The New York History Blog

Historical News and Views from the Empire State

Slavery

Slavery, Freemen, the War of 1812, and A House Divided

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Slavery drama actorsThe Sackets Harbor Battlefield State Historic Site has announced Slavery, Freemen, the War of 1812, and A House Divided, has been set for Saturday July 6, 2019 at 1 pm.

Attendees will have the opportunity to discover the story of slavery in New York State prior to the Revolutionary War, learn about African-American men serving at Sackets Harbor on combat ships in the War of 1812, and visit the historic site commandant’s house, home of a Southern-born Navy officer on the eve of the Civil War. [Read more…] about Slavery, Freemen, the War of 1812, and A House Divided

An Early History of Delaware

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ben_franklins_worldDelaware may be the second smallest state in the United States, but it has a BIG, rich history that can tell us much about the history of early America.

In this episode of Ben Franklin’s World, David Young, the Executive Director of the Delaware Historical Society, joins us to explore the early American history of Delaware from its Native American inhabitants through its emergence as the first state in the United States. [Read more…] about An Early History of Delaware

Pearls and the Nature of the Spanish Empire

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ben_franklins_worldIn 1492, Christopher Columbus’ voyage across the Atlantic linked Europe, the Americas, and the Caribbean. As Columbus’ sponsor, Spain became the first European Power to use the peoples, resources, and lands of the Americas and the Caribbean as the basis for its Atlantic Empire.

How did this empire function and what wealth was Spain able to extract from these peoples and lands? [Read more…] about Pearls and the Nature of the Spanish Empire

Slave Dwellings In Rye Program Set For Sunday

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slave quarters at the Bush Lyon Homestead in Port Chester“Dwellings of the Enslaved and Freed in the City and Town of Rye,” will be the topic of a program at the Jay Heritage Center this Sunday, June 9th, beginning at 2 pm.

Participants can learn more about the places where enslaved men, women and children lived, worked, and died in the City and Town of Rye before and after Emancipation. There will be a focus on the original Jay Estate on the Post Road in Rye, and the recent archaeological discovery of a Dutch brick building on the property by Prof. Eugene Boesch and a group of volunteers.

[Read more…] about Slave Dwellings In Rye Program Set For Sunday

Mixed-Race Britons & the Atlantic Family

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ben_franklins_worldWho do we count as family? It a relative was born in a foreign place and one of their parents was of a different race? Would they count as family?

Eighteenth-century Britons asked themselves these questions. As we might suspect, their answers varied by time and whether they lived in Great Britain, North America, or the Caribbean. [Read more…] about Mixed-Race Britons & the Atlantic Family

NYC Mayor Havemayer: Sugar, Slavery and the Long Island Railroad

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long island rail road mapThis year is the 185th anniversary of the founding of the Long Island Railroad. Despite service delays and fare increases it remains the spine of Long Island and the center of its transportation network. The LIRR serves over 300,000 passengers a week with about 90 million rides a year.

The origins of the LIRR, chartered by New York State in April 1834, have a little remembered dark side. Much of the railroads early funding came from profits from Caribbean sugar produced by enslaved African labor. The key link between the LIRR, sugar and slavery was William F. Havemeyer. [Read more…] about NYC Mayor Havemayer: Sugar, Slavery and the Long Island Railroad

Slavery and Freedom in New Netherland Talk In Kingston

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peter gansevoort lecture seriesThe New Netherland Institute has announced the talk “To Serve in a Free Country: Slavery and Freedom in New Netherland” by Sam Huntington, educator at Crailo State Historic Site, has been set for Saturday, April 27th at the Senate House State Historic Site in Kingston. [Read more…] about Slavery and Freedom in New Netherland Talk In Kingston

Hudson River Slavery Focus of Historic Kingston Event

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in defianceThe Friends of Historic Kingston is set to hold its annual meeting on Sunday, April 28th at 2 pm in the Bethany Hall, Old Dutch Church, 272 Wall Street, Kingston. Use side entrance on Wall Street.

President of the Board, Jack Braunlein, will give the annual report of the organization, followed by the keynote address. The featured guest speaker is Susan Stessin-Cohn, Town Historian of New Paltz who will be speaking on her newest research and publication, In Defiance: Runaways from Slavery in New York’s Hudson River Valley: 1735-1831. [Read more…] about Hudson River Slavery Focus of Historic Kingston Event

Making the State of South Carolina

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ben_franklins_worldWhat do we mean by “the state?”

How is a “state” produced?

Is “the state” something everyone can participate in producing?

In this episode of Ben Franklin’s World: A Podcast About Early American History Ryan Quintana, an Associate Professor of History at Wellesley College and the author of Making a Slave State: Political Development in Early South Carolina (University of North Carolina Press, 2018), joins us to answer these questions with a look at the creation and development of the State of South Carolina. [Read more…] about Making the State of South Carolina