Unfreedom: slavery and dependence in eighteenth-century Boston

Jared Ross Hardesty examines the lived experience of slaves in 18th century Boston. Instead of relying on the traditional dichotomy of slavery and freedom, he argues we should understand slavery in Boston as part of a continuum of unfreedom. By reassessing the lives of enslaved Bostonians as part of a social order structured by ties of dependence, he 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 marginalised peoples engrained themselves in the very fabric of colonial American society.  Read more...