Unfreedom: Slavery And Dependence In Eighteenth-century Boston (early American Places)
by Jared Ross Hardesty /
2016 / English / EPUB
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Choice Outstanding Academic Title of 2016
Choice Outstanding Academic Title of 2016
In
InUnfreedom
Unfreedom, Jared Ross Hardesty examines the
lived experience of slaves in eighteenth-century Boston.
Instead of relying on the traditional dichotomy of slavery
and freedom, Hardesty argues we should understand slavery in
Boston as part of a continuum of unfreedom. In this context,
African slavery existed alongside many other forms of oppression,
including Native American slavery, indentured servitude,
apprenticeship, and pauper apprenticeship. In this hierarchical
and inherently unfree world, enslaved Bostonians were more
concerned with their everyday treatment and honor than with
emancipation, as they pushed for autonomy, protected their
families and communities, and demanded a place in society.
, Jared Ross Hardesty examines the
lived experience of slaves in eighteenth-century Boston.
Instead of relying on the traditional dichotomy of slavery
and freedom, Hardesty argues we should understand slavery in
Boston as part of a continuum of unfreedom. In this context,
African slavery existed alongside many other forms of oppression,
including Native American slavery, indentured servitude,
apprenticeship, and pauper apprenticeship. In this hierarchical
and inherently unfree world, enslaved Bostonians were more
concerned with their everyday treatment and honor than with
emancipation, as they pushed for autonomy, protected their
families and communities, and demanded a place in society.
Drawing on exhaustive research in colonial legal records –
including wills, court documents, and minutes of governmental
bodies – as well as newspapers, church records, and other
contemporaneous sources, Hardesty masterfully reconstructs an
eighteenth-century Atlantic world of unfreedom that stretched
from Europe to Africa to America. By reassessing the lives of
enslaved Bostonians as part of a social order structured by ties
of dependence, Hardesty not only demonstrates how African slaves
were able to decode their new homeland and shape the terms of
their enslavement, but also tells the story of how marginalized
peoples engrained themselves in the very fabric of colonial
American society.
Drawing on exhaustive research in colonial legal records –
including wills, court documents, and minutes of governmental
bodies – as well as newspapers, church records, and other
contemporaneous sources, Hardesty masterfully reconstructs an
eighteenth-century Atlantic world of unfreedom that stretched
from Europe to Africa to America. By reassessing the lives of
enslaved Bostonians as part of a social order structured by ties
of dependence, Hardesty not only demonstrates how African slaves
were able to decode their new homeland and shape the terms of
their enslavement, but also tells the story of how marginalized
peoples engrained themselves in the very fabric of colonial
American society.