On 3 May 1834, the Emancipation Proclamation, announcing that all slaves in Cayman were free, was read out by Captain Anthony Pack of the British West Indian Regiment. On Monday – 190 years later – that moment will be reenacted at the historical fort.
Actors from the Cayman Drama Society at Prospect Playhouse will stage the reenactment as part of Emancipation Day celebration on Monday, which is public holiday.
The reading will be taking place on the hour every hour from 3pm to 6pm at the site, which is across the street from Elmslie Memorial Church in downtown George Town.
The original proclamation declared the freeing of Cayman’s enslaved population, who became one of the first truly liberated black communities in the Caribbean in 1834. At the time, most of the region was under an apprenticeship scheme that lasted another three years, which historians have described as ‘slavery by another name’.
Fort George, the site where the Pack read out the proclamation, is now a National Trust Heritage Site, which is protected for present and future generations by the National Trust for the Cayman Islands.
The National Trust, along with the Ministry of Culture, is organising a series of events throughout the coming week to mark Emancipation Day.
“This is a monumentally historic event and the first of its kind,” said Stuart Wilson, the historic programmes manager at the National Trust, of the reenactment.
He added, “The reading of the proclamation at Fort George will be happening every year after this and we are hoping that the first one will set the standard for all of the others to follow.
“Fort George is where the original reading of the proclamation took place, though this history has largely been overlooked/forgotten and instead the Fort’s defensive attributes and history have traditionally been the focus.”
He said the “entire story of Fort George will now be appreciated going forward, as a result of the reintroduction of Emancipation Day and the celebrations surrounding its observance”.
Emancipation Day was reinstated by Cabinet as an annual public holiday last year, after an absence of six decades. It had been replaced with the Constitution Day holiday by the Legislative Assembly in the 1960s.
The theme this year is ‘Unity: Strengthening Our Legacy’, and a number of events will be carried out, through to Sunday, 11 May.
These include the official opening of the Emancipation Centre, at the former Pirates Week office in George Town. This will be followed by commemorative activities, such as catboat rides, maypole dancing, artisan corner, traditional games, heritage displays, food sales and fireworks.
Also on Monday, at 3:30pm, the Cayman Islands Watercraft Association will host a Jet Ski Show in the water in George Town Harbour.