Internal Slave Migrations in the Americas

Abstract

Studies of the movements of enslaved people from one region to another have been dominated by the trans-Atlantic slave trade. In fact, it is, due to its volume, duration, and involvement of international actors one of the most well-known migrations in history. But also in the Americas, enslaved people often migrated within and across national, territorial, and regional boundaries. The volumes were usually much smaller and their durations shorter than those of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, still these migrations often had a dramatic impact on the lives of the enslaved, on economic developments, and on policies regarding slavery. Internal slave migrations were mainly defined by forced migrations, most notably slave trades. Runaway slaves can also fall under the category of slave migrants, yet labeling their movement “voluntary” does not do justice to their situation. “Freedom-based migration” is a more adequate term as it encompasses both their initial situation and the envisioned outcome. This does not necessarily mean that enslaved people fled to free polities, yet because free-soil regions increased toward the end of the 18th century, the number of enslaved people who migrated over borders to achieve freedom became larger as well. The forced displacement of enslaved people has a longer history, but drastically intensified in the 19th century. This was mostly due to the domestic slave trades of Brazil and the United States. As the number of involuntary and freedom-based movements grew in the 19th century, the social, cultural, political, and economic ramifications they brought with them became more dramatic. The focus of his bibliographical overview will therefore be primarily on the late 18th to the late 19th centuries. Approaching slave trade and slave flight through the lens of migration highlights the experiences of the migrants over those of enslavers, traders, and policy makers. More research is needed to add social-historical perspectives; for the time being, the references here listed intend to serve as starting points and inspiration.