St. Phillip's Anglican Church, also known as the African Church, in the Kingstown area of Tortola in

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, was built in 1840 by a community of Africans who had been liberated from illegal slave ships. By the early 21st century, the building had fallen into disrepair, as it had not been regularly used for decades. Efforts to stabilize the remains are underway; it is a unique historic site in the islands. Local historians claim it is the oldest free black church building to survive in the Americas. Although free African Americans established churches at the turn of the 19th century in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, Pennsylvania, in the United States, those early church buildings have been replaced.

History

Great Britain prohibited the African slave trade under the Slave Trade Act 1807. The United States followed with its own prohibition, to go into effect in 1808. The

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

patrolled the Caribbean to intercept foreign ships illegally carrying slaves to the Americas. Other parts of the fleet operated off Africa. In January 1808, HMS ''Cerberus'' seized the American schooner, the ''Nancy,'' with a cargo of enslaved Senegalese in the territory's waters. It liberated the slaves and settled the Africans in the Bahamas. Between August 1814 and February 1815, the Royal Navy seized slave cargos from the ''Venus'', the ''Manuella'', the ''Atrevido,'' and the ''Candelaria.'' It deposited 1,318 liberated Africans on Tortola, which the government designated for free black settlement. In 1819, a Portuguese

slave ship Slave ships were large cargo ships specially built or converted from the 17th to the 19th century for transporting slaves. Such ships were also known as "Guineamen" because the trade involved human trafficking to and from the Guinea coast ...

, the ''Donna Paula'', was wrecked upon the reef at Anegada. The ship's crew and 235

slave Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

s were saved from the wreckage, and taken to the islands. Other shipwrecks off Anegada were reported in 1817 and 1824. Liberated Africans sometimes died due to having suffered harsh conditions in the

Middle Passage The Middle Passage was the stage of the Atlantic slave trade in which millions of enslaved Africans were transported to the Americas as part of the triangular slave trade. Ships departed Europe for African markets with manufactured goods (first ...

. The British offered liberated Africans a chance to serve with the military on larger islands; an opportunity that many accepted. A number stayed and settled in the territory. They were required to serve an "apprenticeship" or indenture of 14 years, after which they were absolutely free. In 1828 the liberated Africans were given certificates of freedom, so as not to be confused with slaves. The colonial government provided land for the liberated Africans. In 1831 the area now known as Kingstown on Tortola, which was then uninhabited, was put aside and subdivided. (This is not to be confused with

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley Inter ...

.) Each newly freed African was allocated a plot of land for a house and growing provision crops. Many converted to Christianity. The colonial government supported their construction of an Anglican stone church close to the shore of the Kingstown area; it was dedicated to St. Phillip. The free Africans lived in a sometimes uneasy condition between the colonial whites (who considered them a burden and likely a subversive influence on slaves) and the mass of slaves.Note: The Slave Trade Act 1807 prohibited the international trade in African slaves; it did not free existing slaves in the British colonies. Emancipation did not take place until after the Slavery Abolition Act 1833. The free Africans developed a solidarity within their community but suffered discrimination. They were relatively isolated from slaves and worked to preserve their free status.

21st century

The church is in ruins and has not been in active use for decades. Occasional civil marriage ceremonies are conducted within its walls (technically as open air ceremonies).

Graffiti Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...

has been daubed on some walls. The church is on private land but the landowner allows access to visitors for sightseeing. There have been discussions about the Government or the National Parks Trust purchasing the site, but this has not occurred. A restoration project is underway to stabilize the remains for preservation, in order to feature the site in heritage tourism. It has unique historical status as a monument of abolition of the slave trade and the territory's religious heritage.

Sources

* Isaac Dookhan, ''History of the British Virgin Islands'', * Vernon Pickering, ''A Concise History of the British Virgin Islands'',

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Phillip's Church, Tortola Afro-Caribbean history Christianity in the British Virgin Islands Phillip's, Saint Ruins in the British Virgin Islands Tortola

History

21st century

See also

Sources

Footnotes