On May 16, 1691, Jacob Leisler, de facto governor of the Province of New York, was hung til half-dead then beheaded before the largest gathering in the city of New York up to that date. Leisler’s administration had created a bitter division in New York.
Leisler aroused deep emotions that reveal much about the milieu in which he lived and continued to echo in historical evaluations. Moreover, Leisler’s immediate family and their households of servants and enslaved persons, their trade and marital connections, and their actions provide insights into the broader social, ideological, economic, artistic, and political events of colonial New York and its place in the larger world at a time of tremendous change. [Read more…] about Jacob Leisler: Fanatic or Martyr? (Virtual Program)
The Underground Railroad, often characterized by tunnels, dark of night escapes, coded language and secret hiding places, was far more extensive and complex than these ideas have led us to believe.