Greetings List,

One thing that I have noticed in research is the differences in slave
treatment from century to century and region to region. A slave in
Virginia in 1660 could have a radically different experience than a
slave in 1760 or 1860. The Virginia Gazette runaway ads found online at
UVA library website: http://www.wise.virginia.edu/history/runaways/  can
be a useful tool in exploring the slave condition  of the 18th century
and noting the difference of situations from the preceding and next
century. Of particular use is the compound word searches. I was
interested to see that several slaves were literate and could forge
their own passes (search: Negro/write, Negro/read, Negro/forge). The ads
also give some small indication of treatment and condition as well. It
appears that slaves would often runaway to ships to serve as crew, many
taking advantage in the fact that often their clothing resembled that of
sailors.

Regards,

Tom Apple

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