People Not Property: Stories of Slavery in the Colonial North

- Season 1

(2019)

Stories of family, separation, work, community, negotiation, resistance, and perseverance can be found in this educational interactive documentary about the long-neglected history of enslaved people in the colonial North.

Scholars discuss how wealthy white northerners in the 17th century created a system of enslaving African captives that became key to the growth and development of the colonial economy.

The "Charles," a ship owned by New York merchant and slave trader Frederick Philipse, was one of the northern colonial vessels that transported hundreds of thousands of captives from Africa to the Americas.

Caesar, an enslaved miller, and his young apprentices like Flip, made the Philipsburg Manor mill profitable, yet only their enslaver made money from their intense labor and expertise.

Scholars and museum interpreters discuss the extensive specialized knowledge of skilled enslaved laborers in the colonial North, while actors depict Caesar the miller and his apprentice, Flip.

Scholars and museum interpreters discuss what happened to Caesar, the enslaved miller, and to the entire enslaved community at Philipsburg Manor, after the death of their enslaver.

How much flour could Caesar, an enslaved miller, produce in a day, a week, or a season? Museum interpreter Robert Morgan explains why Caesar's knowledge and experience running the gristmill was so valuable.

Enslaved by the Rogers family of New London, Connecticut, Joan and John meet and soon marry. John is able to secure his freedom while his wife remains enslaved. Although Joan's enslavement keeps the two separated, they start a family.

Like her husband, Joan is freed, but inheritance disputes within the family of her enslaver force the re-enslavement of Joan and her children. This event marks the beginning of John's decades-long fight for his family and their freedom.

The story of Joan and John Jackson illustrates the difficult and painful choices faced by enslaved parents who tried to keep family members from being sold apart. Even freedom was no guarantee for enslaved families in the colonial North.

Scholars discuss how enslaved families were constantly threatened with separation by their enslavers. Being legally classified as property tested the resolve of enslaved families like the Jacksons in their fight to reunify loved ones.

Performers and historians discuss the components of American culture that originated in Africa and the West Indies, including music, food, folk tales, language, and dance.

Traditional folktales like this one may have been told by elders to the children of the enslaved community. In addition to entertainment, these stories were fables, communicating important advice, instruction, and survival skills.

Enslaved communities throughout the North preserved aspects of their African heritage through performing arts. These traditions offered opportunities for engagement and covert resistance, as Pinkster musicians and performers demonstrate.

Watch as culinary historians discuss the foods of African captives in the colonial North and prepare some of the many African contributions to American cuisine.

Historian and poet discuss the life of the poet Phillis Wheatley. Although her poetry on the themes of freedom and oppression brought her international fame, she nevertheless spent most of her life enslaved to the Wheatley family.

Inspired by primary documents, this reenactment depicts the final meeting of Jack and Parthenia, an enslaved married couple held by different enslavers. On the eve of Parthenia's forced departure for Barbados, she and Jack say farewell.

All that is known about Jack and Parthenia comes from a few lines in a letter written by Jack's enslaver Hannah Penn, wife of William Penn, the founder of the colony of Pennsylvania. A historian describes another side of the story.

A scholar describes one of the first rebellions of enslaved people in North America, which occurred in New York City in 1712, and a second rebellion almost thirty years later in 1741.

Public historians discuss the history and mythology of the 1741 conspiracy and rebellion.

For more than a hundred years after the passing of the 13th Amendment, the facts of Northern enslavement were systematically left out of textbooks, museums, and historic site interpretations, changing the U.S. national narrative.

Staff and advisors to Historic Hudson Valley discuss how the stories of enslaved residents were restored to the interpretation at the Philipsburg Manor historic site, as a result of sustained research into primary sources.

The impact of American slavery can still be felt today, more than 150 years after the 13th Amendment. Historians and educators discuss the legacy of racism that has endured throughout the U.S. long after the end of legal enslavement.

Studying the history of Northern slavery is challenging, as primary documents about enslaved people were almost always written from enslavers' perspectives. Historians discuss piecing together the lives of those who were enslaved.

An original spoken word poem, based in part on the horrific 1685 voyage of the slave ship "Charles," which transported African captives from their birthplace to the West Indies and the American colonies.