"Chained on the Rock'' is a compelling historical work objectively written by the late Cyril Outerbridge Packwood, a noted historian and scholar. This graphic text about slavery in Bermuda was published in 1975 and is an expansive source. It is a must for anyone who has a desire to learn more about Black History in Bermuda.

The preface indicates the work is "unusual'' because no other writer had scrutinised "Slavery in Bermuda'' as comprehensively depicting the slave's significance in Bermudian society.

Mr. Packwood brings to life many chronological facts and statistics and has researched numerous details going back to the 1600s. Bermuda has the distinction of being the first country to pass a law in English addressed specifically to blacks. In 1623, the Assembly passed a law against the "insolencies of the Negroes''.

Mr. Packwood takes us from the beginning to the end of slavery in Bermuda which was August 1, 1834, a Day of Jubilee.

In the New World tobacco farming and plantation life was the lifestyle. Hard labour was required and African slavery became the answer. Ships commissioned by various crowns andor rich land owners would sail to Africa and capture its people by the thousands.

Bermuda's nearest neighbor in the New World was Virgina (700 miles) and in 1615 a company was formed, Somers Island Company, to run Virginia and Bermuda.

Bermuda slavery starts with Governor Daniel Tucker in 1616 directing a Mr.

Wilmott, probably a sea captain, to journey to the Savage Islands to secure "Negroes to dive for pearles''. Tucker served as Bermuda's Governor from 1616-1622. Growing tobacco and diving for pearls required special skills and initially blacks were brought to Bermuda for expertise rather than brawn.

During this very early period it is thought that blacks and Indians were indentured servants trying to be successful for the tiny colony. However, early records indicate that by 1618 there was a black population in Bermuda doing fishing and agriculture.

References from indentured servants to life servitude shifted sometime in the mid 1620s. Bermuda needed a work force so slavery became legalised. The average cost of a slave in early times was 12.

The reader is given an excellent portrayal of slave occupations by Mr.

Packwood. The men did many tasks such as building ships from cedar, fishing, whaling, farming and some were taught trades like carpentry or masonry, doctoring, tailoring, soldiering and store keeping to benefit the owner's income. Many evolved as excellent boatmen.

During 1828 12 Bermudian seamen landed in Belfast, Ireland upon a sailing ship and they were described in a newspaper there as follows: "They are healthy, stout men, clean and well clothed. They spoke English very well and conversed familiarly with different gentlemen in the Court Room.. .'' Mr. Packwood's scholarly endeavours will be useful for generations to come.

BLACK HISTORY MONTH HIS