Pompey Museum of Slavery & Emancipation, Nassau

Pompey Museum of Slavery & Emancipation is named in honor of Pompey, an enslaved man associated with Rolle Plantation on Exuma. In 1830, Pompey led an act of resistance after plantation owner John Rolle ordered Pompey and more than 70 other enslaved people to be forcibly relocated to another island.

Rather than comply, Pompey fled the plantation and attempted to sail to Nassau in order to petition the colonial governor for permission to remain on Exuma. Although he did not successfully reach Nassau, the case drew official attention, and the proposed transfer was halted. His actions became widely known among enslaved communities and were remembered as a powerful act of resistance.

The museum is housed in Vendue House, a structure dating from the late 18th century. During the colonial period, Vendue House functioned as a public auction site, including the sale of enslaved people.

Inside, the museum presents photographs, documents, and artifacts that explore the Bahamian slave system, daily life under enslavement, resistance, and the path to emancipation. One notable exhibition, “Wade in the Water: Peter Mowell, the Last Slave Ship in The Bahamas”, examines the 1860 wreck of an illegal slave ship near the Abaco Islands and the fate of the Africans on board. Together, the exhibits situate Bahamian slavery within a wider Atlantic history while foregrounding local experiences and acts of defiance.