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The historical essays published on this website were commissioned by the President of the University of King’s College, who was advised by the University’s Equity Committee that King’s should conduct a scholarly inquiry into its historical connections to slavery. Each essay has been reviewed by a Review Panel consisting of representatives of the King’s community and academic historians from outside of King’s with expertise in relevant fields of historical scholarship. The essays are, however, the independent work of their authors, who were free to amend their papers in light of feedback received from the Review Panel as they saw fit.
To varying degrees, all of the essays include findings relating to individuals who were connected to King’s in a range of roles, including as founders, governors, donors, administrators, professors, students, alumni and employees. It is, therefore, important to recognize that the essays and scholarly inquiry focus on the connections between King’s and slavery, not on the people or families discussed in the essays. The essays discuss how individuals and families associated with King’s were connected to slavery because this is one of the ways in which King’s was or may have itself been connected to slavery. The essays mostly deal only with the aspects of the lives of the people and families they discuss that were relevant to this scholarly inquiry, as determined by each of the authors. The many other aspects of their lives, including the full totality of their involvement with King’s and their lives beyond King’s, are outside of the scope of this scholarly inquiry.
At this stage in the process, the findings and conclusions included in the essays are open for comment, question, discussion and debate, as is befitting a scholarly inquiry. King’s and the essays’ authors invite readers to submit any information or knowledge that may supplement, support, challenge or provide context for any of the findings and conclusions reached in these essays.
King’s is very grateful to all of the authors for agreeing to contribute essays, each of which involved a significant amount of research and writing on demanding timelines. Collectively, they make a significant contribution both to the history of King’s and of Nova Scotia. King’s is also grateful to the members of the Review Panel for their diligence and care in carrying out a role that is essential to a scholarly inquiry. The names of the authors and of the members of the Review Panel can be found elsewhere on this website.