The Stirling family held the estates of Keir, near Dunblane, and Cadder in the north of Glasgow from the 15th and 16th centuries respectively. Their involvement in Jamaica began in the 18th century. The then head of the family, Sir James Stirling (1679-1749), had 22 children and many were forced to emigrate to support themselves. Several of James’ sons and their descendants went to Jamaica as merchants and planters. Their estates produced sugar and rum and were worked by slaves owned by the Stirlings.

The Stirlings had high hopes that their Jamaican estates of Frontier and Hampden would be extremely profitable but the harsh working environment, riots and insurrections ensured that the estates were never as profitable as they had expected.

The emancipation of slaves which occurred in 1833 quickly made the estates unprofitable and they were eventually sold by Sir William Stirling-Maxwell (1818-1878) in the 1850s.

Staff in Glasgow City Archives and Special Collections are actively seeking records relating to Glasgow’s black history to add to their collections. Do you know of any organisations, businesses or individuals who may have records they would like to deposit? If you do and would like to discuss the potential deposit, please contact the Duty Archivist.

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