Pompey Museum

In 1784, Vendue House, then called the Bourse, was listed among Nassau’s public buildings, and is thought to date from the 1760s. During this period, the building was used as a market, from which commodities of all kinds, including human beings, were sold. Since the late 1800s, it housed the telegraph and telephone departments, and later the electricity department. In 1992, it was given over for use as a public museum, named for Pompey, a slave who raised a revolt against unfair conditions on the Rolle Plantations on Great Exuma Island. The museum opened with a classic exhibition on Slavery in The Bahamas. The museum is dedicated to the study of slavery and over the years it has housed several renowned exhibitions, including ‘A Slave Ship Speaks: The Wreck of the Henrietta Marie' and the UNESCO/ Schomburg commemorative exhibition 'Lest We Forget: The Triumph Over Slavery'. On display now is the exhibition, 'Struggle For Freedom in The Bahamas: From Slavery to Independence.’ This exhibit features sailboat-shaped displays with lots of information and graphics, along with multimedia kiosks packed with content and relics of slavery in The Bahamas. The sponsor of the exhibition is Templeton World Charity Foundation, Inc. In 2018, artist Jolyon Smith added a powerful mural to the building which highlights eras in Bahamian history.