Charter generations
In the historiography of the United States, the charter generations are those generations of slaves of African descent who populated the North American mainland especially in the early colonial period, but regionally also far beyond. With the emergence of the plantation economy, there followed generations of slaves whose living conditions differed so fundamentally from those of the charter generations that they have to be considered separately.
The expression was shaped by the American historian Ira Berlin , who published two fundamental monographs on slavery in the United States in 1998 and 2003 . It was characteristic of the charter generations that their members were not imported directly from Africa, like later generations of slaves, but were recruited from Atlantic Creoles , which had African origins, but had been at home all over the Atlantic since the 15th century and were cosmopolitan Had a background and transcultural expertise that would have made them completely unsuitable for work in socially isolated plantations. The slaves of the charter generations had, rather, in spite of all discrimination, largely integrated into the social life of the colonies, the religions of Europeans took part, got married, raised families, earned and owned personal property, exaggerated independent trade, turned with petitions to the Legislation, appealed to the courts in the event of disputes and often gained freedom through release or self-purchase. They spoke either the Creole language that their people as Atlantic traffic language had developed or learned the languages of Europeans and usually wore full name, d. H. First and last names . A small portion of the members of this generation manage to be set free or to buy themselves free. Former slaves then often joined the military.
Compared to the plantation slaves, the slaves of the charter generations enjoyed a relatively high degree of independence. However, this must be understood against the background that their owners were mostly not wealthy and consequently relied on their slaves to earn their living needs - food, clothing and possibly also accommodation - through their own production and exchange activities. This was only possible if the keepers gave the slaves enough free time.
With the emergence of the plantation economy, the charter generations were finally followed by the plantation slaves, a step that took place at very different times in different parts of the North American mainland. In South Carolina e.g. B. the charter generations were very quickly replaced by the plantation generations ; in Florida, on the other hand, where a plantation economy did not emerge until the 18th century, the charter generations shaped slavery for almost a century.
Individual evidence
- ^ Berlin: Generations of Captivity, p. 91
See also
literature
- Ira Berlin : Many Thousands Gone. The First Two Centuries of Slavery in North America. The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge MA et al. 1998, ISBN 0-674-81092-9 .
- Ira Berlin: Generations of Captivity: A History of African-American Slaves. The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge MA et al. 2003, ISBN 0-674-01061-2 .