Читать книгу Benjamin Drew. The Refugee. Narratives of Fugitive Slaves in Canada онлайн

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The Arrival of Fugitive Slaves (1820-1860): Loyalty, Suspicion and Writing in Victorian Canada

Prior to the establishment of the Fugitive Slave Act (1850), which prompted a massive escape of slaves to Canada, Black escapees had already decided to flee the United Sates and to move away from slavery. By the end of 1820 and well into 1830, fugitive slaves started to cross the border toward British North America on their own and were rather well received. However, by 1850, both Canada West and Nova Scotia, the two major centers of Black settlement, had established separate educational systems in order to preserve the alleged assumption of equality of opportunity while, at the same time, slowing cultural assimilation. The difference harbored in these thirty years must be understood taking into account the uneven development of Black-white relationships in Canada. A look at the difficulties and obstacles that fugitives encountered alongside Canadian territory exposes the multifarious ways in which Black people fought, metaphorically and literally, to make a living out of Canadian soil.