Port Royal, 1692

As my project is based nearly entirely on manuscript sources, this presents itself with a variety of limitations. These limitations not only hinder the time taken in completing work but also the overall feasibility of a positive outcome to the project resulting in a degree of incompleteness in regards to both mapping and plat drawing.

Reading the Manuscripts

Although it seems a fairly absurd notion, there is a large degree

of difficulty in being able to physically read the manuscripts.

This is due to a variety of factors including the more ornate

handwriting used in the 19th century when these manuscripts

were copied out, the lack of fomalised spelling leading to the 

same word being spelled in a multitude of ways such as 'four', 

'foure', 'fore' and 'fower', and the unfortunate nature of blurring

and the formation of shadows that occur when original 

manuscripts are photocopied. These factors combine to leave

uncertainty in research in regards to firstly what the original 

writer intended a word to say in the first place and can prevent 

connections being made between individuals who may be 

mentioned more than once within a patent book but under a 

variety of spellings. This in turn leaves ambiguity when 

transcribing manuscripts and transferring the information from

them onto a map.

Volume and Inconsistencies

There is a huge time constraint in using manuscripts as primary

sources; not only due to the difficulty of the language and visual

aspects but also due to the sheer volume of manuscripts available

versus how many are actual useful to one individual study. In the

three volumes of patents I focussed on there were over 1000 pages

each with multiple entries on. However, before even reaching the 

patent books, a variety of databases had to be consulted in order

to identify the right volumes, the right people, the right place and

the right time period. As well as this there are a large number of 

inconsistencies in the language used in awarding a plot of land.

As you can see from my database of land awarded to Port Royal

residents, land is primarily awarded North, South, East and West 

a number of feet each way. However, due to inconsistencies in 

language it is not always clear the direction of the land that is 

awarded. For example, when using the phrase 'bounding northward

of the land of' as opposed to 'bounding north to the high street' 

it would appear that one plot would be above the said land and one

below. However, throughout the entries it is clear this is not 

necessarily what was meant due to the wording of further awards

and instead it could be considered that both pieces of land are above

or below. It also doesn't give exact locations in regards to a physical 

position but instead just the circumference of the property and if 

it borders someone elses land, making it almost impossible to piece

together accurately.

Unclear Geographical Locations

Across the entirety of West Indies, it is common to see similar

names repeating frequently. These are often religious names 

such as St Thomas, St Andrews or St Mary's parish, surnames

used to claim land or else repetitions of land names from England

or names linking to the local surroundings. There are indeed 

multiple Port Royals across the world causing a variety of difficulties

in the use of secondary sources for this study. However, in the 

patent books there is little to no differentiation between identical

place names resulting in the research and transcription of a 

variety of individaul awards that are not actually in Port Royal.

For example, a number of patents refer to individuals being

awarded land in St Thomas Parish, near Turtle Crawls. As you

can see from the annotated map of Port Royal in 1692, Turtle

Crawls is the name of part of the land and harbour to the East

of Port Royal. However, the land being awarded to these 

individuals often came to between 300 and 500 acres; as Port

Royal only contained around 58 acres it is clear these plots of

land are elsewhere on the island. Unfortunately it is impossible

to identify plots such as these without reading the relevant

manuscript first which is naturally very time consuming. 

The Deceased

There are two key problems with using manuscripts when talking

about land belonging to the deceased. The first is that it is unclear

if another person is gaining some land that previously belonged to 

the deceased and the second is that land previously belonging to 

the deceased is often divided and awarded to others without 

indication that the previous owner is deceased, leading to a layering

affect on the land ownership map. When a person is awarded land

next to land previously owned by the deceased, the common phrasing

is 'eastwards on the lands now of late of Richard Brock fifty foot'. The

use of the word 'on' suggests that the person may be taking part of 

the original parcel of land awarded to the deceased, however, the 

word 'on' is also frequently used when awarding land bounding to a 

specific street or to the sea. Therefore it is impossible to know whether

or not the deceased person's land is being split. When it is split and

given to different people it is often not clear, resulting in the layering

effect and the appearance of multiple ownership when trying to piece

together the land ownership map. Unfortunately due to the differing

conditions and propensity for disease, many people died young in the

Caribbean and therefore patent entries awarding land to one individual

can quickly be followed by the awarding of land to someone else

bordering the now 'late' individual's land.

Copies

The final limitation in using these manuscripts in particular as a source

to create historically accurate maps is that the original manuscripts

were copied in the 19th century, volume 1 in 1892 and volume 4 in 1888, 

and were then destroyed. This means not only do we not have access

to the original manuscripts but we have to rely on the copies which

are littered with inaccuracies ranging from lines where the copier couldn't

identify the original word, blended words where the original copier 

was unsure of a word and made a guess and inaccuracies in numbers

with the suggestion that someone who was being awarded 60 square

feet of land could have a side bordeing northward hundreds of feet long.

The only option in this case is to transcribe the copy as accurately as 

possible and make an educated guess when it comes to incorrect numbers,

completing at least three sides of a plot if the fourth is not possible. 

It's not all bad!

Despite the number of limitations faced in using manuscript sources, there 

are a number of benefits as well. As opposed to using printed primary

sources, manuscript sources can be seen in full and entirely in context,

as opposed to having individual parts removed and printed as part of a

political agenda. Manuscript sources also have the benefit of containing

what at first appears miscellaneous information such as status or career 

when looking for the statistics of land awarded in order to create a land

ownership map but instead allow you to build a fuller picture and identity

of the person behind the land ownership which stops them being simply

a name on a page and instead allows them a historical afterlife. Despite 

the many limitations I have faced in using manuscript sources during the

process of this project, the additional infomation they contain and their 

more untouched, less politically influenced nature give added value

and weight to the data they yield.