The Prize Papers

This article provides an overview and provenance of sources uncovered to-date relating to slavery, especially in the Indian Ocean region, contained the Prize Papers Collection at The National Archives, London. The Prize Papers consist of papers and objects confiscated by the British/English from captured ships as well as legal records from the ensuing court cases at the High Court of Admiralty in London. Presently only partially catalogued, the Prize Papers Project will catalogue this unique “accidental archive” down to document level, making its contents available and searchable in open access and bringing more and more traces of slavery to light. This paper presents examples of sources on slavery, in particular from the recently digitized bound appeals cases from the vice-courts of admiralty in the Indian Ocean region. It contextualizes their genealogy, considers their uses and their pitfalls and explores the opportunities they present for gaining further insight into slavery in this region