Slavery & Enslaved People
Primary source: New Amsterdam Grants “Half Freedom” to Slaves
In the 1640s, a group of enslaved Africans petitioned the Dutch West India Company for their freedom. The company's director-general, William Kieft, agreed to grant them "half freedom" (their children were not free and they owed an annual payment to the company), and gave them tracts of land in the unsettled area north of the city, thereby creating a "buffer zone" between European settlers and increasingly hostile Native Americans. Located about a mile from the city in what was primarily swampy, hilly wilderness, this so-called "Land of the Blacks" comprised several communities. Freed slaves received land grants ranging from two to eighteen acres; those who had served as soldiers in New Amsterdam's defense were particularly favored. The land these freed slaves came to inhabit—over 130 acres or 100 square city blocks—formed the basis of New York's first black community. shec.ashp.cuny.edu/items/show/787 |
Sharp, Granville (1735-1813 ) to Anthony Benezet
Written by the British abolition leader Sharp to the American Quaker abolition leader Benezet. References Benezet's letter of 14 May 1772. Sends him (not included here) a short answer he "drew up to check the insinuations of those persons who pretend to excuse the practice of Slaveholding by some particular passages of Scripture.
https://www.gilderlehrman.org/collection/glc0748303
Written by the British abolition leader Sharp to the American Quaker abolition leader Benezet. References Benezet's letter of 14 May 1772. Sends him (not included here) a short answer he "drew up to check the insinuations of those persons who pretend to excuse the practice of Slaveholding by some particular passages of Scripture.
https://www.gilderlehrman.org/collection/glc0748303
First woman of African descent in the North American colonies to sue for her freedom and win.
On July 21, 1656, Elizabeth Key became the first woman of African descent in the North American colonies to sue for her freedom and win.
www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/elizabeth-key-wins-freedom/
On July 21, 1656, Elizabeth Key became the first woman of African descent in the North American colonies to sue for her freedom and win.
www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/elizabeth-key-wins-freedom/
Tobacco and Slaves: The Development of Southern Cultures in the Chesapeake, 1680-1800
Tobacco and Slaves is a major reinterpretation of the economic and political transformation of Chesapeake society from 1680 to 1800. Building upon massive archival research in Maryland and Virginia, Allan Kulikoff provides the most comprehensive study to date of changing social relations--among both blacks and whites--in the eighteenth-century South. He links his arguments about class, gender, and race to the later social history of the South and to larger patterns of American development. www.thriftbooks.com/w/tobacco-and-slaves-the-development-of-southern-cultures-in-the-chesapeake-1680-1800_allan-kulikoff/906988/item/32730988/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwn4qWBhCvARIsAFNAMigoKp8ulLNTR4ws89ER1TE-n39wpF7BMgMsPrqGt2p9lc2_xjJULcAaAvZmEALw_wcB#idiq=32730988&edition=5189483 |
April 7, 1712: Revolt by Enslaved Africans in New York
On April 7, 1712, enslaved Africans launched a rebellion in Manhattan, New York. Here is a description by Brian Gilmore in The Progressive: www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/revolt-by-enslaved-africans-in-new-york/ |
(1724) Louisiana’s Code Noir-Primary Source Document
To regulate relations between slaves and colonists, the Louisiana Code noir, or slave code, based largely on that compiled in 1685 for the French Caribbean colonies, was introduced in 1724 and remained in force until the United States took possession of Louisiana in 1803. The Code’s 54 articles regulated the status of slaves and free blacks, as well as relations between masters and slaves. www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/louisianas-code-noir-1724/ A Law for regulating Negroes and Slaves in the Night Time This is a law from 1731 describing the rules and punishments for slaves and black people out in the streets after dark in New York City. (+ questions) www.learningforjustice.org/classroom-resources/texts/hard-history/a-law-for-regulating-negroes-and-slaves-in-the-night-time |
Indentured Servitude
Lesson plan: Indentured servitude- A colonial market for labor
The purpose of this activity is to demonstrate to students, using the context of colonial markets for indentured servants, that prices emerge from the choices made by individual people.
www.fte.org/teachers/teacher-resources/lesson-plans/efiahlessons/indentured-servitude-activity/
Lesson: (9-12)
Dr. Barbara Fields Busts myths About Race and Indentured Servitude
The lesson materials should be used as a warm-up activity after the students have already learned about 17th century labor systems in the Chesapeake colonies, you will need 15-20 minutes to get through everything (Includes student handouts and slides)
www.antiracistapush.com/topic-23
docs.google.com/document/d/17YZE6bDof8HN77HSbmOyK5txd-BuLzehoq4O2NbWToQ/edit
The purpose of this activity is to demonstrate to students, using the context of colonial markets for indentured servants, that prices emerge from the choices made by individual people.
www.fte.org/teachers/teacher-resources/lesson-plans/efiahlessons/indentured-servitude-activity/
Lesson: (9-12)
Dr. Barbara Fields Busts myths About Race and Indentured Servitude
The lesson materials should be used as a warm-up activity after the students have already learned about 17th century labor systems in the Chesapeake colonies, you will need 15-20 minutes to get through everything (Includes student handouts and slides)
www.antiracistapush.com/topic-23
docs.google.com/document/d/17YZE6bDof8HN77HSbmOyK5txd-BuLzehoq4O2NbWToQ/edit