Runaway slave advertisements

Contrary to popular belief slavery was not always illegal within the state of New York. In this story map I will be sharing information regarding runaway slaves from the New York City region in the late 18th century

One question you may be asking yourself right now is how long slavery actually existed in the state of New York? Final emancipation was not mandated by the state legislature until the 4th of July 1837. With this being stated slavery as an institution existed in New York State just as it did in the South. But the fundamentalswerefundamentals of slavery in the State of New York was tweaked in a manner to fit the needs of the state. For instance, slavery in New York did not mimic the plantation style of slavery that was present in southern states. This was due to two major reasons. First of which is that many slave owners in New York simply did not have the space required to house many slaves. Slave owners in the Northern states were oftentimes constricted to the number of slaves they could own as a result of the amount of property they could possess. For instance, slave advertisements from northern states may include information regarding the fertility of a female slave that is being sold. Advertisements based on the fertility of the slave are a clear depiction of the issue of housing said, slaves. Another important factor as to why plantation slavery was not prevalent in the north is based on the climate that the north had to offer. Due to the presence of a harsh winter season plantation crops such as cotton could not be grown in New York, thus slave owners within new York had no need for the access to slaves required for plantation slavery.

Now that we have gone over why plantation slavery did not manifest itself in the North, let's discuss how northern slave owners utilized their slave labor. Slave labor in urban environments such as New York city looked drastically different compared to plantation slavery. For instance, many northern slaves were working as a form of house servants for their masters. They would help bridge the gap in the completion of household work, given that urban life may entail their owners having to attend to other matters of business. Slaves were also subject to being sold off into hired labor positions which would potentially allow them a degree of independence in comparison to slaves that were not hired out. Although slaves that were hired out may very well be worked in such a manner that was harsher than if they had simply stayed in the service of their master. Slaves who were hired out may also be able to collect a form of monetary payment for their labor. These funds may very well be used as a means to pay for their freedom if their master presented them with such an opportunity.

What about slaves who earned their freedom, but not through paying for it? Good question, these slaves may very well be considered to be runaways. The opportunities New York City presented for running away were vast. New York City not only enjoyed access to a harbor whose ships could be used for stowing away but a population of freed or runaway African Americans that had already inhibited the city, thus creating a community of people that could help the runaway in their struggle for freedom.

Where did Runaway slaves run too? Many runaway slaves would desert their owners in order to reconnect with their families. It was a common phenomena to have famlies seperated from one another due to the selling of slaves at auction. This inspired many slaves to simply runaway from their new masters in order to live with their famlies. Another reason for runningaway would be to return to their former masters. This phonmena can be acredited to both better treatment by there old master, and the presence of family members at their old plantations. Because of this slave advertisments may offer information concerning the where abouts of a slaves former master as it was a likley destination of a runaway slave. Finally slaves may even use running away as a means to negotiate with their master. Since slaves were considered property, their means of protesting were limited. Because of this the act of running away may be used as a barging chip by the slave, given this being their only means to defy their master and change their minds. The act of runnig away may be inspired by brutal treatment, or placement in an occupation they did not care for.

One of the major difficulties of using Runaway slave adds to study the movement of slaves is predicated on the perspective the advertisements were written from. Since these documents were created by the slave master themselves they often time neglect to include the thoughts and reasoning, as to why the slave had run away. In order to find these insights, one must use the journals, or personal writings of the slave if they even exist in the first place. Slaves were often times not taught to write or read as a means to suppress their abilities to run away. Because of this primary documents concerning the thoughts of runaway slaves are scarce, and slave advertisements may be the only document outside auction records that details the movement of slaves.

Slaves who ran away from their masters faced a slew of obstacles in order to realize their struggle for freedom. These individuals would not only have to complete forge a new life in order to survive but would have to do so while being pursued by their former masters. Slave owners would employ numerous techniques in order to recover their slaves. One such technique was the creation of runaway slave advertisements. These advertisements would include descriptions of the runaway slave's appearance. These descriptions would include details regarding the scars which would be present on their body, as well as the clothes in which the slave ran away in.

Other defining characteristics of runaway slaves outside of the garments they wore were their skills. The slave population in the North was skilled in a variety of different trades as a result of not being forced to work on plantations. For instance, runaway advertisements would remark on the cooking or musical skills that the slave possed. Another defining characteristic used to track down slaves was their ability to speak numerous languages. This inclusion in the descriptions of runaway slaves shows the international reality of slavery.

Runaway slave advertisements also made note of skills slaves possed as a means to identify them. This information is important as it gives us a glimpse of skills slaves were valued for, as well as occupations outside of planation works that slaves knew how to do. The inclusion of these skills may point to where the runaway slave may try to work following his abandoning of his slave master. These skills may also influence how much money a slave master may be willing to pay for the return of their slave.

Other means of identification of a runaway slave may be tied to their physical appearance and their personality traits. Advertisements would often include descriptions of a slave's height, age, complexion, and injuries such as scars that they have accumulated. By noting these physical, characteristics and personality traits, runaway slaves may be easier to capture as they can be properly identified.

The institution of slavery in New York was fundemtaly different compared to the plantation slavery that dominated the south. This is due to the change in climate between the two locations, and the presence of urban environments (particularly New York City). These two factors affected the number of slaves people would own, as well as what work slaves were used for. With this being stated it is important to realize that despite these differences the institution of slavery still was extremely prevalent in the state of New York. In fact, the percentage of slave-owning families in New York City was the second highest in the country (behind Charleston South Carolina). By neglecting to tell the story of slavery in New York, we would be doing a disservice to those who were exploited.