New York City's African Slaveowners: A Social and Material Culture History (Studies in African American History and Culture)

"Black slave ownership is a neglected area in the annals of American history. This work illustrates and traces the pattern that black slave ownership took in New York City, from its documented inception in 1661 to its demise after 1830. In New York City the phenomena of black slave ownership may be understood in the classic sense as "benevolent" slave holdings as defined by Carter G. Woodson. The social and material culture histories included in this work provide a unique view of colonial New Amsterdam and New York City." (Publisher description). Examines how free blacks, many of them former slaves themselves, held slaves in New Amsterdam and New York City from the first documentation of the practice in 1661 until its end after 1830. Finds that black men bought wives, children, and near relatives in order to release them from the bondage of The phenomenon of African slave ownership in colonial and early America began in 1651, merely three decades after the introductions of Africans as servants in Jamestown, Virginia in 1619.