Rosetta Smith facts for kids

Rosetta Smith (born around 1770-1775 – died around 1825) was an Afro-Trinidadian businesswoman. She was involved in the slave trade and other businesses. Because of her connection to Thomas Picton, the governor of Trinidad who faced accusations of harsh actions, she was sometimes seen as a bad influence. However, looking closer at her life shows she was a very smart businesswoman. She managed to grow her wealth over more than 30 years.

Early Life of Rosetta Smith

We don't have many details about Rosetta Smith's early life. People believed she was of mixed French and African heritage. She was in her twenties when Thomas Picton became the governor of Trinidad in 1797. It was also said that she had been married before. She reportedly left her first husband because he had money problems. By 1798, she became close with Picton, and they had four children together.

Rosetta Smith's Business Career

Rosetta Smith's name often appears in the Books of Spanish Protocols. These were business records kept in Port of Spain from the time of Spanish colonial rule. These books were used until 1813, when the British started their own system. The Protocols and Slave Registers show that she lived in Port of Spain. This means she lived in a city, not on a large farm or plantation.

From the time Picton arrived, she and he were involved in catching slaves. This was legal and a way to make a lot of money back then. While she traded in other types of property, most of her income came from buying, selling, and freeing enslaved people.

Challenges and Accusations

Because she was connected to Governor Picton, Smith was often criticized by his enemies. Picton was a skilled military leader, but he ruled with a lot of strictness. In 1801, he was accused of harsh punishment towards a young girl. He was removed as Governor of Trinidad in 1803 and went back to England for a trial.

One of Picton's main accusers was William Fullarton. He was part of a group sent to check on how Trinidad was being run. Fullarton and a writer named Pierre McCallum often said that Smith was behind Picton's cruelty. They claimed that the governor was under her control. Fullarton's report accused Picton and Smith of jailing and punishing Maroon people and runaways. He also claimed they sold these people secretly to friends for very low prices.

However, Picton and Smith actually had a deal with Antonio Vallecilla. He worked for the Intendant of Caracas (a leader in Gran Colombia). Vallecilla used his job as an international slave catcher to spy on the British.

Fullarton also accused Picton of unfair business practices. He claimed Picton gave a contract to supply soldiers with wood to "Mrs. Rosetta Smith, a Woman of Colour, who lived with him." Smith was also accused of using her influence to help prisoners get shorter sentences. She was said to hold weekly meetings where she gave out favors. In one case, she was accused of using soldiers to remove a widow and her two daughters from a house she wanted to buy. Smith's side of the story was that the widow had agreed to sell but then tried to ask for more money. Smith claimed the widow was the one being unfair. When the women complained, no action was taken against Smith. This might mean her story was believed.

Rosetta Smith was never put on trial for any of these accusations. Even after Picton left Trinidad, their business relationship continued. Picton even left money for their four children in his will. Despite Fullarton's claims that Smith was disliked, she kept building her business in the slave trade. She worked with important local business people, including the Congnet and Philip families.

Growing Her Business

Records in the Protocols and Slave Registers show that by 1813, Smith owned 32 enslaved people for her personal use. She used different names in the records, such as Rosetta Smith, Rene Rosetta Picton, and Rosetta Picton. She also did business with Bartholomew Dwyer, a successful free Black lawyer. They bought enslaved people together. They also jointly owned a 350-acre plantation called La Belle Fille in the Quarter of Santa Cruz. They didn't use this plantation to grow crops for export. Instead, they grew their own food, which helped them avoid expensive import fees.

Death and Lasting Impact

Rosetta Smith's name stops appearing in records around 1825. At that time, her daughter Augusta Picton was listed as owning enslaved people who had belonged to Smith. Thomas, the oldest child of Smith and Picton, moved to London and became a doctor. Richard married in Trinidad and stayed there until at least 1834. Frederick is only mentioned in his father's will from 1816.

Rosetta Smith is still sometimes described in Trinidadian newspapers as the negative figure Fullarton and McCallum portrayed. However, newer studies by historians like Kit Candlin show a different picture. They suggest that Smith was largely used to make the conflict between Picton and Fullarton worse. There isn't much real evidence about her true character.

The fact that she could expand her business from Port of Spain to Grenada and Venezuela, and work with important white men long after Picton left the island in 1803, shows her skill. It proves she was a very smart businesswoman with many powerful connections. She was good at adapting to changes in colonial rule. She also knew how to use gaps in the system, even though the government discouraged Black people from starting businesses. This helped her become one of the most successful businesswomen in the southern Caribbean.