‘A Blessing of God’: Marriage and Amelioration in Early Nineteenth-Century Montserrat

Recent scholarship examining enslaved people’s marriages in the Anglophone Caribbean highlights the need to consider the Church of England’s influence over conflicts with the plantocracy. This article examines responses to a proposed marriage between a free man of colour, William Harris, and an enslaved woman, Betty Cudjoe, in Montserrat in 1828. Occurring during the period of ‘amelioration’, this article considers the changing perspectives of ecclesiastical authorities, missionary clergymen, the plantocracy, free people of colour, and enslaved people. It draws upon under under-consulted sources of ‘The Conversion Society’ held at Lambeth Palace Library alongside ecclesiastical correspondence to highlight the gendered property concerns of enslavers that were exacerbated in mixed-status marriages. This article contends that during the period of amelioration, Anglican marriages became an attractive option to free and enslaved people in comparison to nonconformist unions. While this came into conflict with the property rights of enslavers, ultimately a specific definition of marriage was acceptable and enforced by the Church of England, pursued in this case by Rev. Benjamin Luckock. This enforcement came from the authority of the newly established colonial bishoprics, who held substantial influence over sacramental affairs.