History of slavery in New York
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[edit] Dutch rule
Chattel slavery in the geographical area of the present-day U.S. state of New York began in 1626, when a shipment of 11 Africans was unloaded into New Amsterdam harbor by a ship that belonged to the Dutch West India Company. Before this time, the company had attempted to encourage Dutch agricultural laborers to immigrate to and populate New Netherlands. This experiment was unsuccessful, as most immigrants wanted to accrue a sizable income in the fur trade and return to their home country in luxury.
The company turned to slavery, which was already well established in the Dutch colonies in the Caribbean, Southeast Asia, and Southern Africa. For more than two decades after the first shipment, the Dutch West India Company was dominant in the importation of slaves from the coasts of West and Central Africa. While the majority of shipments went to the Dutch colonies in the Caribbean, a number of slaves were imported directly from the company's stations in Angola to New Netherlands to clear the forests, lay the roads, and provide other public services to the colony.
The lack of private settlers in the colony led to the company's overdependence on slaves. While they laid the foundations of the future New York, they were often found to be "proud and treacherous", a stereotype for African-born slaves. The Dutch West India Company relaxed its monopoly and allowed New Netherlanders to ship slaves back to Angola. They began to import more numerous "seasoned" slaves from the sugar colonies of the Caribbean.
By 1644 some slaves had earned a half-freedom in New Amsterdam and were able to earn wages. Their children were still born slaves.[1]
[edit] English rule
The English took over New Amsterdam and the colony in 1664. They continued to import slaves to support the work needed. Enslaved Africans performed a wide variety of skilled and unskilled jobs, mostly in the burgeoning port city and surrounding agricultural areas. In 1703 more than 42% of New York City's households held slaves, a percentage higher than in the cities of Boston and Philadelphia, and second only to Charleston in the south. [1]
In 1991 the remains of 400 Africans from the colonial era were uncovered during excavation for the Foley Square US courthouse. Historians and anthropologists estimated 15,000 to 20,000 enslaved Africans and African Americans were buried during the 17th and 18th centuries in the cemetery in lower Manhattan. The site was designated a National Historic Landmark and later a National Monument, demonstrating its importance. A memorial and interpretive center for the African Burial Ground have been created to honor those buried and the many contributions of African American descendants to New York and the nation.[2]
[edit] American Revolution
African Americans fought on both sides in the American Revolution. Many chose to fight for the British as they were promised freedom in exchange. After the British occupied New York City in 1776, slaves escaped to their lines for freedom. The black population in New York grew to 10,000 and the city became a center of their community.
After the war, 3,000 African Americans left with the British in 1783. Some traveled to England; others were resettled in Nova Scotia or the Caribbean.
[edit] Abolition of slavery
In the aftermath of the Revolution, men examined the institution of slavery against the rights of men they had fought for. In 1781 the legislature voted to manumit slavery for men who fought with the rebels during the Revolution. Further action toward abolition took longer, but manumission was made easier. By 1790 one in three blacks in New York was free. They began to organize a separate community, with churches, benevolent organizations and businesses.
Steps toward abolition of slavery accumulated, but the state also took steps back as society wavered in its commitment to freedom and rights for all persons. In 1799 the legislature passed a law for gradual abolition. It required African Americans born after the legislation to serve long apprenticeships to young adulthood before gaining full freedom.
African American defense of the state during the War of 1812 added to support for their freedom. In 1817 the state provided for abolition of all slavery by 1827. On July 4, 1827 the African-American community celebrated emancipation with a long parade through the city.
In 1821 the state withdrew suffrage for free blacks and disfranchised African American men (no women had the vote.) They would not recover the vote until years later.
[edit] Civil War
On the verge of Civil War, according to the 1860 census, there were 49,005 free colored in the state of New York, out of a total population of 3,880,735. New York was being rapidly transformed by waves of new European immigrants from the 1840s on, including the Irish.
The 1863 New York Draft Riots was comprised mostly of Irish immigrants and their descendants attacking African Americans. The Irish resented being drafted, and did not want to fight in the war on behalf of people with whom they were competing for wages in low-skilled jobs. African Americans from New York also served with the Union Army to defeat the Confederacy.
By 1870 the African American population in New York had increased slightly, to 52,081. The state's population had grown markedly to 4,382,759, of which more than one million were foreign-born. Many of the new immigrants were concentrated in and around New York City.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Slavery in New York
- ^ African Burial Ground National Monument, Accessed 29 December 2007
[edit] External links
- Slavery in New York
- Slavery in New York, an exhibition by the New-York Historical Society
- The Hidden History of Slavery in New York, article by The Nation
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