The Long 18th Century @18thcentury - Tumblr Blog

The 18th century was long and revolutionary to say the least. Most of this blog has depicted white elitism, romanticizing the 18th Century. I apologize for that and certainly do not want to depict this era as a fantasy land because it certainly wasn't for the enslaved and indigenous populations. The realities for Africans and Indigenous were brutal and death was more often than not, chosen over slavery.

For those in the back, slavery is not better than death.

It is a responsibility of this blog and myself as an aspiring historian, and a descendent of 17th century European immigration and colonization in America to give the facts about what really went on in the midst of erasure and fascism we are currently experiencing.

#18th century #slavery #Africans #indigenous #colonization #american revolution #enlightenment #middle passage #assimilation #17th century #18thcentury #17thcentury #revwar #amrev #amrev fandom

18thcentury

The British disembarking on Long Island August 22nd 1776: IT'S VIRGO SZN, BITCHES

18thcentury

time to dig up this post. Here we go into Virgo Szn ✨💜🦄

Fun revolutionary war fact: My 5th great grand father, Jonathan Elmendorf, was in New York city with the Ulster county militia when the British took it. The Elmendorf family originates from Kingston, New York and the surrounding Ulster county. Anyway, I found his 1832 rev war pension statement that recounts his locations. He was also at the Battle of White Plains and used his own horses as a post rider.

#American revolution #18th century #amrev #revwar #amrev fandom #British take Manhattan #Battle of White plains #18thcentury #Kingston New York #New York

Check out the Slavery Adverts Project on twitter if you aren't familiar with it yet. It is a part of The Adverts 250 Project.

An Exploration of Advertising During the Era of the American Revolution, 250 Years Ago This Week

#18th century #slavery #chattle slavery #american revolution #the enlightenment #middle passage #newspaper ads #revwar #amrev fandom #amrev #adverts

benjhawkins

One of the not-so-fun parts about studying history is coming across unpleasant facts especially with regards to Black folks in American History.

The Salem Maritime National Historic Site has a wonderful virtual tour called Pathways to Freedom which explores what life was like for freed African Americans in Salem after Massachusetts banned slavery in 1783. Another virtual walking tour, A History of Slavery at Salem Maritime does not gloss over the fact that many of Salem’s most prominent merchant captains, Derby in particular, made their fortunes from the sale and labor of enslaved human beings.

So, imagine my surprise when my spouse found in the Adverts 250 Project that Aaron Waite posted a series of “runaway” advertisements, seeking the return of a man he enslaved who was named Pompey.

The NPS has a museum store and gift shop named for Aaron Waite and his business partner Jerathmiel Peirce (who were the owners of the original 1797 Friendship). I have done a LOT of research on Salem maritime activities and not once has this information ever come up. A cursory Google search has not uncovered anything on whether or not Mr. Peirce was an enslaver as well, but most often in the North were enslaved men and women referred to as “servants” of a household or “servants for life”. The last ad I could find was dated Nov. 23 which makes me think that Pompey was successful in his escape.

Anyway, as much as I’d like to just look at pretty ships all the time, it’s important to acknowledge these bits of history, as uncomfortable as it may be. Especially important I think for those of us in the Northern United States to realize that the institution of slavery was very much alive here as well.

beggars-opera

My friends idea of a good time is dressing up in colonial attire and pretending to beat each other up while similarly dressed colonial men jump around in the background waving fistfuls of cash

I feel like my life has reached a peak it’s all downhill from here

beggars-opera