Transforming fortunes? Personal legacies of British slavery at the making of the Swan River colony

Abstract

Throughout the Swan River colony’s foundational years, in another sphere of empire, British slavery was gradually being dismantled. This article links these two discrete processes through the biographical case studies of six early emigrants to the Swan River colony with connections to British slavery. Through an exploration of their aspirations and attempts to seek prosperity through emigration, I argue that the Swan River was viewed as a place that could transform fortunes: for some, a means to emulate the successes of their forebears in other British colonies; for others, simply a way to escape the bonds of slavery itself.