Unfreedom: Slavery and Dependence in Eighteenth-Century Boston

Early American Places

by Jared Ross Hardesty

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. "

Genres: History, 18th Century, Nonfiction, African American

272 pages, Hardcover

Published April 26, 2016

Reviews

[Jeremy Canipe · Rating 3 out of 5]

In a book based on








In a book based on his dissertation, Jarod Ross Hardesty seeks to refashion our understanding of slavery in 18th century Boston by broadening its context.

First, he argues that enslaved Africans, Native American slaves, white apprentices, sailors, and other poor whites should be understood as part of a broader subaltern class within Boston. In this regards, he draws on similar studies such as Seth Rockman's Scaping By: Wage Labor, Slavery, and Survival in Early Baltimore. Second, he makes much of Boston's place as yet another Atlantic the port city and thus part of the international English slave economy. In this regard, Hardesty seeks to argue Boston should be severed from the study of slavery in New England generally as having a clearer tie to this Atlantic history. At least in regard to this second point, I am in agreement.

[Cadee · Rating 1 out of 5]

I hated this. Its only redeeming quality is that it’s well researched and presenting information glossed over in history. BUT his thesis is not that well explained tbh and it also isn’t like good??? Everything else about this book also SUCKS. 50 examples of the same thing over and over again just to not analyze ANY OF IT! It feels like he was just showing off that he knows how to find information. Good for you buddy, maybe do something with the information you find. This could have been an article!!! ONE MILLLION BAJILLION NON ESSENTIAL CLAUSES!!!! GRAHHHHH I’m so mad

[Jocelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really well researched.

[Chase Childress · Rating 3 out of 5]

The primary sources of this book—primarily, court filings, depositions and other legal records—are by far the strongest element here. The analysis I found lackluster.

[Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

read for honors thesis