"We have no property! We have no wives! We have no children! We have no country!" |
Artist: Jacob Lawrence (American, Atlantic City, New Jersey 1917–2000 Seattle, Washington)
Date: 1955 The Metropolitan Museum of Art |
Overview
Many Americans look at the lives of the enslaved through just one lens, seeing only the enormous cruelty of slavery. Looking through a single lens objectivizes the enslaved, showing just one facet of their lives.
There are other lenses. One illuminates social relations among the enslaved. Another lens looks at their work and the skills they had. Yet another lens reveals their efforts to achieve some autonomy and dignity. A fourth tells the story of those who self-emancipated, escaping to freedom. We need many lenses.
In 2021, there is a extreme paucity of information about the daily lives of the enslaved; what there is comes almost entirely from sifting through the accounts of the white colonizers. Whjat follows here are gleanings from the limited information available on Brookline, taken together with the richer sources on slavery in Boston. [1]
There are other lenses. One illuminates social relations among the enslaved. Another lens looks at their work and the skills they had. Yet another lens reveals their efforts to achieve some autonomy and dignity. A fourth tells the story of those who self-emancipated, escaping to freedom. We need many lenses.
In 2021, there is a extreme paucity of information about the daily lives of the enslaved; what there is comes almost entirely from sifting through the accounts of the white colonizers. Whjat follows here are gleanings from the limited information available on Brookline, taken together with the richer sources on slavery in Boston. [1]
The Social Lives of Brookline's enslaved [2]
We know that roughly ninety enslaved men, women and children lived in Brookline during the 18th century. The adults worked hard to create a social life—of support, friendship and sometimes even of marriage and children. A family was an exceedingly rare achievement.
The Warping of Lives
The enslavers’ business decisions systematically distorted the lives of those who were enslaved. In Brookline and across much of New England, enslavers deliberately bought twice as many men as women. The owners wanted free labor to work their farms and tend their cattle and other animals. Brookline grasses were much sought after for cattle grazing. The smaller number of enslaved women were household labor. Children were few.
The disparity meant that many many men were left without a partner, and women often found themselves besieged by suitors. Such a situation created competition and jealousy.
“Slaves were a downtrodden class living in an unstable world …Interpersonal violence erupted at all levels [including master-slave] but especially between slaves and other unfree persons frustrated by their conditions.”[3]
The disparity meant that many many men were left without a partner, and women often found themselves besieged by suitors. Such a situation created competition and jealousy.
“Slaves were a downtrodden class living in an unstable world …Interpersonal violence erupted at all levels [including master-slave] but especially between slaves and other unfree persons frustrated by their conditions.”[3]
Loneliness
Enormous loneliness naturally permeated such a deeply imbalanced slave population. In Brookline, over a third of the enslaved were alone in a white household. Often, they had no privacy, with quarters in a corner of the kitchen, not far from the ears or needs of their enslaver.
In a fundamental sense, almost all the enslaved in Brookline were alone, as their families --parents, siblings, grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles--lived elsewhere, perhaps in Massachusetts, in the Caribbean or in western Africa.
Two girls, Dina and Flora, were totally alone. Each was bought and brought to Brookline at the age of eleven, to work alone in different households. Eleven was a typical age for enslaved children to be forced into full time labor.
In a fundamental sense, almost all the enslaved in Brookline were alone, as their families --parents, siblings, grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles--lived elsewhere, perhaps in Massachusetts, in the Caribbean or in western Africa.
Two girls, Dina and Flora, were totally alone. Each was bought and brought to Brookline at the age of eleven, to work alone in different households. Eleven was a typical age for enslaved children to be forced into full time labor.
The bill of sale for Dina chillingly reads:
“I Richard Champion…have Bargained and Sold, Released and granted…[to] sell unto Ebenezer Crafts …a Negro Girl named Dina, about eleven years old, together with all her wearing apparel To have and to hold the said Negro Girl unto the aforesaid Ebenezer Crafts, and to his heirs and assigns forever.”[4]
Four Families and Two Marriages
Creating a family was an effort and an unusual achievement. In Massachusetts, marriages among the enslaved were rare. Although the law permitted slave marriages, permission of both enslavers was required and rarely granted. If the couple wished for more--to live together--further permission was required.
Out of the ninety or so enslaved individuals in Brookline, there were two recorded marriages.
The Marriages→
Out of the ninety or so enslaved individuals in Brookline, there were two recorded marriages.
The Marriages→
A Mere twelve Enslaved Children Lived in Brookline, with few living into their teens [5]
Enslavers in New England did not want to own infants or young children, as “replacements” for workers could easily be bought locally. Children were considered undesirable, because enslaved mothers would likely “shirk” work in order to nurse or care for their own young ones.
The death rate of enslaved children was very high in Brookline. Of the twelve enslaved children, four died as infants and another three died a few years later. This death rate was much higher than for free white Brookline children. When enslaved infants died, the church recorded neither the infants’ nor the parents’ names, though it did record the names of their owners.
The death rate of enslaved children was very high in Brookline. Of the twelve enslaved children, four died as infants and another three died a few years later. This death rate was much higher than for free white Brookline children. When enslaved infants died, the church recorded neither the infants’ nor the parents’ names, though it did record the names of their owners.
Old Age
If owners wished to free those they had enslaved when they could no longer work, the owners were required to give the Town a lump sum against the chance that the Town would be forced to be the agency to pay for the costs of illness. Thus it was that enslaved people almost always lived at their enslavers’ until they died.
Notes and Citations
[1] Jared Hardesty, Unfreedom: slavery and dependence in 18th c. Boston. New York University Press, 2016
[2] The Brookline church and government documents provide basic information on the social lives of the enslaved: births, baptisms, marriage, death and burials. Two old histories (by John Curtis and Harriet F. Woods) and a few additional documents offer a bit more information and recount a handful of stories of the enslaved. A careful sifting through the documents and and stories provides a glimpse into how men and women here lived under slavery and how they worked to maintain their dignity and to persevere and even to escape. Scholarly research on slavery in the region confirm the patterns seen in Brookline and enhance our understanding. For Boston, see Jared Hardesty, for Concord, see Elise Lemire, and for other more general regional studies see Wendy Warren, William Piersen and others.
[3] Hardesty, Unfreedom, op. cit. pp. 72-73.
[4] Harriet F. Woods, Historical Sketches of Brookline, p. 316.
[5] Not counted as children were two eleven-year-olds who were bought at that age in order to work full time.
[2] The Brookline church and government documents provide basic information on the social lives of the enslaved: births, baptisms, marriage, death and burials. Two old histories (by John Curtis and Harriet F. Woods) and a few additional documents offer a bit more information and recount a handful of stories of the enslaved. A careful sifting through the documents and and stories provides a glimpse into how men and women here lived under slavery and how they worked to maintain their dignity and to persevere and even to escape. Scholarly research on slavery in the region confirm the patterns seen in Brookline and enhance our understanding. For Boston, see Jared Hardesty, for Concord, see Elise Lemire, and for other more general regional studies see Wendy Warren, William Piersen and others.
[3] Hardesty, Unfreedom, op. cit. pp. 72-73.
[4] Harriet F. Woods, Historical Sketches of Brookline, p. 316.
[5] Not counted as children were two eleven-year-olds who were bought at that age in order to work full time.