THE PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE OF NORTHERN IRELAND

Research resources for Caribbean Studies and the History of Black and Asian Peoples in the UK

CASBAH SURVEY REPORT

Introduction
Local context

Local activities related to the aims of the CASBAH Project
· Visits
· List of local organisations
· Selected publications

The Public Record Office for Northern Ireland
· Collection Strengths

The PRONI Survey
· Thematic spread
· Survey data
· Collection descriptions
· Notes on the PRONI survey and how it relates to the development of CASBAH's survey strategy
· Collection descriptions - Extract

Acknowledgments

Section One - Introduction

An important factor in deciding where to conduct the regional surveys was the extent of research and information available about Caribbean Studies or Black and Asian history in the particular region. Northern Ireland was chosen due to limited research available in our key areas of interest, the comparatively recent history of settlement of various Black and Asian people in the Province, and the even more recent passage of the first ever Race Relations Bill (1997).

Julie Evans, the Manager of the CASBAH project, helped to arrange the visit and to conduct the survey. The survey was conducted 13th- 17th August 2001.

Local Context

The 2001 Belfast census included a question on ethnicity for the first time ever, and so there shall soon be an official demographic picture of multicultural/multiethnic Belfast. The following figures are the estimated numbers of ethnic minorities in the Province collated by the Multicultural Resource Centre.

The specifics of Northern Ireland's demography, coupled with the history of 'the troubles' and the recent passing of the Race Relations Act after years of agitation by local organisations, make the visit to the Province, the surveying of archival and library collections and the visits to organisations established by and for the diverse population both timely and necessary.

Section 2 - Visits, contacts, research and publications

• Linen Hall Library

• The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland

• The Multicultural Resource Centre (MCRC)

• Other selected local organisations

• List of publications

Founded in 1788, the Linen Hall Library is the oldest library in Belfast. It is the leading centre for Irish and local studies in the North of Ireland. Its holdings include the Ulster Scots Language and Dialects of Ulster Collections, the Theatre and Performing Arts Archive, Genealogy and Heraldry, and the Northern Ireland Political Collection, the definitive archive of 'the troubles'.

Julie Evans surveyed the Northern Ireland Political Collection and created collection-level descriptions of relevant printed sources.

Click Here to view the CASBAH database entries (available April 2002)

The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland is an independent public body established under the Northern Ireland Act (1998) in which the separate equality bodies in Northern Ireland - the CRE (NI), the Fair Employment Commission, the Equal Opportunities Commission (NI), and the Disability Council - were merged to form a new Equality Commission. The new body, which will work alongside the new Human Rights Commission for Northern Ireland, started work on 1st October 1999.

The Commission's general duties include:

1. Working towards the elimination of discrimination
   
2. Promoting equality of opportunity and encouraging good practice
   
3. Promoting affirmative / positive action
   
4. Promoting good relations between people of different racial groups
   
5. Overseeing the implementation and effectiveness of the statutory duty on public authorities
   
6. Keeping the relevant legislation under review

The Equality Commission's Resource Centre now houses all materials and books emanating from the various departments in the Commission. For further information visit the Commission's website at: http://www.cre.gov.uk/about/ec_ni.html or mailto:information@equalityni.org. You can also telephone the Commission on 028 90 500600.

Printed sources and audiovisual collections: Julie Evans will be creating (sub) collection-level description(s) of relevant record groups and materials housed at the Resource Centre.

Click Here to view CASBAH database entries (Available March 2002)

The Multicultural Resource Centre (MCRC)
12 Upper Crescent, Belfast BT7 1NT

The MCRC was established as a registered charity in 1991 following recommendations made in a research report on social work and education provision. Funded by the Central Council for Education & Training in Social Work, the report indicated that the needs of minority ethnic communities were not acknowledged and catered for by existing bodies in the community.

With financial assistant from a wide range of bodies as well as skills and personnel from the minority ethnic communities themselves, the Multi-cultural Resource Centre was established under the auspices of the Bryson House. In September 1998, MCRC was incorporated as an independent company by limited guarantee.

For further information email mcrc@dnet.co.uk, or telephone on 028 9024 4639.

Selected list of other groups and organisations in the region

1. Community Relations Information Centre
   21 College Square East, Belfast, BT16DE
   Telephone: 028 9022 7555
   
2. N. I. Council for Ethnic Equality
   Floor 3, Bryson House, 28 Bedford Street, Belfast BT2 7FE
   Tel: 9032 5835 Fax: 9043 9156
   For further information email Paddy Murphy padymurphy@aol.com
3. The Northern Ireland Council for Ethnic Minorities
   Ascot House, 24 - 31 Shaftesbury Square, Belfast, BT2 7DB
   Telephone: 028 9023 8645
4. Northern Ireland African Cultural Centre
   60 Lisburn Road, Belfast
   Telephone: 028 9023 8742
   Contact: Mary Okunaiya
5. The Chinese Welfare Association
   133-135 University Street, Belfast, BT7 1HQ
   Telephone: 028 9028 8277
6. The Indian Community Centre
   86 Clifton Street, Belfast, BT6 1AB
   Telephone: 028 9024 9746
7. Pakistani Community Welfare Association
   237 Roden Street, Donegall Road, Belfast, BT12 6FT
   Telephone: 028 9020 2690

List of selected Publications

• Dunn, S & Irwin, G, Ethnic Minorities in Northern Ireland, (Coleraine, University of Ulster, 1997).
  
• Hainsworth Paul, Divided Society: Ethnic Issues and Minorities in Northern Ireland, (London: Pluto Press, 1998). The chapters: 'There's no Racism Because There's no Black People Here: Racism and Anti-racism in Northern Ireland' byRobbie McVeigh, 'The Indian Community in Northern Ireland 'by Greg Irwin; 'Perceptions of Prejudice among Pakistanis' and 'Politics, Racism and Ethnicity in Northern Ireland' both by Paul Hainsworth.
  
• Rodgers, Nini, 'Equiano in Belfast: A study of the Anti-Slavery Ethos in a Northern Town' in Slavery and Abolition, Issue 18:2 , (1997), 73 - 89.

Section Three- The National Record of Northern Ireland

The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) was established in 1923 and opened in 1924. PRONI is the official place of deposit for public records in Northern Ireland. It receives records from government departments, courts of law, local authorities, other public bodies, private individuals, churches, businesses, and all manner of institutions. PRONI currently houses millions of documents that relate chiefly, but by no means exclusively, to present-day Northern Ireland.

The earliest record dates from 1219, with the main concentration of records covering the period 1600 to the present. The records at PRONI fall into the following three general categories:

1. Records of Government Departments that in many cases go back to the early nineteenth century. The records of a Government Department are catalogued according to the Department where they originated, and their reference is normally the first 3 letters of the name of the Department or Ministry (for example, records of the Department of Finance have the reference letters FIN).
2. Records of courts of law, local authorities, and other non-departmental public bodies. The records of Non-Departmental Public Bodies (NDPBs) and courts of law are also arranged in alphabetical order according to the abbreviated initials (for example, records of the Boards of Guardians - workhouses - have the reference letters BG). Typescript catalogues of these collections are on the shelves of the Public Search Room, arranged in alphabetical order by the Department or NDPB or court, with the exception of local authority and school records which have the reference letters LA and SCH respectively.
3. Records deposited by private individuals, churches, businesses, and institutions. Collections deposited by Private Individuals or private institutions have reference letters D or T or MIC or CR or DIO. The reference letter D indicates an original document; the letter T, a transcript or photocopy; the letters MIC, a microfilm copy; the letters DIO, diocesan records; and the letters CR, church records (Xeroxed copies or originals). The catalogues are grouped on the shelves in these main sections (D or T or MIC or DIO or CR) in numerical order within each group.

Collection Strengths

Not surprisingly, PRONI holds material of all kinds which relates to parts of Ireland beyond the six counties of Northern Ireland, but the major research strengths of PRONI include information found in the following key categories:

· Landed Estate Records
· Business Records
· Sport, the Arts and Entertainment
· Architects and Architecture
· Social and Religious History
· Political History
· Beyond the Six Counties

Some of the collections held by PRONI are of such value to a range of researchers that they have been dubbed 'Major' collections. There are over 130 of these collections. Treading through this minefield of information requires a competent guide: this is why introductory guides, written by the experts who have worked on cataloguing and classifying these papers, are so important.

In many cases the introductions are accompanied by images, a complete list of that is accessible through the 'Introduction to the major collections' pages.

Section Four -The Survey

After consultation with Valerie Adams and further background research at the Historical Manuscripts Commission, the following collections were targeted for surveying:

1. Local background
   · Deputy Keeper's Reports (1954 - 1989)
   · Guide Books/guides to sources: Records of the London Companies; Sources for the study of local history in N.I; Textile industry records and Women's History)
   · Card indexes - subject and place indexes
2. Government Records
   · Community Relations, Department of DCR
   · Health and Social Services, Department of DHSS
   · Manpower Services, Department of DMS
   · Home Office HO
   · Health and social Services, Department of HSS
3. Non-Departmental Government Records
   · Commonwealth War Graves Commission WGC
   · Community Relations Commission CREL
   · Community Relations Council CRC
4. Other Collections:
   · De Ros Papers
   · The Hart Papers
   · Sir Henry MacDonald Tyler
   · Irish Association for Cultural Economic and Social Relations
   · Hawke, Sir Edward
   · Cunningham family of Crookedstone and of Belfast
   · Workman, R and J - Muslim manufacturers
   · Keith Family. Letters to Sir Robert Murray Keith

Thematic Spread

Caribbean Studies

• Private Collections - Family Collections
• The State
• Records of Missionaries
• Societies and associations

Survey Data

• Records found in subject index cards

• Records found in Place index cards

• List of Archive Collection Descriptions

Records found in the card indexes

The indexes proved to be an invaluable resource. The following records will not be uploaded to the CASBAH database as the information needed to complete the mandatory ISAD(G) was not available, but are listed below to highlight the need for further survey work in the future that will fully describe these records and allowing for the creation of collection-level descriptions.

Due to extent and range of data found at PRONI, the aim is also to flag records that might be used in the creation of a PRONI guide to sources in the English-speaking Caribbean.

Subject card Index - slavery/slaves

1. Desc: Letter referring to slave trade and slavery in Antigua, West Indies
   Ref: MIC.147/ Reel 9
   Dates: 1754 Feb 6
   
2. Desc: 2 letters from Andrew Erwin, Liverpool, to his parents in Derry Beg, Londonderry, re trading of slaves
   Ref: T.3607
   Dates: 1762 - 1763
   
3. Desc: Correspondence of Watt family in Jamaica, West Indies
   Ref: MIC.135
   Dates: 1790 - 1850
   
4. Desc: Original account book of Lambert Blair & Co, general merchants, Barbados, giving details of trade in slaves
   Ref: D.1125
   Dates: 1795 - 1799
   
5. Desc: Letter (published) in which James Emerson Tennent, Whig candidate in Belfast Election outlines view re. Abolition of slavery.
   Ref: D.923/4
   Dates: 1832 Dec 8

Geographical Card indexes - Place Names

1. Place Name: Antigua
   Nature of document: Detailing of insurance on goods carried from London to Antigua. Ross family, London
   Date of documents: 1776
   Ref: see list of D/1924
2. Place Name:Barbados
   Nature of document: Journal
   Date of documents: June 1817 - 1821
   Ref: D 618 (36B) pp.81,85, 122)
3. Place Name: Barbados
   Nature of document: Details of an 'adventure' to Demerara and Barbados
   Date of documents: 1833 - 1835
   Ref: see list of D/971
   
4. Place Name: Barbados
   Nature of document: Notes relating to career of Sir Lionel Smith as Governor of Barbados
   Date of documents: 1833 - 1842
   Ref: see list of D/1584
5. Place Name: Barbados
   Nature of document: Papers re trade with Ireland
   Date of documents: 1728 - 1756
   Ref: See list D/354/473 - 614; 684 - 702
6. Place Name: Barbados
   Nature of document: Letters from David Lindsay during active service in Barbados to his family in Rathfryland
   Date of documents: 1808 - 1810
   Ref: see list of D/687
7. Place Name: Bermuda
   Nature of document: Military order to Dr. William Orr
   Date of documents June 1871
   Ref: D2908/2/4/5
8. Place Name: Bermuda
   Nature of document: Letters from John Mitchell during his exile in Bermuda to his sister Matilda Dixon, Dromore
   Date of documents: 1848 - 1878
   Ref: See list of D/1078
9. Place Name: Jamaica
   Nature of document: Jamaica Almanac ,Return of proprietors for Middlesex and Cornwall
   Date of documents: 1821 - 1822
   Ref: T/1961
   
10. Place Name: Jamaica
    Nature of document: Notes etc., relating to the Career of Sir Lionel Smith as Governor of Jamaica
    Date of documents: 1833 - 1842
    Ref: see list of D/1584
11. Place Name- West Indies
    Nature of document: Diary of Henry Riddell Montgomery, Ballymore describing voyage to West Indies
    Date of documents: 1836 - 1839
    Ref: see list of T/1491

Archive Collection Descriptions

The following collections will be uploaded to the CASBAH database:

1. Letters and Papers of Sir Edward Hawke
2. Cunningham family of Crookedstone and of Belfast
3. The Hart Papers
4. Pinkerton Papers
5. The Crawford Papers

Click Here to view CASBAH database entries (Available April 2002)

Notes on the PRONI survey and how it relates to the development of CASBAH's survey strategy

1. PRONI website
PRONI has an excellent website. The website allows for details searching of collections, with many major collections descriptions web accessible for downloading and detailed searching. The indexes are also web accessible and the website provides full details of the printed catalogues and PRONI publications.

2. Subject heading index
The inclusion of terms relating to ethnic minorities in the recent development of PRONI's subject heading indexes ensures that any future indexing will allow for specific searches.

3. Asian Studies
There are a number of major collections covering the life of colonial administrators in Asia and China. Due to the particularities of this project, many of the collections have not included. (See scope of the project)

The following are three such collections:

• The Londonderry Papers (D/654)
  The contents of the former Londonderry Estate Office, Newtownards, Co. Down, comprise c.12,000 documents and volumes, running from the 17th to the 20th century. The key families are the Cowans and Stewarts. The description of the collection includes the following excerpt:

  Information on Robert Cowan's earlier years in the East India Company's service is limited, so it can only be presumed that he arrived in India from Portugal about 1717, after being in (private?) business in Portugal for several years. He was granted permission to reside in Bombay as a free merchant in February 1719, and was transferred to Goa as the chief of the factory there in December 1720. At Goa, as a result of successful negotiations with the Portuguese, he was appointed a member of the Bombay Council in 1721, became Chief of the Mocha factory in 1724 and returned to Bombay about 1728 to take up his appointment as Governor on 10 January 1729. On Cowan's appointment as Governor of Bombay, Henry Lowther, the Chief of the Bombay factory from 1718 and a member of the Council from 1725, was transferred to the Surat factory.

• The Graham Papers (D/812)
  The Graham papers comprise c.4,700 documents and c.95 volumes, (1741, 1777 and 1791-1957), and consist primarily of: title, deeds, leases, wills, accounts, correspondence, etc, 1741, 1777 and 1791-1957, relating to Graham property in and around Lisburn, Co. Antrim, and in Belfast; correspondence and diaries of Dr James Graham and Colonel James Graham, 1819-1905, including some family letters, but chiefly concerned with Dr and Colonel Graham's service in India and with the Indian Mutiny; and correspondence and diaries of Captain D.C. Graham, including descriptions of Captain Graham's experience during the 1914-1918 War, when he served with the Royal Engineers in France.
• The Dufferin and Ava papers (D/ 1071)
  The Dufferin papers comprise c.96,000 documents and c.850 volumes, 1605, 1630 and 1651-1940, relating to the estates and political achievements of the Blackwood family of Clandeboye, near Bangor, Co. Down, Lords Dufferin and Marquesses of Dufferin and Ava.

  The overwhelming majority of the non-estate papers, were created by the 5th Lord Dufferin and 1st Marquess of Dufferin and Ava, who was arguably the pre-eminent British diplomat and imperial administrator of the last third of the 19th century. He travelled and administered in Syria, India, and Canada as well as being deeply involved in Irish and English political life.

4. Guides to Sources
PRONI has a number of guides covering key subject or geographical areas that are immensely useful. It is our hope that relevant records highlighted in the last section of this report and those to be uploaded to the database will be used in the production of guide to Caribbean sources at PRONI.

There is already a guide entitled 'A guide to Manuscripts and Documents in Northern Ireland relating to China', and a number of collections covering the colonial administrations in India. Thus there is firm step off point and great potential for a series of guides to be developed in the future covering the histories of Black and Asian people in Northern Ireland.

Archive Collection Description - Extract

The Cunningham Family Papers (Ref:D1108)

This is one of three collections that relate to the Cunningham family of Crookedstone Co.Atrim, and Belfast. Their main interest lies in the light they shed on the last 18cent business activities of Samuel Cunningham in the West Indies. Cunningham established himself as a general merchant in Martinique in 1792 in partnership with John Gordon, and quickly consolidated his position with houses in several of the islands including Martinique and St Lucia. Samuel Cunningham was killed in an action against the French in 1796, shortly before his brother William arrived in Martinique, and the Cunningham-Gordon partnership was dissolved in 1797 after some bitterness and recrimination. D1108 - The greater part of these letters relate to Samuel Cunningham's business affairs in the West Indies, 1792 - 1797, although it is evident from a letter of 1828 that the family retained some business interests in the West Indies after Samuel's death.

Created: September 2001 by Dr.Roiyah Saltus - Blackwood

Updated: March 2002