Black Travel Club · Know before you go
The Bahamas: Black Heritage & Living Culture
Caribbean · History & living culture
Remember the people behind the port.
Connect a Bahamas escape with the history of enslavement and emancipation while respecting the distinct stories of its islands.
Start here · Black history
Nassau: from a marketplace of enslavement to a place of learning
Look beneath the port-city shopping itinerary. Learn how a building used for sale can become a place to remember the people whom that trade treated as property.
Two things to know before you go
Read Vendue House differently
The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism identifies Vendue House as a marketplace where enslaved Africans were sold during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The Pompey Museum gives that building a different role in public memory.
A name connects different islands
The museum is named for Pompey, who lived on the Rolle plantation at Steventon, Exuma. A museum in Nassau can tell a story connected to another island; the museum’s location and the historical setting are not the same.
Historical reading: Bahamas Ministry of Tourism: Pompey Museum.
Check your understanding: Does a visit to the Pompey Museum take me to Pompey’s plantation?
No. The museum is in Nassau; the plantation connection described here is in Exuma. Learn the connection without treating the islands as interchangeable.
Turn the reading into a meaningful visit
Before you go. Read one of the historical sources above and choose a question you want to explore.
While you are there. Ask about current access and interpretation at the Pompey Museum. Make room to read the exhibits rather than fitting the museum between unrelated stops without time to reflect.
After the visit. Notice how the name of a person changes the way you understand a building once used for commerce in people.
BTC learning suggestions are optional itinerary ideas. Ask about paid local interpretation and how your visit supports the people doing that work. No museum visit, transport or excursion is included unless your booking explicitly lists it.
01 · Historical context
The history beneath the itinerary
Nassau’s Pompey Museum occupies the former Vendue House, a marketplace where enslaved Africans were sold during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The museum takes its name from Pompey, who lived on the Rolle plantation in Steventon, Exuma. Its interpretation of slavery and emancipation makes a port-city visit an opportunity to examine the people and systems behind commerce.
Agency, resistance and remembrance
Begin by noticing how a place of sale has become a place of remembrance. Ask whose names survive in the record and how the museum explains resistance and the transition from enslavement. Do not assume that one museum or one person represents every island’s history. Ask how Nassau, Exuma and the place you are actually visiting connect, and where their stories differ.
02 · Places to explore
Read the landscape
Pompey Museum of Slavery and Emancipation, Nassau
Confirm current access and use the museum’s interpretation as a starting point for further reading.
Your actual island itinerary
For Bimini, request island-specific cultural interpretation rather than promising a Nassau museum visit during a different port call.
03 · Culture lives here
Make room for the present
Choose Bahamian-led experiences and make room for local creative work. Remembrance and enjoyment can belong in the same journey when the historical visit receives time, attention and respect.
04 · Plan with care
Put the places in the right itinerary
Nassau, Exuma and Bimini are different islands. Pompey Museum is in Nassau; it is not an included or practical assumed stop on a Bimini-only cruise visit.
Tell your advisor which history you want to understand, how much time you want for reflection, and any access needs. Ask who will lead the interpretation and what is included in the quoted price. Museum visits and heritage experiences are confirmed only when listed in your booking.
Continue reading
Sources & further learning
Black history learning sections reviewed October 23, 2026; earlier historical summaries reviewed October 18, 2026. Travel suggestions and reflection questions are BTC editorial guidance. Sources may differ in terminology and emphasis. Opening arrangements and excursion availability need current confirmation.