The Bermuda Archives will display local documents relating to the abolition of slavery on the Island.

The exhibition 'Legal Instruments of Emancipation' started yesterday and will be open to the public until October 29. It will be open while the African Diaspora Heritage Trail Conference (ADHT) takes place in Bermuda.

The exhibition contains Bermuda's original slave registers compiled in the period leading up to Emancipation in 1834.

A spokeswoman for the Archives said: "The registers, mandated by the British Government, are among the most comprehensive sources for the study of slavery in Bermuda and are currently under consideration for inclusion in the UNESCO Memory of the World Register."

Bermuda Archives director Karla Hayward added: "We are displaying the documents relating to slavery in Bermuda on the occasion of the [ADHT] conference.

"We are thrilled to be able to reveal these documents to our ADHT visitors. For the very first time we are displaying one of the slave registers from the 1820s, the original Emancipation Act of 1834 and other manuscripts."

There will also be original photographs on display, including one of a slave named "Ollie" taken in the 1850s.

This exhibition marks the third time the registers have been on public display since their restoration in 2004.

Alongside the registers on exhibit will be contemporary documents, images and narratives that link slaves and their owners in Bermuda.

The Bermuda Archives is located on the lower level of the Government Administration Building on Parliament Street. It is open from 8.30 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. Monday to Friday. Telephone 297-7737 for further information or to arrange group visits.