- May 7, 2009
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NORTH TO FREEDOM!? Slavery in the New England States of Colonial America~
I was just recently looking into some history about the New England states and stumbled across an unusual story about the life of a little slave girl who lived her whole life as a slave in New England and was never freed. My interest was further peaked when I had the chance to travel through a few New England states not too long ago. As I happened to drive through Connecticut, I became completely surprised when I saw an incredible number of Black people out and about in almost a completely black neighborhood. I couldn’t believe my eyes at first. I decided to just drive around for awhile to see what I could and after I turned down street after street in a certain area, all that I saw were Black people, mostly dark skinned Black people, in lower income neighborhoods where there were welfare buildings nearby, and many huge dilapidated homes and buildings as well. I was stunned to see that, although many of the gigantic old plank wooden styled homes were in real bad shape, they were so unique in their architecture. They reminded me of the huge many storied and multi-roomed plantation homes in the deep south built in slavery times yet in New England, they were dark colored and they had tall roof tops that covered huge attic rooms made differently from the southern homes. They were mostly gabled-styled arched roofs and there was so many of these houses built right next to each other, side by side. They lined the streets on both sides and were so enormous that they shaded the streets as if they were tall old oak trees but there were few trees, just these grand old-styled homes on street, after street, after street. It was nothing like I had ever seen before not even in the ghettos and project areas of the District of Columbia where I had once lived. I saw many Black people just walking down streets, sitting on porches of these large homes, or going in and out of markets and various other shops. Equally surprising too, most of the shops had names that either reflected a Jamaican, West Indies, or some other kind of African culture. It suddenly became apparent to me that because I am from the north, I assumed that I knew all that there was to know about being a northerner, but to my surprise I was mistaken.
I now wonder if my preconceived notion of the north might be due to a deliberate design byway of our educational system. Also, by not ever visiting any New England state during my young years, I now realize the value ‘field trips’ and recognize too, that I have been deprived of knowing the total truth regarding America. Without this reality, that out of the original thirteen colonies, the New England country takes up a huge chunk of land mass and therefore should comprise a vast amount of unique history? Although the huge states of Maine and Vermont and other areas in that region were not known as such in early times, I now realize that they were still once considered to be parts of the other original colonies especially Massachusetts and, this information would be strategic when in later times many names changes took place that covered up history. Also, without knowing the uniqueness that would actually separate the New England country from the other northern states and the southern states of the thirteen colonies, a large part of the whole truth is missing! What makes the New England states markedly unique from the other northern states? What makes all of the northern states different from the southern states? Now I was taught that the main differences between the north and the south revolved around religion, trade, but most of all, slavery, meaning, slavery and the slave trade did not exist physically in the north--Oh but after seeing and reading about the history of New England on my own, I’m not sure. Something seems lacking in this part of history. The signs are there that there was slavery in the north, way far up north, but much of the history of it seems to have been hidden. This history seems to be slowly unfolding though, just as a recent book by an African authoress of whom recently wrote about slavery as it existed in Canada and of which I have just learned about in this forum!
Research shows that much of the early presence in certain places in the far north like Connecticut of Black African Americans before and during colonial times and even as they did exist much later in time in the Civil Rights times have recently been overshadowed by a massive movement of Black African immigrants of whom have swarmed there at some recent point in time. Oddly though and after more research, I kind of feel like many of these newcomers may really not be immigrants after all. Some early American books written about northeast America recounted history about natives in this region and although subtle, many of these natives are seemingly Black natives, yes, Black African-typed people indigenous to this land and of whom were completely done in by the European movements who sought to obliterate them from their lands and from history. The adjectives that would have possibly defined their blackness though, have been downplayed under other selected names but nonetheless, there are some faint truths that seem to be evident in some stories. One book written that I have referenced called, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, by Dee Brown, lays out general replay of what happened in these New England states and how the natives were so viciously attacked and pitted against each other to fight to the death. Although Brown too is a White man, he describes how the white Europeans targeted and attacked the native villages and spread all kinds of diseases in the attempt to genocide them all and when they could not succeed in this manner, they set the villages ablaze with fire when the natives were asleep, killing many in a great sweep. Lastly though, we need to ask what happened to the remaining survivors of all these massacres and large scale attack methods!? It was written by Brown and other authors as well, that the remaining survivors of all other methods of annihilation, were all gathered up, chained and bound, and shipped off from the cold snow driven north to be enslaved in hot humid places with cool tropical breezes like the islands of the West Indies! Cont.
Dee Brown's Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee was first published in the United States in 1970.…
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee Summary
Chapter 1: ‘‘Their Manners are Decorous and Praiseworthy’’
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee begins with an overview of the relations between Native Americans and white settlers from the late-1400s to the mid-1800s. Initially peaceful, these relations become more tense as white emigration from Europe to the United States increases.
http://www.enotes.com/bury-heart-wounded-knee
*Note: the Title of this chapter was further explained by Brown that it was the words of Columbus to the Spanish court about the first natives that he encountered when he went to the islands and then it was shown how Columbus and other Europeans totally disregarded the natives and severely entreated them, dominated them, enslaved them and devastated the lands.
I was just recently looking into some history about the New England states and stumbled across an unusual story about the life of a little slave girl who lived her whole life as a slave in New England and was never freed. My interest was further peaked when I had the chance to travel through a few New England states not too long ago. As I happened to drive through Connecticut, I became completely surprised when I saw an incredible number of Black people out and about in almost a completely black neighborhood. I couldn’t believe my eyes at first. I decided to just drive around for awhile to see what I could and after I turned down street after street in a certain area, all that I saw were Black people, mostly dark skinned Black people, in lower income neighborhoods where there were welfare buildings nearby, and many huge dilapidated homes and buildings as well. I was stunned to see that, although many of the gigantic old plank wooden styled homes were in real bad shape, they were so unique in their architecture. They reminded me of the huge many storied and multi-roomed plantation homes in the deep south built in slavery times yet in New England, they were dark colored and they had tall roof tops that covered huge attic rooms made differently from the southern homes. They were mostly gabled-styled arched roofs and there was so many of these houses built right next to each other, side by side. They lined the streets on both sides and were so enormous that they shaded the streets as if they were tall old oak trees but there were few trees, just these grand old-styled homes on street, after street, after street. It was nothing like I had ever seen before not even in the ghettos and project areas of the District of Columbia where I had once lived. I saw many Black people just walking down streets, sitting on porches of these large homes, or going in and out of markets and various other shops. Equally surprising too, most of the shops had names that either reflected a Jamaican, West Indies, or some other kind of African culture. It suddenly became apparent to me that because I am from the north, I assumed that I knew all that there was to know about being a northerner, but to my surprise I was mistaken.
I now wonder if my preconceived notion of the north might be due to a deliberate design byway of our educational system. Also, by not ever visiting any New England state during my young years, I now realize the value ‘field trips’ and recognize too, that I have been deprived of knowing the total truth regarding America. Without this reality, that out of the original thirteen colonies, the New England country takes up a huge chunk of land mass and therefore should comprise a vast amount of unique history? Although the huge states of Maine and Vermont and other areas in that region were not known as such in early times, I now realize that they were still once considered to be parts of the other original colonies especially Massachusetts and, this information would be strategic when in later times many names changes took place that covered up history. Also, without knowing the uniqueness that would actually separate the New England country from the other northern states and the southern states of the thirteen colonies, a large part of the whole truth is missing! What makes the New England states markedly unique from the other northern states? What makes all of the northern states different from the southern states? Now I was taught that the main differences between the north and the south revolved around religion, trade, but most of all, slavery, meaning, slavery and the slave trade did not exist physically in the north--Oh but after seeing and reading about the history of New England on my own, I’m not sure. Something seems lacking in this part of history. The signs are there that there was slavery in the north, way far up north, but much of the history of it seems to have been hidden. This history seems to be slowly unfolding though, just as a recent book by an African authoress of whom recently wrote about slavery as it existed in Canada and of which I have just learned about in this forum!
Research shows that much of the early presence in certain places in the far north like Connecticut of Black African Americans before and during colonial times and even as they did exist much later in time in the Civil Rights times have recently been overshadowed by a massive movement of Black African immigrants of whom have swarmed there at some recent point in time. Oddly though and after more research, I kind of feel like many of these newcomers may really not be immigrants after all. Some early American books written about northeast America recounted history about natives in this region and although subtle, many of these natives are seemingly Black natives, yes, Black African-typed people indigenous to this land and of whom were completely done in by the European movements who sought to obliterate them from their lands and from history. The adjectives that would have possibly defined their blackness though, have been downplayed under other selected names but nonetheless, there are some faint truths that seem to be evident in some stories. One book written that I have referenced called, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, by Dee Brown, lays out general replay of what happened in these New England states and how the natives were so viciously attacked and pitted against each other to fight to the death. Although Brown too is a White man, he describes how the white Europeans targeted and attacked the native villages and spread all kinds of diseases in the attempt to genocide them all and when they could not succeed in this manner, they set the villages ablaze with fire when the natives were asleep, killing many in a great sweep. Lastly though, we need to ask what happened to the remaining survivors of all these massacres and large scale attack methods!? It was written by Brown and other authors as well, that the remaining survivors of all other methods of annihilation, were all gathered up, chained and bound, and shipped off from the cold snow driven north to be enslaved in hot humid places with cool tropical breezes like the islands of the West Indies! Cont.
Dee Brown's Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee was first published in the United States in 1970.…
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee Summary
Chapter 1: ‘‘Their Manners are Decorous and Praiseworthy’’
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee begins with an overview of the relations between Native Americans and white settlers from the late-1400s to the mid-1800s. Initially peaceful, these relations become more tense as white emigration from Europe to the United States increases.
http://www.enotes.com/bury-heart-wounded-knee
*Note: the Title of this chapter was further explained by Brown that it was the words of Columbus to the Spanish court about the first natives that he encountered when he went to the islands and then it was shown how Columbus and other Europeans totally disregarded the natives and severely entreated them, dominated them, enslaved them and devastated the lands.
Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven. For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.
Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.
ST MATTHEW 18: 10, 11, 14.
Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.
ST MATTHEW 18: 10, 11, 14.