Tuesday, May 5, 2026

One Hundred and Fifty: John Moultrie’s American Slaves Sent to the Bahamas in 1784

 
John Moultrie (1729 – 1798)

John Moultrie (1729 – 1798)
 
By The Bahamianologist
 
The Moultrie name appears to have been introduced into The Bahamas in 1784. It came from South Carolina by way of East Florida, carried by 150 enslaved people sent there after the American Revolution — without the man whose name they bore.

John Moultrie (1729 – 1798) was not the only man to build an empire in the colonies on enslaved labour and then remove himself to England to enjoy the proceeds. Lord Rolle did the same from his Exuma estates, and the pattern was so common it had a name — absentee slaveowner.