William Shand

William Shand, born 1776 , was one of the major slave owners in Jamaica, managing between 18 to 20 thousand enslaved people during his time in Jamaica that extended over three decades. There is record of him purchasing 1200 enslaved people in one transaction in 1801, and his experience in the field lead to him giving evidence to the 1832 Select Committee on the Extinction of Slavery. His connection to slavery not only made him wealthy, but gave him some soft skills including making and distilling alcohol, which he engaged in white at Fettercain near Laurencekirk. For at least ten years he would experiment in both Jamaica and Scotland on how to expand and improve his rum alcohol production of both rum and whiskey, showing the effects of the slave trade on other economic fields and interests not entirely linked to capital and ownerhsip. John Shand, William’s brother, reportedly had seven children with a Jamaican free woman called Frances Brown, who was referred to in correspondences as his housekeeper. William also discusses in some papers the “evil mindfulness” of enslaved people, with a need for “strict discipline” that showcases the rigid and harsh working environment the enslaved people of Jamaica had working on the Shands’ estate.