Slavery in Canada

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Slavery in Canada

• English 12 African Heritage

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1st African in Canada

• 1605 First Black Person in Canada
• The first named African person to set foot on
  Canadian soil was Mathieu Da Costa, a free man
  who was hired as a translator for Samuel de
  Champlain's 1605 excursion.

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• 1628 Slave Boy, First Black Resident of New
  France
• The first named enslaved African to reside in
  Canada was a six-year old boy, the property of
  Sir David Kirke. The child was sold several
  times, lastly to Father Paul Le Jeune, and was
  baptized Catholic and given the name Olivier Le
  Jeune.

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• 1709 Louis XIV Formally Authorizes Slavery in
  New FranceKing Louis XIV formally authorized
  slavery in 1709, when he permitted his Canadian
  subjects to own slaves, "in full proprietorship."
  There were fewer slave-owners in New France than
  in the neighbouring English colonies, and few
  French colonists openly questioned the
  long-standing practice.

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• The Canadians did not use the term slave but
  instead usually used servant. The first
  Canadian slaves were most likely found in the
  Maritimes.

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• Africans, who came from a rich prosperous
  continent, before bondage, the white loyalists
  took advantage of their skills (blacksmiths,
  millwrights, caulkers and coopers) by associating
  them with pioneering frontier settlements, such
  as working the fields, building houses, clearing
  land, etc.

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• 1776 "Free Negroes" Reach Nova Scotia
• Canada developed a reputation as a safe haven for
  Blacks during the American Revolution, 1775-1783.
  The British promised land, freedom and rights to
  slaves and free Blacks in exchange for services
  rendered.

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• In 1783-4 about 1232 slaves where brought to Nova
  Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island.

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• 26-27 July 1784 Canada's First Race-Riot Rocks
  Birchtown, NS After the Revolutionary War, the
  "Black Pioneers" were among the first settlers in
  Shelburne, Nova Scotia. They helped build the new
  settlement. On its fringes they established their
  own community, "Birchtown." When hundreds of
  White, disbanded soldiers were forced to accept
  work at rates competitive with their Black
  neighbours the ensuing hostility caused a riot.

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• 1790 Imperial Statute
• The Imperial Statute of 1790 effectively allowed
  settlers to bring enslaved persons to Canada.
  Under the statute, the enslaved had only to be
  fed and clothed.

Image Slave auctioning continued in Canada even
after the American War of Independence.
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• The treatment of slaves in Canada was just as
  severe as their treatment in the United States.
  They were punished when they disobeyed their
  master and in some cases they were whipped,
  tortured or murdered. Eventually laws were passed
  which made killing slaves as serious a crime as
  killing a freedman. Slavery in Canada did not
  flourish economically as to slavery in America.
  However, the two countries did have similarities
  as to those who supported slavery, and as to
  those who opposed it.

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• 15 January 1792 The Black Loyalist Exodus
• The difficulty of supporting themselves in the
  face of widespread discrimination convinced many
  Black Loyalists that they would never find true
  freedom and equality in Nova Scotia.
• When offered the opportunity to leave the colony
  in the 1790s, almost 1200 Blacks left Halifax to
  relocate to Sierra Leone.

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• 1833 The Slave Trade officially abolished in
  the British Empire.
• Established slaves were still enslaved in parts
  of Canada

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• February-May 1851 Canadians React to Fugitive
  Slave Act
• The passage of the Fugitive Slave Act in the
  United States led to the formation of an larger
  and more durable antislavery society in Canada.

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• 1850s Harriet Tubman, fugitive slave,
  underground railroad conductor, abolitionist,
  spy, soldier, nurse , aka Black Moses
• Harriet Tubman was born a slave in Maryland in
  1820. She escaped in 1849 and made at least 19
  return trips to the South to guide fugitives to
  the Northern states and freedom. In 1850 the
  Fugitive Slave Act made it dangerous for runaways
  to remain in the North. Harriet made 11 trips to
  Canada leading more than 300 Underground Railway
  "passengers" to Canada. They moved only at night,
  sheltering in barns, chimneys and haystacks. She
  allowed no dropping out or turning back. She drew
  a pistol on one discouraged fugitive, saying,
  "Move or die." He and the rest of the group
  reached Canada in safety.

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Harriet Tubman
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• Read the non-fiction text Slavery in Nova
  Scotia for Monday, October 22nd.
• Think about conditions for Africans in Nova
  Scotia
• What were some specific experiences of slaves and
  Black Loyalists that were horrific?
• What were some ways in which white and black Nova
  Scotians had similar experiences?
• Why were some African Nova Scotians considered
  stronger workers than their white counterparts?
• Some of these ideas may inform your yellow
  journal.