The West India Committee collection
Related Documents
The West India Committee (WIC) collection is a unique documentary heritage crucial to the comprehension of the Transatlantic Slave Trade, providing insight into many unacknowledged innovations, institutions and inventions derived directly from the trade. Its archival collection enhances the historiography and general understanding of the contribution made by West Indians to the development of the global economy, and civil society.
The WIC-Collection refers to all those documentary records and related artefacts generated or acquired by the West India Committee, its members and associates, or presented to the WIC by its members, administrators, governments, institutions and individuals relating to the administration, development and management of the Caribbean and Bermuda. These holdings span the period from the formal inception of operations of the WIC (1750) covering the period of its most active period of engagement in operations and strategic developments of the indicated associated bodies and organs (1750 – 1840), until the subsequent distribution and permanent loan of these archival holdings to the respective identified entities. These incorporate the records and deposits of The West India Committee, The Crown Agents, the West India Dock Company and East & West India Dock Company, The Thames Police Association, and the documents relating to the specified voyages of the HMS Bounty and HMS Providence and the associated discovery of the Pitcairns and Fiji Islands. The documentation proposed for inscription includes various profound milestones, (some of which continue to benefit the world at large today), together with the business practices of WIC and its founding members for over 230 years. It takes the form of certificates, documentation, minutes, records, plans, maps, pictures and photos. Each holding is limited to those materials that have been assigned a unique catalogue identification number by each entity’s archival or curatorial staff as indicated.
This nomination was inscribed on the Memory of the World International Register in 2016.
Risks encountered
Environmental issues
| Identified risks | Level of risk |
|---|---|
Moisture | None |
Temperature | None |
Light (visible light, ultraviolet radiation, etc.) | None |
Dust | None |
Pollution | Low |
Pests (rodents, animals, insects, etc.) | None |
Microorganisms (bacteria, mould, etc.) | Low |
Management or organizational issues
| Identified risks | Level of risk |
|---|---|
Lack of maintenance, including cleaning | None |
Inadequate building | None |
Building with structural damage | None |
Lack of an adequate warehouse | Low |
Lack of boxes and/or archive materials | None |
Lack of human resources | None |
Lack of security measures | None |
Insufficient budget to operate | High |
Natural disaster risks
| Identified risks | Level of risk |
|---|---|
Fires | None |
Rains | None |
Mudslides or landslides | None |
Floods | None |
Hurricanes, cyclones, storms | None |
Earthquakes | None |
Tsunamis | None |
Volcanic eruptions | None |
Temperature increase | None |
Political and/or social risks
| Identified risks | Level of risk |
|---|---|
Armed conflicts | None |
Illegal trafficking of documents | None |
Thefts or robberies | None |
Vandalism | None |
Threatening socio-cultural environment | None |
Lack of support/public policies | Low |
Environment (location) issues
| Identified risks | Level of risk |
|---|---|
Material/storage units | None |
Furniture | None |
Room or warehouse | None |
Building | None |
Site or neighbourhood | None |
Area or region, beyond the neighbourhood | None |
Indicators
| Identified risks | |
|---|---|
Management Plan | No |
Once sufficient funding has been acquired we hope to develop a plan. | |
Response Protocol | No |
Documentary heritage digitization | Yes, partially |
Documentary heritage availability on the internet | Yes, completely |
There is insufficient support in place in public policies to support organisations such as ours.