Unfreedom

Slavery and Dependence in Eighteenth-Century Boston

Nonfiction, History, Americas, United States, Revolutionary Period (1775-1800), Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Discrimination & Race Relations
Cover of the book Unfreedom by Jared Ross Hardesty, NYU Press
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Author: Jared Ross Hardesty ISBN: 9781479872176
Publisher: NYU Press Publication: April 26, 2016
Imprint: NYU Press Language: English
Author: Jared Ross Hardesty
ISBN: 9781479872176
Publisher: NYU Press
Publication: April 26, 2016
Imprint: NYU Press
Language: English

Choice Outstanding Academic Title of 2016

In 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.

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.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Choice Outstanding Academic Title of 2016

In 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.

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.

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