Manumission is the release from slavery, and therefore, a transition from the most extreme form of subjugation into another position and status in society. Some historians have defined manumission... Show moreManumission is the release from slavery, and therefore, a transition from the most extreme form of subjugation into another position and status in society. Some historians have defined manumission as a formal act, often understood as a gift that severed the bond between slave and master. More recently researchers have emphasized that it was a lengthy process that involved pre-existing dependencies and resulted in new hierarchies. This article takes a fresh look at the process and tries to gain a fuller understanding of manumission by examining it from the position of the manumitted and their social relations. Taking into consideration a wide range of documentary sources from colonial, notarial and Dutch governmental archives, we reconstruct the dependencies that were created in the process of manumission. The dependencies that evolved during manumission processes were related to family and other kinship ties, but also had an urban, communal, religious, economic and institutional logic. Manumission was not only an act at a specific moment, but also a process, and it was not a bilateral, but a multilateral one. With the instrument of manumission and within the limits set by economic reality and the colonial government, the manumittees tried to make meaningful life choices that transformed slave society profoundly. We find that they created complex dependencies across boundaries of status and racial categorization. Show less
This dissertation is predicated upon the hypothesis that the agency of the non-whites in 18th century Curaçao in realising their freedom and bringing about the improvement of their economic and... Show moreThis dissertation is predicated upon the hypothesis that the agency of the non-whites in 18th century Curaçao in realising their freedom and bringing about the improvement of their economic and social situation is largely underestimated in the historiography. The specific nature of the colony’s economic orientation, centred on commerce and shipping, offered opportunities for both slaves and free non-whites. Discussed are manumission, the judicial position of free non-whites, their social-economic development, their military role and the development of their political awareness during the revolutionary years at the end of the 18th century. Possibilities to earn an income gave enslaved Curaçaoans opportunities to buy their freedom. The majority of the manumissions was made possible by the free non-white population itself. Free non-whites were not treated as equal to whites judicially, but they had access to all legal instruments. There were no judicial barriers preventing free non-whites from engaging in economic activities. Free non-whites were active in most branches of the economy and ownership of real estate and slaves was not uncommon. They played a crucial role in the defence of the colony and in maintaining law and order. There is evidence for a development of political awareness, be it largely circumstantial. Show less
