Slavery in Mid-Atlantic Colonies

Slavery in the Mid-Atlantic Colonies

• Enslaved laborers were employed on larger farms growing cereal grains in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, despite these colonies not developing plantation economies.
• Enslaved Africans worked alongside European tenant farmers on New York's Hudson Valley "patroonships", large tracts of land granted to early Dutch families.
• Enslaved people were common in Philadelphia, New York City, and other ports, working in maritime trades and domestic service.
• By 1700, over 40% of New York City's population was enslaved, and by 1750, 15-20% of Pennsylvania's colonial population was enslaved.

Slave Rebellions in New York

• A 1712 slave rebellion in New York City resulted in the deaths of 9 white colonists.
• In retribution, 21 enslaved people were executed, 6 died by suicide, and several others were burned alive.
• In 1741, authorities uncovered a planned rebellion by enslaved Africans, poor Black men, and poor white men.
• The subsequent panic led to the execution of 32 Black men (both enslaved and free) and 5 poor white men, with 70 others deported to the West Indies.