The History of Slavery on PEI
When Canadians, in general, talk about slavery and Canada we usually talk about the underground railway and our role in it. What we often do not talk about is actual slavery in Canada. So today, we are going to look at slavery in PEI until 1825, when the Island abolished it - about eight years before the British Abolition Act abolished slavery in all its colonies.
Slavery existed on the Island since its early settlement. When the French controlled the Island, it was governed by the Le Code Noir (The Black Code). Le Code Noir controlled and regulated both slaves and freed slaves.
When the British took control of the Island, slavery was governed by the British laws for slavery. Then in 1781, the Island created "An Act, declaring that BAPTISM of SLAVES shall not exempt them from BONDAGE" (old laws had odd fonts). This was unique in that the Island was the only British colony in the Maritimes to create their own law regarding slavery. Other colonies didn't bother as they were covered by British laws on slavery.
So today, we are going to look at the history of slavery in PEI, focusing on Africans. However, it is important to note that according to the Canadian Museum of History, New France also used Aboriginals as slaves. Slavery in PEI is a topic that needs a lot of research to find sources and be accurate, so that is a topic for another day.
Difficulties Studying this Topic in 2018
First, I want to discuss the difficulties of covering a topic like this because it is so rarely mentioned in history books. It also gives us a glimpse of how slavery was recorded by people of the time. Some of the difficulties include:
1. Lack of documentation - There is little historical documentation and what does exist only provides basic information about certain slaves. This lack of information can make it difficult to determine how slaves on PEI were treated in general, the number, where they originated from, etc.
2. Because slaves were considered property, they were often not recorded. If they were, their names could be changed on the Master's whim. So even if you do find historical records over a number of years, "Peter" and "John" (made-up names) could technically be the same man or two different men. Which can quickly complicate your research.
3. Having slaves was a sign of high social status on the Island. Men like Lieutenant-Governor Edmund Fanning and Colonel Joseph Robinson and other elites owned slaves. Yet, these are facts that are not commonly known or focused on in our history books (if it's even mentioned).
4. Trying to understand the experience of slaves on PEI within the broader context of slavery in North America. PEI, and Canada in general, had fewer slaves. Part of this was due to Canada's industries developing differently than the United States. Canada's main industries were fur-trading and family farms.
Fur-trading often relied on Aboriginals or other traders with the required skills and independence. Family farms were smaller than large plantations in the southern states and families and communities could come up with enough labour. Also, as horrible as it sounds, small family farms usually could not afford a slave, whether they were African or Aboriginal.
I am not pointing this out to minimize the experiences of slaves in PEI. It is important to contextualize slaves on the Island into the broader history of slavery - because of economics there were not as many slaves on PEI (or in Canada) and that may have had an effect on how they were treated and the gradual decline of slavery on the Island which ended in its abolition in 1825.
In some ways, this is a paradox because PEI had the fewest number of slaves in the Maritime colonies, but they also were the only province to pass laws relating to slavery. Yet, and this adds to the difficulty in studying this topic, the standard and seminal works of Island history, such as J.M. Bumsted, W.S. MacNutt, Francis W.P. Bolger don't mention slavery or how it would affect attitudes towards people of African descent. For example, when examining Colonel Joseph Robinson, one of the largest slaveowners on PEI, Bumstead does not mention the Colonel's slaves or that he was a slaveowner.
5. Rascism. In some cases, those opposed to the Absentee Landlords referred to the tenants as slaves because they were oppressed and couldn't own land. At this time, there were Islanders who owned slaves. So in that regard, it makes sense the white tenants would compare themselves to slaves, there were some similarities - not being able to own land and their rights were being infringed upon. But, overall, there were huge differences between tenants and slaves, such as tenants had rights, were considered people and not property, couldn't have their names changed on the whims of others, and they couldn't be sold, just to name a few. The racist nature of these claims (the "you are treating us like black people" aspect) is important when looking at the history of slavery on the Island. If you consider the points above - slaves rarely being mentioned in history, the number of slaves, etc. - then you read tenants comparing themselves to slaves, it sounds more like they know about slavery, versus they have actual slaves in their colony.
6. Finally, Edmund Fanning, a Governor of PEI, once said there were no black people on the Island. We now know he likely meant no free black people, but when you add that to the lack of information for slavery in PEI, it could be easy to fall under the impression that there were no slaves or very, very few on the Island. We now know this is not the case.
So as you can see from this list, documentation of slavery is sparse. Not only does this make research difficult, but it also indicates the views Islanders had regarding slaves - not important enough to record.
Owning slaves was an indication of being a high member of society, but few Islanders could afford a slave, meaning they were poorer than the elites and could not build up the Island's industry sectors.
The Law
As I stated earlier, PEI was the only Maritime colony with a law on the books regarding slavery. As the British already had laws on the books and the Maritimes were colonies, there was not much reason to make their own laws on this topic.
But, PEI may have had a more "economic" reason for this. PEI was trying to develop and become an economic player. Slaves were unpaid labour, which would help develop the Island. In addition, poor farmers couldn't afford many (if any, depending on the farmer) slaves so this law would not benefit or encourage their immigration to the Island. In other words, the law would benefit richer, white people moving to the Island.
So what did this 1781 law state,
"An Act, declaring that BAPTISM of SLAVES shall not exempt them from BONDAGE"
" WHEREAS some Doubts have arisen whether Slaves by becoming Christians, or being admitted to Baptism, should, by Virtue thereof, be made free:
I. Be it therefore enacted by the Governor, Council, and Assembly That all Slaves, whether Negroes or Mulattoes, residing at present on this Island, or that may be hereafter be imported or brought therein, shall be deemed Slaves notwithstanding his, her, or their Conversion to Christianity ; nor shall the Act of Baptism performed on any such Negro or Mulatto alter his, her, or their Condition.
II. And be it further enacted, That all Negro and Mulatto Servants, who now are on this Island, or may hereafter be imported or brought therein (being slaves) shall continue such, unless freed by his, her, or their respective Owners.
III. And be it further enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That all Children born of women slaves, shall belong to, and be the property of, the Masters or Mistresses of such Slaves."
Ten years after this law was enacted, in 1791, the Royal Gazette printed an article offering immigrants forty shillings for every slave they brought with them.
In 1825, this Act was repealed.
Some of you may be wondering why was this law repealed?
The simple answer is that after slavery slowly faded on the Island, it was finally abolished in 1825. If slavery is abolished then you don't need a law about it being legal. But, to know why PEI abolished slavery... it's a little harder.
And I currently can't answer it. All I can really do is hypothesize based on what little information I could find.
It could be a sign that more Islanders were becoming anti-slavery and the government's actions reflected the will of the people - but keep in mind that even if this is true, it doesn't mean that Black Islanders were treated equally. Racism was still alive and well.
Officials could have realized the Act didn't encourage white slave owners to come to the Island. If it was seen as a failed attempt, they could have repealed it.
So, as you can see, there are many difficulties in studying this aspect of Island history. In many ways, this topic has been ignored by historians and we do not have many records of slaves. Slavery in Canada is a topic we tend to avoid, and it is something that should be changed.
If this is a topic that interests you, a good source is "The Old Stock Players present A Play of Black Island History." This text document has transcripts of the multimedia aspects of the program, including works by Scott Parsons. These works give an insight into the lives of slaves and how they were treated.
I am hoping to do more blogs on this topic, but I will admit that finding information is hard. If you know of any sources, let me know!
_______________________
Henry, N.L. "Slavery Abolition Act, 1833." Historica Canada. July 10, 2014. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/slavery-abolition-act-1833/
Irving R, Baglole H, and Parsons, S. "The Old Stock present A Play of Black Island History." The Old Stock. https://www.princeedwardisland.ca/sites/default/files/publications/eelc_his621b_oldstock.pdf
Slavery existed on the Island since its early settlement. When the French controlled the Island, it was governed by the Le Code Noir (The Black Code). Le Code Noir controlled and regulated both slaves and freed slaves.
 |
| Le Code Noir, the first page. (Image Credit: CMH) |
When the British took control of the Island, slavery was governed by the British laws for slavery. Then in 1781, the Island created "An Act, declaring that BAPTISM of SLAVES shall not exempt them from BONDAGE" (old laws had odd fonts). This was unique in that the Island was the only British colony in the Maritimes to create their own law regarding slavery. Other colonies didn't bother as they were covered by British laws on slavery.
So today, we are going to look at the history of slavery in PEI, focusing on Africans. However, it is important to note that according to the Canadian Museum of History, New France also used Aboriginals as slaves. Slavery in PEI is a topic that needs a lot of research to find sources and be accurate, so that is a topic for another day.
Difficulties Studying this Topic in 2018
First, I want to discuss the difficulties of covering a topic like this because it is so rarely mentioned in history books. It also gives us a glimpse of how slavery was recorded by people of the time. Some of the difficulties include:
1. Lack of documentation - There is little historical documentation and what does exist only provides basic information about certain slaves. This lack of information can make it difficult to determine how slaves on PEI were treated in general, the number, where they originated from, etc.
2. Because slaves were considered property, they were often not recorded. If they were, their names could be changed on the Master's whim. So even if you do find historical records over a number of years, "Peter" and "John" (made-up names) could technically be the same man or two different men. Which can quickly complicate your research.
3. Having slaves was a sign of high social status on the Island. Men like Lieutenant-Governor Edmund Fanning and Colonel Joseph Robinson and other elites owned slaves. Yet, these are facts that are not commonly known or focused on in our history books (if it's even mentioned).
4. Trying to understand the experience of slaves on PEI within the broader context of slavery in North America. PEI, and Canada in general, had fewer slaves. Part of this was due to Canada's industries developing differently than the United States. Canada's main industries were fur-trading and family farms.
Fur-trading often relied on Aboriginals or other traders with the required skills and independence. Family farms were smaller than large plantations in the southern states and families and communities could come up with enough labour. Also, as horrible as it sounds, small family farms usually could not afford a slave, whether they were African or Aboriginal.
I am not pointing this out to minimize the experiences of slaves in PEI. It is important to contextualize slaves on the Island into the broader history of slavery - because of economics there were not as many slaves on PEI (or in Canada) and that may have had an effect on how they were treated and the gradual decline of slavery on the Island which ended in its abolition in 1825.
In some ways, this is a paradox because PEI had the fewest number of slaves in the Maritime colonies, but they also were the only province to pass laws relating to slavery. Yet, and this adds to the difficulty in studying this topic, the standard and seminal works of Island history, such as J.M. Bumsted, W.S. MacNutt, Francis W.P. Bolger don't mention slavery or how it would affect attitudes towards people of African descent. For example, when examining Colonel Joseph Robinson, one of the largest slaveowners on PEI, Bumstead does not mention the Colonel's slaves or that he was a slaveowner.
5. Rascism. In some cases, those opposed to the Absentee Landlords referred to the tenants as slaves because they were oppressed and couldn't own land. At this time, there were Islanders who owned slaves. So in that regard, it makes sense the white tenants would compare themselves to slaves, there were some similarities - not being able to own land and their rights were being infringed upon. But, overall, there were huge differences between tenants and slaves, such as tenants had rights, were considered people and not property, couldn't have their names changed on the whims of others, and they couldn't be sold, just to name a few. The racist nature of these claims (the "you are treating us like black people" aspect) is important when looking at the history of slavery on the Island. If you consider the points above - slaves rarely being mentioned in history, the number of slaves, etc. - then you read tenants comparing themselves to slaves, it sounds more like they know about slavery, versus they have actual slaves in their colony.
6. Finally, Edmund Fanning, a Governor of PEI, once said there were no black people on the Island. We now know he likely meant no free black people, but when you add that to the lack of information for slavery in PEI, it could be easy to fall under the impression that there were no slaves or very, very few on the Island. We now know this is not the case.
So as you can see from this list, documentation of slavery is sparse. Not only does this make research difficult, but it also indicates the views Islanders had regarding slaves - not important enough to record.
Owning slaves was an indication of being a high member of society, but few Islanders could afford a slave, meaning they were poorer than the elites and could not build up the Island's industry sectors.
The Law
As I stated earlier, PEI was the only Maritime colony with a law on the books regarding slavery. As the British already had laws on the books and the Maritimes were colonies, there was not much reason to make their own laws on this topic.
But, PEI may have had a more "economic" reason for this. PEI was trying to develop and become an economic player. Slaves were unpaid labour, which would help develop the Island. In addition, poor farmers couldn't afford many (if any, depending on the farmer) slaves so this law would not benefit or encourage their immigration to the Island. In other words, the law would benefit richer, white people moving to the Island.
So what did this 1781 law state,
 |
| "An Act, declaring that BAPTISM of SLAVES shall not exempt them from BONDAGE" If you cannot read the image, I have typed it out below. I have to admit, as a white woman, it felt disturbing typing this up. (Image Credit: PARO RG.4 1781 legislation regarding baptism of slaves) |
"An Act, declaring that BAPTISM of SLAVES shall not exempt them from BONDAGE"
" WHEREAS some Doubts have arisen whether Slaves by becoming Christians, or being admitted to Baptism, should, by Virtue thereof, be made free:
I. Be it therefore enacted by the Governor, Council, and Assembly That all Slaves, whether Negroes or Mulattoes, residing at present on this Island, or that may be hereafter be imported or brought therein, shall be deemed Slaves notwithstanding his, her, or their Conversion to Christianity ; nor shall the Act of Baptism performed on any such Negro or Mulatto alter his, her, or their Condition.
II. And be it further enacted, That all Negro and Mulatto Servants, who now are on this Island, or may hereafter be imported or brought therein (being slaves) shall continue such, unless freed by his, her, or their respective Owners.
III. And be it further enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That all Children born of women slaves, shall belong to, and be the property of, the Masters or Mistresses of such Slaves."
Ten years after this law was enacted, in 1791, the Royal Gazette printed an article offering immigrants forty shillings for every slave they brought with them.
In 1825, this Act was repealed.
Some of you may be wondering why was this law repealed?
The simple answer is that after slavery slowly faded on the Island, it was finally abolished in 1825. If slavery is abolished then you don't need a law about it being legal. But, to know why PEI abolished slavery... it's a little harder.
And I currently can't answer it. All I can really do is hypothesize based on what little information I could find.
It could be a sign that more Islanders were becoming anti-slavery and the government's actions reflected the will of the people - but keep in mind that even if this is true, it doesn't mean that Black Islanders were treated equally. Racism was still alive and well.
Officials could have realized the Act didn't encourage white slave owners to come to the Island. If it was seen as a failed attempt, they could have repealed it.
So, as you can see, there are many difficulties in studying this aspect of Island history. In many ways, this topic has been ignored by historians and we do not have many records of slaves. Slavery in Canada is a topic we tend to avoid, and it is something that should be changed.
If this is a topic that interests you, a good source is "The Old Stock Players present A Play of Black Island History." This text document has transcripts of the multimedia aspects of the program, including works by Scott Parsons. These works give an insight into the lives of slaves and how they were treated.
I am hoping to do more blogs on this topic, but I will admit that finding information is hard. If you know of any sources, let me know!
_______________________
Henry, N.L. "Slavery Abolition Act, 1833." Historica Canada. July 10, 2014. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/slavery-abolition-act-1833/
Irving R, Baglole H, and Parsons, S. "The Old Stock present A Play of Black Island History." The Old Stock. https://www.princeedwardisland.ca/sites/default/files/publications/eelc_his621b_oldstock.pdf
Whitfield, HA and Cahill, B. "Slave Life and Slave Law in Colonial Prince Edward Island, 1769-1825." Acadienses 38 (2 Summer/Autumn) 2009. https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/acadiensis/article/view/12734/13665
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