Myne Owne Ground: Race and Freedom on Virginia's Eastern Shore, 1640-1676

by T.H. Breen, Stephen Innes

Recounts the stories of American slaves who obtained freedom in seventeenth century Virginia, purchased land, started plantations, and interacted with white neighbors

Genres: History, Nonfiction, American History, African American, 17th Century, Grad School, College

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1980

About the author

Timothy H. Breen is the William Smith Mason Professor of American History at Northwestern University. He is also the founding director of the Kaplan Humanities Center and the Nicholas D. Chabraja Center for Historical Studies at Northwestern. Breen is a specialist on the American Revolution; he studies the history of early America with a special interest in political thought, material culture, and cultural anthropology.

Breen received his Ph.D in history from Yale University. He also holds an honorary MA from Oxford University. In addition to the appointment at Northwestern University, he has taught at Cambridge University (as the Pitt Professor of American History and Institutions), at Oxford University (as the Harmsworth Professor of American History), and at University of Chicago, Yale University, and California Institute of Technology. He is an honorary fellow of the Rothermere American Institute at Oxford University. He has been the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, and has also enjoyed research support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Humboldt Foundation, the National Humanities Center, the Mellon Foundation, and the MacArthur Foundation. An essay he published on the end of slavery in Massachusetts became the basis for a full-length opera that was produced in Chicago. He has written for the New York Review of Books, the Times Literary Supplement, American Scholar, the New York Times, and the London Review of Books.

Reviews

[Kalman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fascinating investigation into the lives of black freed-men on a specific peninsula along the coast of Virginia before Bacon's Rebellion. The discussion includes information on indentured servitude as well.

I found the authors refreshingly objective, providing candid opinion.

Something that impressed me was that I didn't understand the extent to which indentured servitude was like temporary slavery. At one point, white runaway servants were captured and through court order were whipped and branded in the face with an R. They were considered property.

[Kaufmak · Rating 4 out of 5]

A number of the books pooping up on my old-comp list have made their way into my teaching. Myne Owne Ground is one of them. It gives a great account of the construction of a race-based society, that it wasn't as simple as "they are different than us" dichotomy. It investigates the legal avenues used by the Virginian land-holding class to concentrate their power and provide a social buffer between themselves and the lower classes of Virginian society. By the dawn of the 18th century, blacks in Virginia were stripped of almost every right associated with citizenship, gun ownership, land ownership and even freedom of movement. The link between black and slavery became more and more entrenched as the century wore on and when the American Revolution took place, the second-class status of African born Americans was a political given.

[Justin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating look at race in early colonial Virginia. This book shows how there was a different perception of race and slavery in the early decades of the colony. It was possible for a slave to earn, or buy his freedom, the freedom of his family, buy his own piece of ground, and buy his own slaves to work it. It also details how a African-American man, Anthony Johnson, could go to court against a white planter, and win his case; something that would not become possible years later. This book is recommended for anyone studying the early period of America's Old South.

[Emily Carroll · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Myne owne Ground” Race and Freedom on Virginia’s Eastern Shore, 1640- 1676 is unique in the fact that it ignores the problems often associated with racial sensitivities and focuses on evidence provided by sources from the period. It invites critical thinking and analysis, while not enforcing a concern for racial responsiveness during the process. They gave examples of different social groups to show the wide spread and changing judgements related to the shifting relationships between enslaved, poor and wealthy whites and blacks and how it changed with different factors. This work gives historians a new perspective of the impacts of race and slavery on the culture of the early American South as being more equal than is commonly perceived. The book faced limitations in regards to a lack of remaining documentation and because it involves a socially sensitive subject, readers most likely go into the book with a strong preconceived bias of the subject presented. It would be beneficial to continue the study of the changing themes of racial relationships throughout the southern colonies and how they altered in relation to each other. Historians often portray the early American south as a hard place to live where human exploitation and money dictate society. This is not necessarily wrong, but it is a narrow view. Breen and Innes explored what freedoms blacks did have in the south and showed similarities between whites and blacks that are normally overlooked, leading to a new view of the American South and the changing status of race discriminations during a time when slavery dominated many individuals’ lives.

[Ai Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

A really interesting book, though I'm not sure it doesn't suffer from most of the problems of like microhistories in some way? I would love to have seen this on a more macro-scale, though I'm not sure if the documentation is there (and this is my problem with early America as a field, not necessarily with this book alone.) I would have also loved to see their framework be used way more explicitly, rather than kind of namedropped in the beginning and then just sort of falling away in favor of archival reading work.

All of that being said, it was definitely an interesting premise and I could absolutely see using this in a classroom with students--it's short enough to assign in whole, not just in excerpt, and I think it might have some good things to teach about writing as well as about the subject matter.

[Annette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing, be sure to read the later editions with the new introduction.

[Angela Demchuk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had to read it for class. Not terrible but wouldn’t read it for fun either 🤣.

[June · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is such a breath of fresh air! I like Breen and Innes' uncomplicated yet effective way of writing. The evidence they use to support their argument is very convincing. This piece of revisionist historical writing definitely challenges modern beliefs regarding the status of blacks in 17th century Virginia.

[Brooks Yeager · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating and scholarly looks at the situation of both black and white servants (mostly indentured, but not slaves) in the time leading up to the Revolution. Black freemen could still make a living on the Eastern Shore in the years before the South's desire to consolidate a plantation economy forced more blacks into slavery.

[Amy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Despite my history teacher constantly telling the class this is the best book ever written, I found this book pretty boring. Yeah, it had a bunch of information that is good for doing research and stuff, but would I pick up this book and start reading?... nope. The only reason I read this was because I wanted to do well in class.

[Renata Janney · Rating 4 out of 5]

A dense 100 pages, but opened my eyes to a place and time I know very little about. It makes me want to learn more about the Eastern Shore and colonial Virginia. I'd also like to know if there have been more papers or books written on this topic, and whether they've reinforced this author's assertions.

[Mike Emett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Required reading for Colonial America Reading Seminar, PhD course

[Danielle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book for a history class last semester, and I found some parts interesting. It got a little repetitive, but the accounts about real people was very eye opening. A look at the colonial period that was never discussed in high school.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting book, at least for required reading in history class. About how free blacks lived on equal terms with whites in Virginia throughout the 1600s, which most people don't know about. Not sure that I would have read it for fun, but interesting regardless

[May Ling · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good data work that describes the state of indentured servants and blacks on the Virginia's Eastern Shore. Always interesting to see how the mindset has changed since then. We have always been such a progressive country.

[Bradley Gregory · Rating 2 out of 5]

At some points I felt it was redundant. I guess it just isn't a book that interests me as much since I had to read it for class

[Chad Lamb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting history on how blacks and whites lived side by side in Virginia as near-equals years before racial relations took a wrong turn.

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an incredible book in that it details just how 17th Century Virginian blacks lived in one region, the Eastern Shore. The Shore didn't lose all of her court and county documents during the Civil War like so much of mainland's records were lost, therefore, we can better understand how blacks lived in the colony. Breen and Innes then use that research to prove that there was quite a large, thriving free black population that owned land, wealth, and in some cases had slaves (black and white both) of their own. Slavery did come eventually, but slowly, as they argue. In time, the Eastern Shore blacks, as also all of Virginia's blacks, lost their community positions, largely after Bacon's Rebellion.

This book stands against the prevailing narrative that slavery started at Jamestown, and for it's research alone is worth reading by anyone interested in 17th Century Virginia society.

[Rachael Cahoon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Considering I walked in knowing absolutely nothing about what this book discusses, I was absolutely blown away. Even as a history major, I had no idea that there were Africans in colonial times who were FREE. Like, how did the education system not tell me about something that is so important. This book goes into great detail about the life of Anthony Johnson, his wife Mary, and their children and their lives as free Africans in colonial times. It also discusses the community of free Africans, how they obtained their freedom (which i did not even know they could do by the way), and when the tensions in colonial times really changed for the worst. This book is a must read for anyone studying American history.

[Graciela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this book for my Race and Slavery course. I read this about 14 years ago and I still remember being stunned that there was a time where someone who was a slave was able to earn their freedom and be heard in court etc. It made me realize that racism and slavery are a tangled web but for a brief moment in early American history we could have had a different path.

[Andrea Renfrow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Single handedly the BEST race relations book I've ever read.

[Al · Rating 5 out of 5]

So many things I've
never considered about
"early" Virginia

[Ry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting and eye opening! I surprisingly enjoyed it!

[Alayna Britt · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had to read this for a college course and even with the book being short it just dragged on.

[Layla Nicholson · Rating 2 out of 5]

ugh stupid book i had to read for history…so hard to get through i just wanna read my other books but i guess it was kind of interesting once or twice idk

[Danny · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fine. Not great. I mainly read it because it was on my bookshelf. I actually don't remember where I got it. For only a hundred or so pages, felt like a slug to get through.

[Mert · Rating 2 out of 5]

2/5 Stars (%37/100)

Myne Owne Ground by T.H. Breen and Stephen Innes offers a focused microhistorical study of free Black communities in colonial Virginia, revealing a brief period when race and class lines were more fluid than they would later become. The book provides valuable archival insights into early American social structures and legal ambiguity. However, its narrow scope and academic tone can make it feel dry or overly specialized, offering more interest to scholars of early American history than to general readers.

[rozey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very informative read but I did take issue with the fact that this book repeatedly tries to compare slavery to indentured servitude which is completely unfounded and ludicrous. Also, the book just plainly tries to state that race was not a determinate of status in this region and era--that status was mainly (or even solely) derived from one's economic status. Again--BS.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's okay. For being such a short book, I kind of wished it was shorter. There's only so much you can say about the topic, and it became pretty repetitive.