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Difficulty: Very hardGendered Dimensions of Slavery and Resistance

Read the following excerpt from a runaway slave advertisement published in the *Maryland Gazette* in 1774:

'Run away from the subscriber, in October last, a Negro wench named Sarah, about 30 years of age... She is a very active, clever wench, and it is supposed she is harbored by some of her associates, or perhaps by her husband's relatives, as she has been seen in the neighborhood of her former master's plantation, where her children still reside.'

Which of the following historical patterns of resistance is best illustrated by the advertisement above?

  1. Enslaved women's flight was often constrained by family bonds, leading them to engage in temporary, local escape to remain near their children and community.Answer
  2. B
    Under the legal framework of *partus sequitur ventrem*, colonial courts automatically emancipated children born to women who successfully evaded capture for more than a month.
  3. C
    Enslaved women were highly successful in executing grand maroonage, establishing permanent, independent communities within urban areas adjacent to their former plantations.
  4. D
    Enslaved women rejected covert, everyday forms of resistance on the plantation, choosing instead to rely entirely on organized, long-distance escape networks.

Answer

Enslaved women's flight was often constrained by family bonds, leading them to engage in temporary, local escape to remain near their children and community.
The correct answer accurately identifies that family ties and maternal responsibilities heavily shaped the escape patterns of enslaved women. Unlike enslaved men, who were statistically more likely to attempt long-distance escapes, enslaved women frequently engaged in 'petit maroonage'—temporary or local flight—to remain close to their children and relatives, often relying on local networks for harboring.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the primary source stimulus to identify key details about the runaway individual, Sarah.
The advertisement notes that Sarah is a 30-year-old enslaved woman who is suspected of being harbored locally by associates or her husband's relatives near her former master's plantation, where her children still reside.
Understanding the specific constraints and geographic pattern of Sarah's flight is necessary to connect it to broader historical trends.
2
Relate Sarah's local flight and harboring to historical concepts of maroonage.
Sarah's local, temporary flight matches the definition of 'petit maroonage' (temporary escape to visit family or protest conditions), as opposed to 'grand maroonage' (permanent escape to form independent communities).
This helps distinguish between different patterns of flight and identifies how gendered factors (like motherhood) discouraged long-distance escape.
3
Evaluate the role of gender and family ties in shaping resistance strategies.
Enslaved women were less likely than men to escape long distances due to child-rearing responsibilities and ties to family networks, making local harboring and temporary flight more common strategies.
This directly demonstrates mastery of the learning objective regarding the gendered dimensions of slavery and resistance.

Key Concept

Gendered constraints on flight and the utilization of petit maroonage/local harboring to preserve family ties.
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Topics

Gendered Dimensions of Slavery and Resistance

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