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Difficulty: EasyGendered Dimensions of Slavery and Resistance

Read the following advertisement from a Virginia newspaper in 1774:

"Run away from the subscriber... a mulatto woman named Betty. She is about 24 years of age, and has two children with her: a boy about four years old, and an infant. It is expected she will lurk about the neighborhood of Williamsburg, where she has relatives, as she cannot travel far with her children."

Based on this advertisement, Betty’s escape strategy best illustrates which of the following gendered patterns of resistance among enslaved women?

  1. Enslaved women's flight was often constrained by family bonds and maternal ties, which frequently led to local or temporary escape rather than long-distance migration.Answer
  2. B
    Enslaved women fleeing with children were generally able to establish permanent, self-governing maroon communities in the deep wilderness.
  3. C
    Enslaved women avoided individual escape attempts and instead focused on organized, armed rebellions to secure their freedom.
  4. D
    Colonial laws granted enslaved women greater mobility and legal protection to travel with their offspring compared to enslaved men.

Answer

Enslaved women's flight was often constrained by family bonds and maternal ties, which frequently led to local or temporary escape rather than long-distance migration.
The correct answer is correct because the advertisement highlights that Betty fled with her children and was expected to stay in the local area near relatives. This illustrates how family obligations and childcare responsibilities shaped the resistance patterns of enslaved women, often limiting them to local or temporary flight (sometimes called petit maroonage) rather than long-distance journeys.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the primary source stimulus.
The text describes an enslaved woman, Betty, who has run away with her two young children and is expected to 'lurk about' near Williamsburg because she cannot travel far with them.
Understanding the specific constraints and expectations outlined in the advertisement is necessary to identify the pattern of resistance.
2
Connect the details of the source to historical concepts of gendered resistance.
Betty's situation demonstrates that maternal ties and responsibilities made long-distance flight to the North or remote areas highly difficult. Instead, women often engaged in local, temporary flight (petit maroonage) to remain near family.
This links the historical evidence directly to the pedagogical concept of gendered escape constraints.
3
Evaluate the choices and select the option that best matches this concept.
The statement describing how family bonds and maternal ties constrained flight, leading to local or temporary escape, accurately captures the historical reality shown in the source.
Aligning the analysis with the correct option confirms the response.

Key Concept

Gendered patterns of escape and maroonage
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Topics

Gendered Dimensions of Slavery and Resistance

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