Slave identity and agency in the Atlantic world

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 70-71)This study of runaway slave advertisements from the Virginia Gazette demonstrates that runaways were intelligent (some even speaking several languages), possessed diverse skills, and were seen by their owners as rebellious, cunning, and crafty. Much of the research concerning slave1y in the Atlantic world has depended on such resources as shipping logs, bills of sale, and slave owners' diaries. Even though these sources provide valuable information on slavery, the data results in slaves being reduced to numbers and percentages. The advertisements in the Virginia Gazette not only show Virginia's deep connection to the broader Atlantic slave trade, but also reveal personal information concerning runaway slaves. The runaway slave advertisements in the Virginia Gazette illustrate that slaves were not docile, unintelligent Africans who accepted their fate, but instead were fully-rounded human beings with families, emotions, and skills, longing for a life of freedom and a chance to be successful in life