Hi All, can anyone direct me to book(s) or information, hopefully translated into English, which describe social customs and life in general on Pico in 1825/35 when my Great grandfather Manuel Jacinto was born and left Pico? Were children of that era literate? Was school available to all? What work was expected of children under 10 years of age? Why would a ten year old leave home? Are there shipping records to Trinidad or Madeira (he possibly went to Madeira first).
These are all things I would dearly like to know. I am hoping to write an historically accurate fiction based on what I know about this remarkable man. I know his parents lived and died on Pico. Though he was the oldest child he was charged with stealing a Frenchman's watch in Trinidad in December 1836, he had just turned 11. I am guessing he was there because slavery was abolished and in 1834 the plantation owners on Trinidad (probably mostly French) were looking for cheap labour to replace their slaves. The British had taken possession of Trinidad by then and Manuel was tried and sentenced under British law. He spent the next two years on a prison Hulk on the Thames in London before being "Transported" to Van Diemen's Land, now Tasmania Australia, to finish his seven years sentence (sentences were generally, hanging, 7 years or life transportation at that time). If anyone has connections with Trinidad I would be interested if any court records from that era survived and how to access them (I have written to officials in Trinidad but have not received a reply). I would be happy to have any information that would help me understand life at that time. Thank you in anticipation. Mike Emmett -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Azores Genealogy" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to azores+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/azores.
