Working toward freedom

Drawing from a range of primary sources, these essays show how slaves organized their domestic economy and created an economic and social space for themselves under slavery. They explore how their activities within this space impacted upon the social structure of the slave community, profoundly affecting family and gender relations.

By exploiting their opportunities to provide for more than a modicum of their own needs, these slaves re-established their deep attachment to the family; and, in their efforts to protect the integrity of their families, they became primary actors in their preparation for freedom.