Nova Scotia Archives
African Nova Scotians in the Age of Slavery and Abolition
"Return of the disbanded troops and Loyalists settling in the Province of Nova Scotia, mustered in the summer 1784" in "A general description of the Province of Nova Scotia...by Lieutenant Colonel [Robert] Morse, Chief Engineer in America"
Morse's return covers Prince Edward Island and Saint John, New Brunswick. It does not include Shelburne, where slaves were numerous, or Cape Breton Island, where slaves of Loyalists were also to be found. Total number of slaves 1232; grand total 28,347.
In 18th century government officialese the term 'servants' was used to classify enslaved black people.
Date: [after July 1784]
Credit: By Permission of The British Library
Reference: The British Library King's Mss. 208 folio 23