Somewhat more independent : the end of slavery in New York City, 1770-1810

309 Pages·2014·15.722 MB·English

by  White, Shane

Somewhat More Independent
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Somewhat More
Independent
THE END OF SLAVERY
IN NEW YORK CITY,
i 770— i 8 i o
Shane White
THE UNIVERSITY
OF GEORGIA PRESS
Athens and London
© 1991 by the University of Georgia Press
Athens, Georgia 30602
All rights reserved

Designed by Betty Palmer McDaniel
Set in eleven on thirteen Janson Text

The paper in this book meets the guidelines for
permanence and durability of the Committee on
Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the
Council on Library Resources.

Printed in the United States of America
91 92 93 94 95 C 5 4 3 2 1
95 96 97 98 99 P 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
White, Shane.
Somewhat more independent : the end of slavery in
New York City, 1770–1810 / Shane White.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 0-8203-2374-8
1. Slavery — New York (N.Y.) — History. 2. New York
(N.Y.) — History — 1775–1865. 3. Afro-Americans —
New York (N.Y.) — History. 4. New York (N.Y.) — Race
relations. I. Title.
F128.44.W54 1991
974.7'1 — dc20 90-10843
CIP
British Library Cataloging in Publication Date available

ISBN for this digital edition: 978-0-8203-4362-4

Portions of this book have previously appeared as “Impious Prayers: Elite and Popular Atti-
tudes Towards Blacks and Slavery in the Middle-Atlantic States, 1783–1810,” New York His-
tory 67 (1986), 261–83; “A Question of Style: Blacks in and Around New York City in the late
Eighteenth Century,” Journal of American Folklore 102 (1989), 24–25; “Pinkster: Afro-Dutch
Syncretization in New York City and the Hudson Valley,” Journal of American Folklore 102
(1989), 69–76; and “‘We Dwell in Safety and Pursue Our Honest Callings’: Free Blacks in
New York City, 1783–1810,” Journal of American History 75 (1988), 445–70.
For Mavis and Chalky White,
and for Lexie Macdonald
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Contents
List of Maps and Figures ix
List of Tables xi
Preface xiii
Introduction xix
A Note to the Reader xxv
PART ONE: WHITES
/ Slavery in New York City 3
2 The Decline of Slavery in New York City,
1790-1810 24
3 Impious Prayers 56
PART TWO: BLACKS
4 A Mild Slavery? 79
5 Running Away 114
6 Free Blacks 150
7 A Question of Style 185
Epilogue 207
Notes 211
Index 271
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Maps and Figures
Map i. Slaveholding Households in New York City in 1790 15
Map 2. Slaveholding in New York State in 1790 r;
Map j. Slaveholding Households in New York City in 1800 42
Map 4. Slaveholding Households in New York City in 1810 44
Map 5. Free Black Households in New York City in 1790 172
Map 6. Free Black Households in New York City in 1800 174
Map 7. Free Black Households in New York City in 1810 176
Figure i. Distribution of New York and New Jersey
Runaways, 1771-1805 141