Slavery and Indentured Servants

The New Jersey colony had many indentured sevants and slaves in the 1660s. The colony of New Jersey was at a chronic shortage of free labor. Servants suffered at the hands of their masters, they legally controlled their actions. Above all, slaves suffered the most. The slaves that were murdered at the hands of their masters didn't experience any punishment. Unlike slaves, indentured servants could not marry. The Dutch brought Africans to New Jersey in the early 1600s to help build outposts. In 1629, the Dutch's version of the platation system was known as the Patroon System. Under this, each Dutch owner of land was promised 12 black men and women.

Unfortuneatly, slavery was encouraged in New Jersey under the proprietor’s "Concessions and Agreement," which offered 60 acres of land for every enslaved African imported in 1664. They were more aggressive in promoting African slavery than other colonies for opening up the land for agriculture and commerce. According to historian Clement A Price, "support for the institution was stronger in New Jersey than in any other northern colony."

By the 1690s, most of the colonists in Perth Amboy, main port, owned one or more African Americans. Slaves made up 12 percent of New Jersey's population up the the Revolution. Around the 1700s, New Jersey allowed duty free importation of African Americans. Nearly all other states imposed a tax on the importation of slaves from Africa to be used for labor. In 1713 to 1768, the colony established a separate court system to deal with slave crimes. Slaves were forbidden to carry firearms unless with their masters. If anyone who gave or lent a gun to a slave faced a fine of 20 shillings. Slaves were not allowed to be in the streets at night.

Slavery was extremely more severe than indentured servitude. This unimaginable life for these African Americans didn't completely end until 1846 but so many lives were lost and destroyed by that hopeful time.

Sources:

-Arnesen, Eric. "Encyclopedia of U.S. Labor and Working-class History" CRS Press, 2006

-Cohen, Stephen. "The Ramapo Mountain People" Rutgers University Press, 1994

-Harper, Douglas.

-Wright, Giles. "Afro-Americans in New Jersey" New Jersey Historical Commission Department of State, 1988

Douglas Harper. "Slavery in New Jersey" (2003). http://www.slavenorth.com/newjersey.htm