The Dutch had an important influence in developing and maintaining slavery in what is now New York State. Indeed, to understand the history of slavery in New York we need to recognize it as more distinctly Dutch.
Dutch attitudes about the utility and morality of slavery presented a major roadblock in attempts to end slavery in New York State through gradual abolition, by resisting the political and legal changes that ultimately brought about the end of slavery in the state in 1827. [Read more…] about The Slow Death of Slavery in Dutch New York