I would like to acknowledge the website http://hitchcockitc.virginia.edu/slavery for use of its extensive collection of related documents.

Thomas Jefferson Ad

Source
Virginia Gazette, Sept. 14, 1769 (See website, "Virginia Runaways" http://www.uvawise.edu/history/runaways, compiled by Thomas Costa.)

Comments
Placed by Thomas Jefferson, who was to become the third president of the Unites States (1801-1809), the ad reads: "RUN away from the subscriber in Albemarle, a Mulatto slave called Sandy, about 35 years of age, his stature is rather low, inclining to corpulence, and his complexion light; he is a shoemaker by trade, in which he uses his left hand principally, can do coarse carpenters work, and is something of a horse jockey; he is greatly addicted to drink, and when drunk is insolent and disorderly, in his conversation he swears much, and in his behaviour is artful and knavish. He took with him a white horse, much scarred with traces, of which it is expected he will endeavour to dispose; he also carried his shoemakers tools, and will probably endeavour to get employment that way. Whoever conveys the said slave to me, in Albemarle, shall have 40 s. reward, if taken up within the county, 4 l. if elsewhere within the colony, and 10 l. if in any other colony, from THOMAS JEFFERSON."

What is this add about?
Who is the audience?
Why is this important?
What does this say about maroon communities and why?
This is important to the historical record because.......
Does this seem accurate and truthful when compared to other photos and accounts depicted in the blog?

Maroon Residence

Source
Bryan Edwards, The History . . . of the British Colonies in the West Indies (London, 1801), vol. 1, facing p. 553; published, September 25, 1800, by John Stockdale, Piccadilly. (Copy in the John Carter Brown Library at Brown University)

Comments
Caption, "Trelawney Town, the chief residence of the Maroons"; panoramic view of Trelawney Town; a few human figures shown in foreground.

What is taking place in the picture?
Where is this?
Why would it be easier for Maroonage to flourish in this environment?
How is this depiction differ from the historical record?
Who are the inhabitants?
Why is this imagery important?

Olaudah Equiano

Source
The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavas Vassa, the African. Written by Himself (New York, 1791). (Copy in the John Carter Brown Library at Brown University)

Comments
Portrait and title page, New York edition of Equiano's Narrative. Equiano, an Igbo from present-day eastern Nigeria, was kidnapped from his natal village. In 1757, at about the age of 11 or 12, he was transported from the Bight of Biafra to Barbados, where he briefly stayed--unsold-- and then was taken to Virginia where he remained about a month. His new master, a British Naval officer, took him to London and gave him the name Gustavas Vassa. When in his mid-forties, he wrote his "narrative" to arouse in Britain's Parliament "a sense of compassion for the miseries which the slave-trade has entailed on my unfortunate countrymen." For the definitive modern edition of Equiano's Narrative, see Vincent Carretta, ed., The Interesting Narrative and Other Writings, Olaudah Equiano (Penguin Books, 1995, rev. ed, 20

Why is he important?

Why is the historical narrative of Olaudah Equiano different from other narratives of enslaved Africans at the time?

How do you think the narrative of Olaudah Equiano affected the historical account of enslaved Africans?

What does the picture show?

Why is this different then typical photos of black people at that time?

What does this image say to its viewers?

What is happening in this photo?
Who are the players?
Who is subordinate if anyone, in this photo?
What does this say about race relations during the time period?
How is this different than the typical depiction of race relations?
Why would these two groups be ocming together in this manner?

Old Cudjoe

What is depicted in this photo?
Who are the players?
Who appears to be offering peace?
How is this different from typical photos of the period depicting Africans and White people?
How is this depiction different than most depictions of white and non white people during this time period in American History?
What does this photo say about the institution of bondage and the passivity of those it affected?

What is this a sketch of?
What do the subjects faces say about their mood, or feeling?
Why do they look like this.
Do they seem to be aware of their fate?
What does this sketch say about the nature of the enslaved African family?
How does this sketch tell a story about the time period from which it emerged?