Were there black slave owners in the new world?

by Farcip

Free black men and black slaves existed simultaneously in the US, for example, so I'm wondering if there are any examples of black slave owners in the new world.

MultitudeMan78

In Spanish Florida, yes.

For context first, Spanish Florida was always poor and ready to collapse. Georgia, set up as a “defense colony” for Britain, was gaining quite a lot of power and began expanding south. They claimed that the southern border of Georgia ended at the St Johns River, while Spain denied these claims, offering land grants to people above the St. Johns up to the St. Mary’s River.

As a way to combat this, St. Augustine began allowing enslaved Africans from the British colonies/United States freedom if they made it to St. Augustine, declared allegiance to Spain, and join the military. What Spain was effectively doing was draining the Georgia/South Carolina of their labor/economic force and bolstering St. Augustine’s military. One result of this is Fort Mose, the first free black community in what is now present-day United States. Many of these free blacks ran their own businesses and owned land (even renting it out to whites), and property. We must remember the easiest property own during this period was enslaved people. Fort Mose thrived until the onset of the British Period (1763-1783) when Fort Mose servicemen left, and did not return during the second Spanish period (1783-1822). However, Spain did continue to allow freedom to refugee enslaved people during the Second Spanish Period.

We must keep in mind 2 things here. Spain had a 3 caste slave system founded on Roman Law where slavery was seen as a temporary condition and was not as race based like the British System. Though freedom was possible, it was up to the slaveowner on if their freedom would be granted (usually a payment 1/2 of the enslaved's assessed value), and since slavery was hereditary, some enslaved could free themselves but their family would remain enslaved (thanks u/PhiloSpo !) This policy created a society with whites at the top, free blacks below (who certainly guarded their freedoms), and enslaved people at the bottom. We must also remember that though St. Augustine allowed free blacks, Spaniards still saw blacks as inferior, believing many of them to be “irredeemable” Muslims and likened them to coyotes.

After decades of this policy, Georgian planters in 1812 were fed up and decided to organize a militia, march to St. Augustine, and bring East Florida into the United States. Initially they had the backing of President Madison, however he pulled his support to focus on the impressment of US sailors instead (the war of 1812 we remember). Though the militia made it to St. Augustine, without official US support, they could not do anything, and decided to raid the town and surrounding areas for resources and enslaved people before returning.

Realizing their liminal status as free people, many free blacks (who stayed in Florida) during the last decade of the Second Spanish period began to ensure their freedom by becoming Spanish citizens. This meant they must pledge allegiance to Spain, convert to Catholicism, and own property. Again the easiest property to own was people, so there was another uptick in black slaveowners during this period, trying to ensure their own free status. In fact, by jumping through these hoops to become not just free blacks, but Spanish citizens, some black slaveowners were able to keep their freedom when Florida became a US territory in 1822, as under the Adams-Onis treaty of 1819, all “Spanish citizens” retained all rights and property under US law.

I hope this answered it some, much more context than a clear answer, but yes there were black slaveowners in Spanish Florida, albeit with certain conditions.

Sources:

Black Society in Spanish Florida by Jane Landers

The Other War of 1812 by James Cusick

gerardmenfin

Here's an answer I posted recently for the French Caribbean but more can be said and I'm sure that there has been answers on this sub about the situation in continental America, North and South (I can't find them now) .

Rivathana

This article might be interesting for you: it walks through how black slave owners have been viewed: Koger, L. (2006). Black Masters: The Misunderstood Slaveowners. Southern Quarterly, 43(2), 52-73. The article mostly focues on South Carolina.

To summarise: it was first mainly believed that black slave owners did this as a philantropic act. For example buying your wife as a way out of slavery. Many of these wives were not emancipated and automatically their children were also born as slaves.

Although the census suggests that this indeed happened, there are also examples of black slave owners in the same way as there were white slave owners. For example to work on plantations. The article gives several examples and live stories if you are interested.

Own-Hurry-4061

In 1619, Africans enslaved by the Portugese were brought to the English colonies and sold in Virginia. Virginia did not have slavery for non criminals. These Africans were treated as indentured servants and given a number of years to work to end the indenture. When those years were over, the indentured servants were given land and impliments to become farmers. Several of these free Blacks became successful and had plantations of their own with both white and Black indentured servants. In a true irony, one of these Black plantation owners, Anthony (Antonio) Johnson, had a dispute with a white and a Black servant, Casor, over whether they had finished their term. In 1651, Johnson went to court to enforce the remaining terms and have Casor returned to him by another white farmer. The court found the white had completed his term. It further found that Black indentured servitude was for life. The start of legal slavery in Virginia.

Some free Blacks throughout the ante bellum South owned slaves. Many were benevolent, some commercial. Some a mix.