records. Those records will be housed
at state archives and local repositories. Any surviving colonial era
records will be held either on the state level or in the British Archives
(and/or the archives of the other nations that participated in the
trans-Atlantic trafficking of enslaved Africans).

Furthermore, the relevant records that do exist at NARA will be generally
dispersed throughout the record groups listed in your initial request. NARA
does not have a master name and subject index that identifies all records
pertaining to specific individuals, organizations, topics, or geographic
locations. Our holdings are primarily arranged by the federal office or
court that created and maintained the records, and thereafter by various
filing schemes, depending on the type of record involved.

Among the records at NARA that do pertain to the transport of enslaved
persons are the "Coastwise Slave Manifests, 1801-1860" of the Records of
the US Customs Service (Record Group 36). These are records in which the US
Customs Service documented the cargo of vessels (including enslaved
persons) arriving or departing U.S. ports. The records were created to
satisfy requirements promulgated by Congressional Act of 1807 which
required that all vessels of 40 tons or more carrying "slaves" in the
coastwise trade file duplicate manifests at the ports of origin and
destination, pledging that the "slave" had not been imported after 1808. As
such, they primarily relate to the domestic slave trade in which enslavers
in the upper South (particularly the Chesapeake region of Virginia and
Maryland) sold and shipped enslaved persons to states in the lower coastal
South (primarily to Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana). Some of
these records have been digitized and made available in NARA's online
catalog (catalog.archives.gov) while others exist only in their original
textual form and have not been digitized.

Keep in mind that during the antebellum period of the United States,
"slaveholding" and "slave trading" were considered matters of private
property and private enterprise; these activities were not under the direct
jurisdiction of any agency of the Federal Government. Consequently, the
National Archives holds very few records documenting the enslaved,
enslavers, or the trans-Atlantic trafficking of enslaved Africans.
Officially, the enslaved were considered part of their enslavers'
"property," and most documentation of their lives will be scattered among
the records of the business transactions of their so-called "owners." These
types of records are usually held on the county level. The relevant type
documentation typically consisted of items such as probate records, vital
records, tax records, and various types of documents found in the court
order books and county deed books (bills of sale, deeds of gift, mortgages,
records of importation and manumissions).

The majority of the records at NARA relating to the enslaved and their
enslavers are from the years of the Civil War and from the Reconstruction
era that immediately followed. These are the years that various agencies of
the Federal Government had their most direct contact with the formerly
enslaved and former enslavers. The records generated during this period
consist primarily of military records documenting formerly-enslaved
soldiers and sailors serving in the US Colored Troops or the Union Navy,
the Records of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands (the
Freedmen’s Bureau) that assisted the formerly enslaved during
Reconstruction, the Records of the Freedman’s Saving & Trust Company (the
Freedman’s Bank), Record of the Commissioners of Claims (the Southern
Claims Commission), various Congressional records, and so forth.

As you can see, your request would involve a great deal of time and effort,
and as we noted above, the FOIA does not obligate a federal agency to
conduct in-depth research on behalf of a requester. Our staff would be
pleased to provide guidance to you on how to conduct your own research into our
records should you be able to visit our research rooms at the National
Archives Building in Washington, DC, and the National Archives at College
Park, MD where most of the record groups referenced in your request are
held. If so, feel free to schedule an appointment at either of these
facilities online at www.archives.gov/dc and
www.archives.gov/college-park (also
see www.archives.gov/legislative to inquire into Congressional records).

Alternatively, if you are unable to visit us in person, you can hire a
private researcher to assist you. If you are interested in doing so, you
may wish to review the list of private researchers on our website at:
www.archives.gov/research/hire-help. Please note that NARA provides this
list as a courtesy to researchers. We do not endorse any specific
researcher on it.

This completes the processing of your request. If you have further
questions, you may email me at damani.davis@nara.gov.

We do not consider this response a denial under the Freedom of Information
Act because your request is primarily a broad petition for substantive
research throughout multiple record groups. Your request is not for any
particular document(s) that is specifically identified and cited. All of
the record groups that you referenced in your request are generally open
and available to the public for research and do not require a FOIA to
access. Again, the Freedom of Information Act does not obligate Federal
agencies to conduct research for a requester. However, if you are not
satisfied with our action on this request, your options for appeal and
dispute resolution are outlined in the attached enclosure.

This concludes the processing of your request.

Sincerely,

DAMANI K. DAVIS
Archivist, A1 Reference Branch
Archival Operations - Washington, DC
National Archives and Records Administration

**********

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Ashley Bryan <ashley.bryan@nara.gov>
Date: Thursday, December 8, 2022 at 8:51:15 AM UTC-5
Subject: Fwd: Freedom of Information Act Request: Slave Trade records from
all Ports, 1513 to 1888 (National Archives and Records Administration)
To: requests@muckrock.com <
requests@muckrock.com>
Cc: NARA General Counsel FOIA Office <foia@nara.gov>, Textual Reference
Archives II Branch <archives2reference@nara.gov>, archives1reference <
archives1reference@nara.gov>

Dear Mr. Brown:

National Archives and Records Administration
Research Services, Textual Reference Branch (RR2RR)
8601 Adelphi Road, Room 2400
College Park, MD 20740

Phone: 301-837-3091 <(301)%20837-3091>
Fax: 301-837-1752 <(301)%20837-1752>
Email: archives2reference@nara.gov

The National Archives and Records Administration
Research Services, Textual Reference Branch (RR1RR)
700 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20408-0001

Tel: 1-866-272-6272 <(866)%20272-6272>
Email: archives1reference@nara.gov <archives2reference@nara.gov>