Thomas Thistlewood, Date of Birth, Date of Death
TweetThomas Thistlewood
Slaver overseer, British diarist
Date of Birth: 
About Thomas Thistlewood
- Thomas Thistlewood (16 March 1721 ? 30 November 1786) was a British citizen who migrated to the western end of the Colony of Jamaica where he became a plantation overseer and owner of land, property, and slaves.
- His diary is considered an important historical document chronicling the history of Jamaica and slavery during the 18th century.
- He is also known for keeping a detailed account of the treatments of his slaves as well as his sexual relationships with them. Known as The Diary of Thomas Thistlewood, Thistlewood's 14,000-page diary provides a detailed record of his life and deep insight into plantation life from agricultural techniques to slave–owner relations. Thistlewood was self-educated and a prolific reader for his time and even more so in British colonial society.
- He often practiced medicine on his slaves, though some of his practices, like those of the European doctors in Jamaica, were questionable.
- He was also knowledgeable in botany and horticulture.
- He bought and read a number of books about religion, husbandry, and estate management, and he watched and marvelled at the appearance of Halley's Comet in 1759.
Read more at Wikipedia