Licensing arrangement with Ancestry for the T 71 series

Request

I write to request detailed information regarding the licensing agreement between The National Archives (TNA) and Ancestry.com / Ancestry.co.uk concerning the digitisation, hosting, and access to the T 71 Slave Registers of Former British Colonial Dependencies, 1812-1834.

For reference, Ancestry’s catalogue for this collection ('Slave Registers of Former British Colonial Dependencies, 1812–1834') lists a set of colonies whose registers are digitised and made available, and others that are listed but not yet digitised. I believe the following list reflects that distinction:

Colonies/registers listed as digitised on Ancestry.co.uk

For clarity, the relevant database is publicly described by Ancestry as containing the following digitised registers:

• Antigua (1817–1818, 1821, 1824, 1828, 1832)
• Bahamas (1822, 1825, 1828, 1831, 1834)
• Barbados (1817, 1820, 1823, 1826, 1829, 1832, 1834)
• Berbice (1818–1819, 1822)
• Dominica (1817, 1820, 1823)
• Grenada (1817–1834)
• Honduras (1834)
• Jamaica (1817, 1820, 1823, 1826, 1829, 1832, 1834)
• Mauritius (1817, 1819, 1822, 1826, 1830, 1832, 1835)
• Nevis (1817, 1822, 1825, 1828, 1831)
• Sri Lanka [Ceylon] (1818–1832)
• St Christopher [St Kitts] (1817, 1822, 1825, 1827, 1828, 1831, 1834)
• St Lucia (1815, 1819)
• St Vincent (1817, 1822, 1825, 1828, 1831, 1834)
• Tobago (1819–1834)
• Trinidad (1813, 1815–1816, 1819, 1822, 1825, 1828, 1831, 1834)
• Virgin Islands (1818, 1822, 1825, 1828, 1831, 1834)
• Anguilla (1827, 1831, 1834)

And the following registers are not digitised under the current license, but remain accessible in paper form at The National Archives:

• Jamaica (pieces 193, 206–208)
• St Christopher (pieces 261–263)
• Grenada (pieces 264, 266)
• Dominica (pieces 359–363)
• Nevis (piece 369)
• St Lucia (pieces 382–390)
• Demerara (pieces 391–436)
• Berbice (pieces 441–446)
• Montserrat (pieces 447–451)
• Bermuda (pieces 452–455)
• St Vincent (pieces 494, 496)
• Mauritius (pieces 566, 571)
• Cape of Good Hope (pieces 652–662)

The full text of the licensing agreement between TNA and Ancestry concerning those registers.

The scope of the licence, including confirmation of which of the registers in the above list are covered under it – particularly that the registers listed as 'digitised' are in the agreement, and those listed as 'not yet digitised / partial / offline' are either excluded or pending.

The start and end dates of the licence, including any renewal or extension provisions.

The financial terms, including whether TNA receives royalties, subscription-based revenue shares, or other payments connected to access.

Any exclusivity or limitation provisions that affect free public access (for example, restrictions on TNA hosting the digitised registers independently).

The ownership of the digital surrogates (i.e. whether TNA retains ownership of the images, or whether Ancestry holds or shares rights).

Any internal correspondence or memoranda explaining why certain registers remain undigitised, and whether there are current plans for completion.

Public Interest Note

I understand that institutions sometimes cite Section 43 (Commercial Interests) in relation to licensing agreements. However, the Slave Registers are publicly significant archives documenting enslaved people under British colonial rule. Ancestry already publishes which colonies/registers are digitised and which are not. Given the historical importance of these records – to descendants, researchers, and public justice – the licensing terms are clearly matters of public interest. Disclosure would serve transparency and accountability, and would not unduly prejudice commercial interests.

I request disclosure in electronic form.

Outcome

Some information provided.

Response

The full text of the licensing agreement between TNA and Ancestry concerning those registers.

We do not hold the original agreement with Ancestry for licensing the digitised images of the microfilm. The published images were subsumed into a later framework agreement with Ancestry and listed as ‘T71 various pieces’. The new licence for digitisation of all records is held by The National Archives as ‘Addendum 11’. To request a copy of this document please email FOIRequests@nationalarchives.gov.uk

Note: After conducting an internal review in response to this request, the 2007 licensing agreement was located by The National Archives and disclosed with redactions under section 43(2) of the FOI Act. For further information about this exemption please see the annex at the end of this response. To request a copy of this redacted agreement please email FOIRequests@nationalarchives.gov.uk

The scope of the licence, including confirmation of which of the registers in the above list are covered under it—particularly that the registers listed as “digitised” are in the agreement, and those listed as “not yet digitised / partial / offline” are either excluded or pending.

The registers that appear on Ancestry’s site to date were originally created from microfilm and published in 2007. It appears registers from 13 colonies were not microfilmed. These images were subsumed into the 2017 Framework and simply listed as ‘T 71 various pieces’ rather than as the full listing. The new licence covers all registers.

The start and end dates of the licence, including any renewal or extension provisions.

The current licence commenced in 2023 and per the terms of the Open Government Licence version 3 is perpetual.

The financial terms, including whether TNA receives royalties, subscription-based revenue shares, or other payments connected to access.

The National Archives do not receive any financial income from licensing these records. The digital images created from Collection T71 are licensed and made available to Ancestry under the Open Government Licence version 3 terms.

Any exclusivity or limitation provisions that affect free public access (for example, restrictions on TNA hosting the digitised registers independently).

Per the terms of the Open Government License version 3 terms, all of the material from Collection T71 is licensed to Ancestry on a non-exclusive basis.

The ownership of the digital surrogates (i.e. whether TNA retains ownership of the images, or whether Ancestry holds or shares rights).

TNA owns the intellectual property rights in the digital images that are created by Ancestry.

Any internal correspondence or memoranda explaining why certain registers remain undigitised, and whether there are current plans for completion.

The National Archives do not hold any information as to why originally certain registers were not digitised. It’s possible the physical size of the registers may have been a factor in the original selection of the registers to be microfilmed. The volumes are very large and unwieldy, so we assume they were not microfilmed because of handling difficulties. The registers not currently published by Ancestry are in the process of being digitised and will be published once that process is complete.

Annexe

Exemptions applied

Section 43(2): Commercial Interests

This section exempts information whose disclosure would be likely to prejudice the commercial interests of any person. In this case, the exemption applies because release would prejudice the commercial interests of both Ancestry and The National Archives.

Section 43(2) is a qualified exemption and we are required to conduct a public interest test when applying any qualified exemption. This means that after it has been decided that the exemption is engaged, the public interest in releasing the information must be considered. If the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in withholding it then the exemption does not apply and the information must be released. In the FOIA there is a presumption that information should be released unless there are compelling reasons to withhold it.

The public interest test has now been concluded and the balance of the public interest has been found to fall in favour of withholding information covered by the section 43(2) exemption.

Considerations in favour of the release of the information included The National Archives’ commitment to openness and transparency in its commercial activities, to allow public scrutiny and to demonstrate that public funds are being used in an efficient and effective way. Furthermore private sector companies engaging in commercial activities with the public sector must expect some information about those activities to be disclosed, especially when they relate to the digitisation and publication of public records.

Considerations against disclosure included the recognition that disclosure is likely to provide information to direct competitors within the market that would create an imbalance and a commercial advantage to those competitors. Furthermore disclosure of this information is also likely to affect The National Archives’ ability to negotiate contracts in the future and consequently generate revenue from non-public funds. It is also considered that disclosure would be likely to deter potential bidders for future contracts from competing and sharing commercially sensitive information with us. The 2007 agreement contains information and terms that are reflected in the current 2017 Framework; the release of which would likely prejudice Ancestry and TNA’s commercial interests.

As such, release of this information is seen to prejudice the commercial interests of both Ancestry and The National Archives. This would outweigh any benefits of release. It was therefore decided that the balance of the public interest lies clearly in favour of withholding the material on this occasion.

Further guidance on the application of this exemption can be found on the ICO website.