London Bourne

London Bourne (c. 1793–1869) was a former Barbadian slave who became a wealthy merchant and abolitionist.

Early life

London Bourne was born a slave in Barbados in about 1793. He was the son of William Bourne who had also been a slave. Through his work as an artisan and businessman, William Bourne was able to put aside enough money to purchase his own freedom. By the time of London Bourne's birth, William Bourne had already become a successful businessman who owned a number of properties. London Bourne was a slave until he was twenty-three or twenty-five

Business life

By the late 1820s, with stores and a sugar brokerage business, London Bourne was already considered one of the wealthiest merchants in Bridgetown. The fact that a black man would have white employees was considered surprising at the time. Bourne also did some business giving loans to both black and white customers. In 1841, in what appears to be his first move into landholding outside of Bridgetown, Bourne bought a 169-acre plantation in St. Michael for 7,428 pounds. Bourne bought a second plantation in 1856.

In 1840, Bourne was a member of the Barbados Auxiliary Anti-Slavery Society. He was also considered to be a strong and active supporter of Afro-Barbadian civil rights activist Samuel Jackman Prescod.

Personal life

London Bourne was married in 1822 to a free, property-owning black woman named Patience Graham with whom he had seven children.

Death

London Bourne died at the age of 76. Despite considerable business losses in the late 1850s, Bourne was still quite wealthy and had substantial property holdings at the time of his death.

Honors and public recognition

In 1997, after the demolition of Bourne's primary business address known as the Exchange building in order to create a low-income housing development, the development was subsequently named London Bourne Towers in his honor.