Slavery in Canada

1st African in Canada 1605: First Black Person in Canada The first named African person to set foot on Canadian soil was Mathieu Da Costa, a free man who was hired as a translator for Samuel de Champlain's 1605 excursion.

1628: “Slave Boy”, First Black Resident of New France The first named enslaved African to reside in Canada was a six-year old boy, the property of Sir David Kirke. The child was sold several times, lastly to Father Paul Le Jeune, and was baptized Catholic and given the name Olivier Le Jeune.

1709: Louis XIV Formally Authorizes Slavery in New France King Louis XIV formally authorized slavery in 1709, when he permitted his Canadian subjects to own slaves, "in full proprietorship." There were fewer slave-owners in New France than in the neighbouring English colonies, and few French colonists openly questioned the long-standing practice.

The Canadians did not use the term “slave” but instead usually used “servant”. The first Canadian slaves were most likely found in the Maritimes.

Africans, who came from a rich prosperous continent, before bondage, the white loyalists took advantage of their skills (blacksmiths, millwrights, caulkers and coopers) by associating them with pioneering frontier settlements, such as working the fields, building houses, clearing land, etc.

1776 : "Free Negroes" Reach Nova Scotia Canada developed a reputation as a safe haven for Blacks during the American Revolution, 1775-1783. The British promised land, freedom and rights to slaves and free Blacks in exchange for services rendered.

In 1783-4 about 1232 slaves where brought to Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island.

26-27 July 1784: Canada's First Race-Riot Rocks Birchtown, NS After the Revolutionary War, the "Black Pioneers" were among the first settlers in Shelburne, Nova Scotia. They helped build the new settlement. On its fringes they established their own community, "Birchtown." When hundreds of White, disbanded soldiers were forced to accept work at rates competitive with their Black neighbours the ensuing hostility caused a riot.

1790: Imperial Statute The Imperial Statute of 1790 effectively allowed settlers to bring enslaved persons to Canada. Under the statute, the enslaved had only to be fed and clothed. Image: Slave auctioning continued in Canada even after the American War of Independence.

The treatment of slaves in Canada was just as severe as their treatment in the United States. They were punished when they disobeyed their master and in some cases they were whipped, tortured or murdered. Eventually laws were passed which made killing slaves as serious a crime as killing a freedman. Slavery in Canada did not flourish economically as to slavery in America. However, the two countries did have similarities as to those who supported slavery, and as to those who opposed it.

15 January 1792: The Black Loyalist Exodus The difficulty of supporting themselves in the face of widespread discrimination convinced many Black Loyalists that they would never find true freedom and equality in Nova Scotia. When offered the opportunity to leave the colony in the 1790s, almost 1200 Blacks left Halifax to relocate to Sierra Leone.

1833 – The Slave Trade officially abolished in the British Empire. Established slaves were still enslaved in parts of Canada

February-May 1851: Canadians React to Fugitive Slave Act The passage of the Fugitive Slave Act in the United States led to the formation of an larger and more durable antislavery society in Canada.

1850s: Harriet Tubman, fugitive slave, underground railroad conductor, abolitionist, spy, soldier, nurse , aka “Black Moses “ Harriet Tubman was born a slave in Maryland in 1820. She escaped in 1849 and made at least 19 return trips to the South to guide fugitives to the Northern states and freedom. In 1850 the Fugitive Slave Act made it dangerous for runaways to remain in the North. Harriet made 11 trips to Canada leading more than 300 Underground Railway "passengers" to Canada. They moved only at night, sheltering in barns, chimneys and haystacks. She allowed no dropping out or turning back. She drew a pistol on one discouraged fugitive, saying, "Move or die." He and the rest of the group reached Canada in safety.

Harriet Tubman