2020/06/18 by Harvey Amani Whitfield
Social Sciences · #Sex work and related issues #Feminism, Gender, and Intersectionality #Migration, Refugees, and Integration
paper · doi:10.3138/chr-2019-0050
Slavery is the most neglected aspect of pre-Confederation Canadian history. Yet traces and examples of slavery are imprinted in various documents throughout the Maritimes, Upper Canada, and Quebec. It is not surprising that slavery played a part in Canadian history, but it is startling that it has not received widespread attention from the general Canadian public and historians alike. Just five years ago, Ken Donovan noted that, although various artists, writers, directors, and historians have worked on slavery, it “is not a significant part of the Canadian historical narrative.” Studying slavery in Canada, as opposed to, say, escaped American slaves, “goes against the dominant image of Canada as a land of freedom.” The focus, understandably, when discussing African Canadian history has been on the Underground Railroad, the Black Loyalists, and other groups who found freedom under the British flag. Yet thousands of black people were enslaved in colonial Canada between the seventeenth and early nineteenth centuries (1605–1820). We must recognize the significance of slavery to the history of Canada even if there were no large-scale slave plantations or major staple products like cotton or tobacco. One way to recognize slavery is to examine biographical sketches of enslaved people in the Maritimes and other parts of Canada.