Arnold and John Nesbitt of London, England, received these six monthly reports for the Mount Nesbitt sugar plantation in Saint John Parish, Grenada, between October 1777 and March 1778. Each document is headed "Journal of the Proceedings on Mount Nesbitt Estate." The tabular reports include daily numerical data on the numbers of enslaved workers on the plantation and the types of work being performed, including watch and stock keepers, "Black tradesmen," domestics, and as part of great and small gangs. Days where no plantation work was undertaken were noted, such as on Sundays, Christmas, and New Year's Day. The tables also document numbers of enslaved people identified as "Sick & Lame," "Superannuated" or children; the deaths and births of the month identified by name; and the numbers who ran away. The reports also record numbers of livestock, weather, and provisions broached. General remarks include particulars of agricultural tasks, plantation maintenance, and other labor undertaken by the enslaved, work demanded of the sick, names of enslaved people who escaped and were recaptured, and notable events like the meal served on Christmas.
Mount Nesbitt plantation was a West Indian sugar plantation located near the western coast of Grenada in Saint John Parish. In 1772 the estate was appraised at over £65,000. In 1774 Hugh Hall Wentworth of St. John Parish, Grenada, George Colebrook, of Gatton in Surrey, England, and Arnold Nesbitt, of London, England, were listed as "tenants in common" of the plantation, encompassing some "480 acres with the mansion house, 2 setts of sugar works, etc., and 260 negroes... with 2 horses, 53 mules, 14 cattle, 12 sheep."
Arnold Nesbitt was born around 1721 in Ireland, and he became a prominent merchant in London and served in the Parliament. He worked in partnership with George Colebrook, particularly relating to government contracts and banking affairs. In addition to his share of the Mount Nesbitt plantation, he also owned one-third of the Duckenfield estate in Jamaica. He married Susanna Thrale, and they lived in Aldermanbury, London, England. They had several children, including sons Colebrook and Arnold and daughter Eliz. Moore. Arnold had at least one nephew, John Nesbitt, to whom he left the bulk of his estate.
