Postal ships carried mail between the UK and the Caribbean, enabling enslavers to manage plantations via the postal service and distance themselves from the atrocities of transatlantic slavery. Through letters between plantation owners and managers discovered in our archive, we can begin to piece together glimpses of the lives of enslaved people and their courageous acts of resistance.

For years the postal ships themselves were also refuelled by enslaved people on the island of St. Thomas. Learn how Caribbean coal workers are honoured today in a special film, by filmmaker Emmanual Phillips, created with our partners, Dollar fo’ Dollar – the St. Thomas based organisation that works to ensure their legacies live on to inspire people.