Slavery, race, community, and family were vital to the history and development of colonial New Amsterdam and New York. Examining familial and community networks of diverse women, especially enslaved women, reveals multiracial and dynamic connections among ordinary people who shaped the trajectory of the city’s history. In this program, historians Nicole Maskiell and Deborah Hamer discuss various aspects of women’s community building, what it meant to have a family network, and what these connections tell us about slavery in Manhattan.
Nicole Maskiell is an Associate Professor of History at the University of South Carolina. Her book, Bound by Bondage: Slavery and the Creation of a Northern Gentry, centers slavery as a crucial component to the rise and enduring influence of the moneyed Northeastern elite.
Deborah Hamer is Director of the New Netherland Institute, where she is responsible for initiatives aimed at identifying, preserving, digitizing, and translating Dutch language documents in repositories around the world. She is a historian of the Dutch Atlantic world and received her Ph.D. from Columbia University.
Live From New Amsterdam is an ongoing series hosted by the New Netherland Institute and the New Amsterdam Project at the New-York Historical Society. Through vibrant conversations with scholars and historians, each program will investigate new and exciting research related to New Amsterdam, New Netherland, and the lasting legacies of Dutch rule in New York.