Slavery was a big part of colonial America, but what about slavery farther north, like Canada? Was there any? It turns out there was, just on a smaller scale, due to a number of reasons.
Let's take this back to the very beginning, starting with slavery under indigenous rule. The fishing societies present in Canada before the settlers arrived, such as the Yurok, lived along the Pacific coast from Alaska to California. Many of these of the Pacific Northwest Coast (part of which became known as Canada)inhabitants, including the 'Haida' and 'Tlingit' tribes were known as fierce warriors and slave-traders, raiding as far as California. Slavery was hereditary, slaves being prisoners of war and their descendants. Then, while under French rule, black slaves were present but not plentiful, or so it seemed... Later, historian Marcel Trudel recorded approximately 4000 slaves by the end of New France in 1759, of which 2,472 were aboriginal people, and 1,132 blacks. Afterwards, under British rule, the slave trade remained dominated by French ships, staying at about the average levels it had in the past. It's a good idea to nothe that, in Canada, there never was legislation regulating slavery, no doubt because of the small number of slaves. Nevertheless, the intendant Raudot issued an law/ordinance in 1709 that legalized slavery. Over time, though, acts were passed and laws were made against slavery, successfully limiting the capabilities of slavery in Canada.
"Slavery in Canada." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 22 July 2004.
"Beneath the Clouds of the Promised Land" -The Survival of Nova Scotia's Blacks Vol. 1 Pachai Bridglal, 1600-1800.
Great post! I never would think that Canada would have slavery back when it was so important in America, but this post enlightened me. What interested me the most was the fact that most of the slaves were the original inhabitants of today's Canada. In America, the majority of slaves were black, so this article proves that it wasn't just Africans that were slaves.
ReplyDeleteGood post, and although it is not unusual for Canada to have slaves just like America, it is alarming just how widespread it was. I also enjoyed the piece about non-African slaves, because it shows that many ideas of "slaves" are misguided.
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