Zachary Bayly (planter) explained

Zachary Bayly (1721-1769) was an English-born Jamaican planter and politician.

Early life

In the 1730s, Zachary Bayly was a young boy when his family relocated with him to the Colony of Jamaica. In 1759, his brother Nathaniel Bayly moved to England, and the two brothers conducted a trans-Atlantic family business, using their slaves on their Jamaican estates to create large profits, and using their political contacts to protect their investments.^[1]

Slave owner

Bayly was the owner of Bayly's Vale, Brimmer Hall, Nonsuch, Trinity, Tryall and Unity plantations as well 3,000 acres in cattle pens.^{[2] [3]}

In addition to being a sugar planter, Bayly was also a successful sugar merchant. He also served as a planting attorney for several absentee owners, managing several thousand more slaves for other estates. He was one of the 10 wealthiest Jamaicans in the eighteenth century.^[4]

Tacky's Revolt

In 1760, when Tacky's War broke out, slaves rose up in revolt on Bayly's estates at Trinity.^[5]

Death and estate

Bayly owned over 2,000 slaves at the time of his death in 1769. His estate was valued at over £114,000 when he died.^{[6] [7]}

Family

He was the brother of Nathaniel Bayly, both being uncles of the politician Bryan Edwards.

Notes and References

1. Vincent Brown, Tacky's Revolt: The Story of an Atlantic Slave War(Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2020), p. 54.
2. https://books.google.com/books?id=XLJ_YC3BYFYC&pg=PA16 "The Letters of Simon Taylor of Jamaica to Chaloner Arcedekne, 1765-1775"
3. https://www.ucl.ac.uk/lbs/person/view/2146652013 Zachary Bayly.
4. Vincent Brown, Tacky's Revolt: The Story of an Atlantic Slave War(Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2020), p. 53.
5. Vincent Brown, Tacky's Revolt: The Story of an Atlantic Slave War(Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2020), p. 54.
6. https://www.ucl.ac.uk/lbs/person/view/2146652013 Zachary Bayly.
7. Vincent Brown, Tacky's Revolt: The Story of an Atlantic Slave War(Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2020), p. 53.