Pompey Museum of Slavery & Emancipation, Nassau

The Pompey Museum of Slavery & Emancipation is named to honor Pompey, an enslaved person who lived on Rolle Plantation. Pompey led a revolt at the Rolle Plantation in Exuma in 1830 after plantation owner John Rolle ordered Pompey and 76 other enslaved people to move to another island.

Pompey fled the plantation and stole a sailboat, planning to sail for Nassau and petition the governor to be allowed to stay on Exuma island. Pompey didn't reach Nassau, but the British governor stopped the transfer. Pompey received 39 lashes from Rolle, but his rebellion was celebrated among enslaved people. The slave trade was abolished in 1834.

The museum is located in Vendue House, which was built in the 1760s. Vendue House functioned as a slave marketplace during the 18th and 19th centuries.

The small museum has a collection of photos and artifacts that describe the Bahamian slave trade and the daily lives of enslaved Bahamians. In addition, the museum features an exhibit titled Wade in The Water: Peter Mowell, the Last Slave Ship in The Bahamas. This exhibit looks at the events surrounding a slave ship that was shipwrecked in 1860 in the Abacos. The museum also discusses the 1834 emancipation.