Historical Organization
Grenada Assembly
Grenada Assembly
Details
Organization Timeline
Grenada restricts enslaved men’s night-time movement in St George’s
📅 1 May 1789A Grenada law required enslaved men found in St George’s between 9 p.m. and 4 a.m. to carry an illuminated lantern, written permission, or accompany an enslaver. The rule made ordinary movement in the...
Grenada licenses boats to obstruct escape to Trinidad
đź“… 17 October 1789The legislature required owners of canoes, boats, and pettyaugers to obtain licenses and provide financial security against their use in escapes or removals of enslaved people. The preamble explicitly...
Grenada establishes a rapid criminal tribunal for enslaved defendants
đź“… 24 October 1789A Grenada law authorized a justice of the peace and four freeholders to try enslaved people accused of serious crimes, with hearings convened rapidly and capital sentences carried out immediately....
Grenada renews its special trial law for enslaved defendants
đź“… 23 August 1791The Assembly continued the 1789 criminal-trial law for another two years and beyond until replacement legislation. This renewal shows that exceptional courts and policing were not temporary...
Grenada legislates against growth in the free Black and mixed-race population
đź“… 2 April 1792The 1825 consolidation identifies an earlier Grenada act, passed on this date, as a measure intended to prevent the further increase of free Black and mixed-race people. The title exposes a colonial...
Grenada creates a special trial process during the rebellion
📅 7 June 1796On 7 June 1796 Grenada’s assembly enacted a law for trying enslaved people suspected of involvement in the ongoing rebellion. It distinguished people said to have acted willingly from those said to...
The 1796 law distinguishes voluntary and compelled participation
📅 7 June 1796The preamble says authorities should distinguish enslaved people who willingly took an active part in rebellion from those “in some measure” compelled after enslavers fled to St George’s. This...
Grenada criminalizes escape from banishment and forced chain labour
đź“… 13 May 1797The Assembly made escape or absence from confinement for 48 hours a felony for enslaved people sentenced to banishment or hard labour in chains, with death among the possible punishments. The law also...
Grenada’s Guardian Act ties provision and reproduction to slave management
đź“… 9 December 1797The law required owners to provide family housing and provision grounds, and to allow time for enslaved people to cultivate them. It also appointed white freeholder guardians to inspect estates and...
Grenada publishes a registry law that records enslaved people as property
đź“… 31 March 1817The registry law required detailed schedules of people held in slavery, including names, estimated ages, colour categories, African or Creole status, and conspicuous marks. The law also regulated...
Grenada removes the disputed ÂŁ100 barrier to manumission
đź“… 11 March 1826A Grenada act clarified that earlier laws requiring ÂŁ100 for each manumission had been repealed and that properly proved and registered freedom documents should be accepted in court. The need to...
Grenada confirms enslaved people may testify in cases involving other enslaved people
đź“… 19 May 1828After court decisions exposed uncertainty in earlier rules, the Assembly made enslaved people competent witnesses for or against other enslaved defendants without requiring registry certificates. This...