Curaçao Runaway Registers Enslaved Population 1837-1863

The Curaçao colonial administration began keeping track of escape attempts of enslaved persons from July 1837 by means of a special designated register. In this register slaveholders could report enslaved persons in their property that were on the run. Various colonial reports state that the registers are not complete because not all slaveholders reported escape attempts. In total 1,613 escape attempts are mentioned in the registers between 10 July 1837 and 6 June 1863. Some of the escape attempts are reported as a group, but these groups are split so that in the database each individual person that is mentioned received a separate entry. The registers usually mention the name of the slaveholder and the name of the enslaved. Furthermore, in some cases the source recorded more information, such as the age or physical description of the enslaved, or the location from where the individual escaped and the results of the escape.