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Slavery in New York began when the Dutch West India Company imported 11 African slaves to New Amsterdam in 1626, with the first slave auction being held in New Amsterdam in 1655. The last slaves were freed in 1827. The British expanded the use of slavery, and in 1703, more than 42 percent of New York City households held slaves, often as domestic servants and laborers. This was the second-highest proportion of any city in the colonies after Charleston, South Carolina.〔("Slavery in New York" ), ''The Nation'', 7 November 2005〕 Others worked as artisans or in shipping and various trades in the city. Slaves were also used in farming on Long Island and in the Hudson Valley, as well as the Mohawk Valley. During the American Revolutionary War, the British troops occupied New York City in 1776. The Crown promised freedom to slaves who left rebel masters, and thousands moved to the city for refuge with the British. By 1780, 10,000 blacks lived in New York. Many were slaves who had escaped there from slaveholders in North and South. After the war, 3,000 slaves were evacuated with the British, most being taken to Nova Scotia for freedom. After the American Revolution, the New York Manumission Society was founded in 1785 to work for the abolition of slavery and for aid to free blacks. The state passed a 1799 law for gradual abolition; after that date, children born to slave mothers were free but required to work for the mother's master for an extended period as indentured servants into their late twenties. Existing slaves kept their status. All remaining slaves were finally freed on July 4, 1827. ==Dutch rule== Chattel slavery in the geographical area of the present-day U.S. state of New York began in 1626, when a shipment of 11 Africans was unloaded into New Amsterdam harbor from a ship of the Dutch West India Company. Before this time, the company had tried to encourage Dutch agricultural laborers to immigrate to and populate New Netherlands. This experiment was unsuccessful, as most immigrants wanted to accrue greater income in the lucrative fur trade and return to their home country in luxury. The lack of workers in the colony led to the company's over-reliance on African slaves. While the slaves laid the foundations of the future New York, they were described by the Dutch as "proud and treacherous", a stereotype for African-born slaves.〔 The Dutch West India Company relaxed its monopoly and allowed New Netherlanders to ship slaves back to Angola. They began to import more numerous "seasoned" African slaves from the sugar colonies of the Caribbean. By 1644, some slaves had earned a half-freedom in New Amsterdam and were able to earn wages. They had other rights in the commercial economy, and intermarriage with whites was frequent. According to the principle of ''partus sequitur ventrem'' adopted from southern colonies, children born to enslaved women were considered born into slavery, regardless of the ethnicity or status of the father.〔(Douglas Harper, "Slavery in New York" ), ''Slavery in the North'' Website, 2003, accessed 27 September 2011〕 The company turned to slavery, which was already well established in the Dutch colonies in the Caribbean, Southeast Asia, and Southern Africa. For more than two decades after the first shipment, the Dutch West India Company was dominant in the importation of slaves from the coasts of West and Central Africa. While the majority of slaves were sent to the sugar plantations of the Dutch colonies in the Caribbean, a number of slaves were imported directly from the company's stations in Angola to New Netherlands. They were used to clear forests, lay roads, and provide other heavy work and public services to the colony. These first 11 slaves in New Netherland - owned by the Dutch East Indies Company ( called the VOC ) - were to experience a life different from other slaves in other colonies. By definition, they were owned by a master, could not leave their master, and could be bought and sold. This is different than an indentured servant who may of chosen to "indenture" themselves. This is usually when the indentured servant contracts themselves to a master for a specific length of time, after which they would be free to lead their own lives. Slaves do not have contracts, only their master determines when they will be freed. These first 11 slaves were "originally captured by the Portuguese along the West African coast and on the islands in the Gulf of Guinea,.." They were on a Spanish slave ship which would transport them to the West Indies when the VOC's navy had taken them as prizes. Many of the original New Netherland slaves have Iberian (Portuguese) names. They were given living quarters 5 miles north of the town of New Amsterdam, after which they were moved to a large building at the southern end of William Street next to the fort. "The men were employed as field hands by the Company, as well as in building and road construction and other public works projects." Women were placed as domestic servants in company official's homes. "Their servitude was involuntary and unremunerated,..." These and other slaves that followed had certain basic rights. These basic rights are related to the freedoms and rights the Dutch people in both the Netherlands in Europe and New Netherland in America enjoyed. Slaves had the right to: marry, have children, and could hire themselves out to work and earn wages during their free time. They could own "moveable" property such as pots, pans, clothes, etc., but not real estate. They could raise their own crops and animals on VOC land. But most importantly they were trusted in ways other colonies did not trust slaves. For instance, Slaves could suit another person whether white or black. Also, "They could bring suit in court and their testimony would convict free whites." The right of litigation, "On December 9, 1838, a slave known as Anthony the Portuguese sued a white merchant, Anthony Jansen from Salee, and was award reparations for damages caused to his hog by the defendant's dog. In the following year Pedro Negretto successfully sued an Englishman, John Seales, for wages due for tending hogs. Manuel de Reus, a servant of the Director General Willem Kieft, granted a power of attorney to the ''commas'' at Fort Orange to collect fifteen guilders in back wages for him from Hendrick Fredricksz." Unique to this colony was how punishment could be given to a Slave. In this case he was suited, "...in 1639 a white merchant Jan Jansen Damen, sued Little Manuel (sometimes called Manuel Minuit) and was in turn sued by Manuel de Reus; both cases were settled out of court." These first 11 slaves and several others experienced something that was not common. The Dutch had a system for leaving slavery with three parts; Slavery, Half-Slave and Freedmen. These 11 slaves were granted partial and then full freedom. "The reasons given by Director General Kieft and the Council (also represented the VOC ) include service to the company for 18 or 19 years, a long-standing promise of freedom, 'also, that they are burdened with many children, so that it will be impossible for them to support their wives and children as they have been accustomed to in the past if they must continue in the honorable Company's service.'" This concept of "that the longer one has served, the more deserving he is of freedom", is compared to the standard of "a lifetime of servitude". Additionally, there was a sense of "Quality of life", that even a slave's child had a right to a certain standard of living was unique to the New Netherland colony. Enough so that it allowed a parent to move from slave status to half-slave or even freemen. Half-Slaves still worked for their masters when called upon, but could buy land and a home and they would now earn a wage for the work they did for their master, provided good behavior. However, there were no regulations associated with this idea. It was only practiced. Once these 11 received half-slave status, several more slaves did too. This is reflected in land grant records. Some became half-slave while others were granted freedom. After the English seized New Amsterdam in 1664, in a rush right before the English officially took over, all former slaves that were granted half-slave status were freed, so to keep the promises given to them and that the English would not keep them enslaved. The new freemen also had their original land grants finalized and all grants were officially marked as being owned by the new freemen. Freedom and land grants were given to both freed male and female former slaves. Roughly 40 slaves received their freedom prior to the English take over. Freedmen of New Amsterdam, New York State Library, Peter R. Christoph The company turned to slavery, which was already well established in the Dutch colonies in the Caribbean, Southeast Asia, and Southern Africa. For more than two decades after the first shipment, the Dutch West India Company was dominant in the importation of slaves from the coasts of West and Central Africa. While the majority of slaves were sent to the sugar plantations of the Dutch colonies in the Caribbean, a number of slaves were imported directly from the company's stations in Angola to New Netherlands. They were used to clear forests, lay roads, and provide other heavy work and public services to the colony. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「History of slavery in New York」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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