St. Peter's Graveyard African Diaspora Trail Plaque - St. George, Bermuda - Philatelic Photographs on Waymarking.com

St. Peter's Church in St. George, Bermuda is believed to be the oldest continually used Anglican church in the Western hemisphere. The original wooden church built 1612 was destroyed in a storm and replaced by the present church. The church was extended in 1713 and the clock tower was added in the 19th century.

Outside is a churchyard cemetery with a wall separating two graveyards. A walled area to the far west of the church was for black slaves and free blacks. The one closer to the church was reserved for whites. The graveyard for slaves and free blacks is a significant site on the African Diaspora Heritage Trail of Bermuda which traces the legacy of Bermuda's slavery. In 1698, St. George had a population of 1,124, one-third of whom were blacks who were mostly brought in from Africa as slaves.

As the blacks converted to Christianity they became entitled to Christian burials. In the latter half of the 17th century the existing graveyard was extended to the west to accommodate both former slaves and free blacks.

A bronze plaque on the wall on the right side of the entrance to the blacks cemetery identifies it as an official UNESCO Slave Route Site. The central part of the plaque depicts a black family, a mother, father and two children walking hand in hand between a palm tree and a deciduous tree and above a stone wall. The plaque is inscribed:

THE BERMUDA DIASPORA HERITAGE TRAIL
{Globe With Bermuda Greatly Enlarged}
BERMUDA

OFFICIALLY DESIGNATED A UNESCO
SLAVE ROUTE PROJECT

St. Peter's Church
GRAVEYARD FOR SLAVES
AND FREE BLACKS

For nearly two Hundred years this
western extension of the
church's graveyard
was the burial ground for the enslaved
or free Blacks of St. George Parish.

The stamp was issued by Bermuda in 2012 as part of a set of four stamps commemorating the 400th anniversary of St. Peter's Church.

Stamp Issuing Country: Bermuda Date of Issue: October 18, 2012 Denomination: $ 1.10 Color: multicolor Stamp Type: Single Stamp Relevant Web Site: [Web Link]

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