Unfreedom: Slavery and Dependence in Eighteenth-Century Boston

Discussing his new book, historian Jared Hardesty takes us inside the lives and worlds of enslaved Bostonians in the 18th century, reconstructing an Atlantic world of unfreedom that stretched from Europe to Africa to America.

Eighteenth-century Boston was characterized by many forms of dependence and oppression, including Indian enslavement, indentured servitude, and apprenticeship in addition to African chattel slavery. In this hierarchical and inherently unfree world, Dr. Hardesty argues that enslaved Bostonians were more concerned with their everyday treatment and honor than with emancipation, as they pushed for autonomy, protected their families and communities, and demanded a place in society.

By reassessing the lives of Boston’s enslaved population as part of a social order structured by ties of dependence, Hardesty demonstrates how African slaves were able to decode their new homeland and shape the terms of their enslavement, and tells how marginalized peoples engrained themselves in the very fabric of colonial American society.

Jared R. Hardesty is a historian of colonial America and the Atlantic World. His research investigates the contours of slavery, labor, and the nature of power in British North America. He completed a B.A. in History at Ohio Northern University and a MA and Ph.D. in History from Boston College and is currently an Assistant Professor of History at Western Washington University. His book, "Unfreedom: Slavery and Dependence in Eighteenth-Century Boston" (Early American Places Series, New York University Press), examines the lived experience of slaves in eighteenth-century Boston.

The Royall House & Slave Quarters is delighted to partner with the Old North Church & Historic Site on this program, which will take place at the Old North Church in Boston's North End.

Copies of "Unfreedom" will be available for purchase and signing at the event.