Editing Elizabeth Barrett Browning (section)

===Family background===
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Elizabeth Barrett had both maternal and paternal family who profited from slavery. Her father's family had lived in the [[colony of Jamaica]] since 1655, though her father chose to raise his family in England, while his business enterprises remained in Jamaica. Their wealth derived primarily from the ownership of [[slave plantation]]s in the [[British West Indies]]. Edward Barrett owned {{convert|10000|acre|km2}} of land in the estates of [[Saint James Parish, Jamaica|Cinnamon Hill]], [[Cornwall County, Jamaica|Cornwall]], [[Cambridge, Jamaica|Cambridge]] and [[Oxford, Jamaica|Oxford]] in northern Jamaica.<ref name="ONDB" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Edward Barrett Moulton Barrett |url=https://www.ucl.ac.uk/lbs/person/view/18032 |access-date=2024-10-01 |website=Legacies of British Slavery Database}}</ref> 

Elizabeth's maternal grandfather owned [[Sugar plantations in the Caribbean|sugar plantations]], [[sugar cane mill]]s, [[Glassblowing|glassworks]] and [[merchant ship]]s, which traded between Jamaica and [[Newcastle upon Tyne]].<ref name="ONDB">Marjorie Stone, "Browning, Elizabeth Barrett (1806–1861)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004; online edition, October 2008.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=John Graham Clarke |url=https://www.ucl.ac.uk/lbs/person/view/2146641351 |access-date=2024-10-01 |website=Legacies of British Slavery Database}}</ref>

The family wished to hand down their name, stipulating that Barrett always should be held as a surname. In some cases, inheritance was given on condition that the name was used by the beneficiary; the British upper class had long encouraged [[Name change#Historical usage|this sort of name changing]]. Given this strong tradition, Elizabeth used "Elizabeth Barrett Moulton Barrett" on legal documents, and before she was married, she often signed herself "Elizabeth Barrett Barrett" or "EBB" (initials which she was able to keep after her wedding).<ref name="ONDB" />