Freedom-Seeking Slaves in England and Scotland, 1700–1780*

Abstract

Abstract This essay explores the experiences of enslaved people who sought to escape their bondage in England and Scotland during the first three-quarters of the eighteenth century. It argues that, while the conditions of their servitude in Britain may appear closer to those of white British servants than those of enslaved plantation labourers in the colonies, the experiences of these people were conditioned by the experiences of and the threat of return to colonial enslavement. For some successful Britons an enslaved serving boy was a visible symbol of success, and a great many enslaved men, women, youths and children were brought to Great Britain during the eighteenth century. Some accompanied visiting colonists and ships’ officers, while others came to Britain with merchants, planters, clergymen and physicians who were returning home. Some of the enslaved sought to seize freedom by escaping. Utilising newspaper advertisements placed by owners seeking the capture and return of these runaways (as well as advertisements offering enslaved people for sale), the essay demonstrates that many such people were regarded by their masters and mistresses as enslaved chattel property. Runaways were often traumatised by New World enslavement, and all too aware that they might easily be sold or returned to the horrors of Caribbean and American slavery: improved work conditions in Britain did not lessen the psychological and physical effects of enslavement from which they sought to escape.