New York Slavery in the Mid-18th Century
Early on in the colonization of the Americas, the European powers across the Atlantic brought with them enslaved African people to use as free labor in the New World. These African slaves remained in the background while the thirteen colonies built themselves up, and through the American Revolution. It is primarily in the early to mid-19th century when historians look to the institution of slavery. In many schools throughout the United States, the topic of slavery is more than likely primarily discussed from the perspective of the Southern states' practice of slavery. Slavery was not just restricted to the southern states, but very much existed in the Northern states too. The Province of New York, which would develop to what we know now as New York state, was one of many northern practitioners of slavery. Though its appearance took on a different form than that of plantation slavery.
What we know as New York City was first founded as New Amsterdam by the Dutch at the beginning of the 17th century. New Amsterdam was established as a fur-trading outpost with local Native Americans. It is believed the first African slaves were brought to the region in 1626 as slaves owned by the Dutch West India Company. Around 10% of the population of New Netherlands were African slaves, a majority living in New Amsterdam. In 1644 eleven African Americans petitioned for their freedom in New Netherlands, which would be granted to ten of the slaves because they "served the Company seventeen or eighteen years" and had been promised freedom. In March 1664, King Charles II awarded the area of New Netherlands to his brother the Duke of York. Within months several British warships arrived to New Amsterdam demanding surrender, taking the outpost in a bloodless invasion. The colony would be renamed to the more familiar New York and New York City. The British Kingdom legalize the personal ownership slaves.
Under the rule of the British Crown, multiple laws were enacted that restricted the rights of African slaves:
1680- Banned the sale of white rum and "strong liquors".
1702- Prohitted trading with a slave without the master's consent.
1712- Allowed masters to punish their slaves for their crimes and offenses at discretion; Slaves found guilty of murder, rape, arson, or assault are executed; Banned free blacks from owning real property; An owner freeing a slave must pay £200 to the government and £20 annuity to the freed slave.
1730- Consolidated slave codes passed within the past three decades to better prevent and punish conspiracy and insurrection from slaves; It is a crime for any slave to possess or use "any gun Pistol sword Club or any other Kind of Weapon."; Slaves were prohibited in meeting in groups three or more at any time unless doing work for their master or mistress; Slaves were banned from being on the streets after dark unless with their master and could not use the streets in a disorderly manner.
1737- No slave can be on the street an hour after sunset without a candle or lantern or be whipped.
1740- Banned blacks from selling their produce on city streets or in public markets.
Slavery in New York state was a substantial part of New York’s economy, as well as responsible for its development under the Dutch. Slave labor was used to construct the very first roads and buildings under the Dutch from the first city hall, both Dutch and English churches, as well as the city’s prison and hospitals. Then under the Dutch and English merchants, New York’s economy revolved around both the slave trade and the products made by slaves like sugar, tobacco, indigo, coffee, chocolate, and cotton. Slaves were also regularly bought and sold in taverns and auctions around the city.
Slavery was widespread throughout colonial New York. It is believed that around 20% of New Yorkers were enslaved Africans. This can be broken down even further, with around 41% of households in New York City being home to at least one slave. When referencing other colonial cities the numbers show that Philadelphia had only 6% of its households having slaves, Boston even lower with 2% of households owning a slave. Only the South Carolina city of Charleston could rival New York City in terms of widespread slave use and how deep slavery was ingrained in society. In New York City these slave-holding households would have one to two slaves who would primarily act as domestic servants. Responsible for the maintenance of the house from cleaning, cooking, getting firewood, getting water, shopping for their master, child-rearing, with some even helping their master's in their specialized jobs or being rented out for hard labor on the docks unloading and loading cargo. This is compared to the primary agricultural work that slaves would do in the Southern colonies and states growing different types of cash crops like indigo, tobacco, and cotton. Among this focus on agriculture, animal husbandry would fall under the care of the slaves and many other positions to help run and maintain a plantation as well as domestic duties for the main manor of the plantation. While African slaves ran from their masters in the South, New York was no different as slaves would attempt and some succeed in escaping their master's home.
In a slave’s life, they had little autonomy over what they could or could not do. Their actions heavily depended on their master and what work they would do for him. While many stayed and followed their master’s orders, others took it upon themselves to defy their owner by running away. The slaves who did run would do for several different reasons, spurred on by different reasons. A common reason that a slave would run would be after the death of a master. The death of a master was a traumatic time for both the slave and the master’s family, albeit for different reasons. For the slave, the fear was uncertainty. Would the inheritor be nicer than their now-deceased owner, an even harsher individual, or sell the slave and separate them from any remaining friends or family that is left. While a slave’s master may not have died, a death in the family still beckons an opportunity to escape. While slaves were treated harshly, they were also treated like they did not exist giving a slave sometimes intimate knowledge of the household. If a slave notices that their master is drinking more often or other erratic behavior, the option to run becomes more alluring as a way to protect the slave from harm, as well as the opportunity to gain freedom. Cruel treatment of a slave is another reason why a slave would make the attempt for freedom. Slaves in the South, as well as the North, would be treated harshly and punished equally as badly. Slaves would not always be running from their owner, as in the case of a hired out slave. These slaves would be hired out to other individuals, their labor rented when the slave’s master did not have work for them to do or wanted an additional source of revenue. These hired out slaves would be under the management of an individual that they do not understand or know. What these slaves would do would fall under this new individual, their working conditions, punishments, rights like visitation, and even general treatment. A dissatisfied slave would sometimes run away and return back to their master, while others may try to run away together for a variety of other reasons.
A typical runaway slave was a young male in their teens to early twenties. Based on data collected from forty-five different runaway slave ads from 1765 to 1800, In New York slaves in their mid-twenties to early thirties were the most frequent runaways, when age was stated. The majority of runaway slaves are described as black, some were described as having a yellow complexion while other were labeled as mullato, or of mixed-race descent. Scars were used in the aid of descriptions, these scars were gained from punishments from the master or workplace injuries. These runaways would also take clothes from their master, whether issued to them or stolen from the owner’s wardrobe.
Where a slave runs to after leaving their owner is heavily dependent on why a slave left and their goal. The slaves that do runaway are not always looking for permanent freedom, but sometimes as an act of resistance. Absenteeism was the act of a slave leaving the owner’s property for several days all with the intent of returning. With how common the occurrence was, owner’s would either give minor punishments or ignore it all together. Lying out was another form of absenteeism, though for a more prolonged amount of time. Some slaves who were lying about would form roving gangs who would steal from the neighborhood. Both of these forms provided their own challenges from having to source one’s own food, water, and housing. Most dangerous part of this is being discovered that the slave had left without their master’s permission which could lead to punishment. Absenteeism and lying about was also used as a part of bargaining with a master to gain concessions in favor of the slave. Whether this was over treatment, food allowances, working conditions or others, running away did not always mean freedom. In the cases that freedom was the goal, the destination depended on why the slave absconded in the first place. Slaves could be leaving to search for lost family of friends, find employment where they would gain a wage for their labor, or in other cases seeking to mix with a free black community.
When a slave runs away, the master has several methods of trying to get them back. The most common was the use of slave catchers who made a career out of tracking down runaway slaves and capturing them. Some slave catchers would make use of hounds, for a more expensive price, but a higher possibility of catching the slave once the hound as got the scent of the runaway slave. The second active method a master could use to find a runaway slave are runaway slave ads. These ads are published in the papers in the area which the owner thinks the slave may have run to. These slave ads would provide information such as when the slave ranaway, where, how the slave is moving, descriptive appearance, as well as the reward for their capture and name of the slave’s master. The more information provided the likelier chance that an individual would recognize the runaway slave.
By the year 1827, slavery had officially ended in the state of New York. Thanks to the Gradual Emancipation Law enacted in 1799, over the span of twenty eight years, more and more slave were emancipated and became free. These free blacks would develop communties where they would not have to face the racism that had still existed within the state. While New York had abolished slavery before the Civil War, it should not be forgotten. While the whole institution is a stain on the history of the United States, it is twisted within its fabric of existence and must be acknowledged if the country is meant to move on.
The methodology for this project based on slavery in New York state was first the development of understanding slavery as an institution by reading John Hope Franklin and Loren Schweninger's book Runaway Slaves which help aid the understanding of the life of a slave, why a slave would run away, as well as methods practiced by slave owners to capture a runaway slave. This book was supplemented with essays by Shane White, A. J. Williams-Myers, and Alan Singer. Then the use of Freedom on the Move , a database with a list of runaway slave ads which were used as datapoints for this project.
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