How Slavery Built New York City

When we think of American slavery, New York is hardly the first place that comes to mind. But there was a time when nearly half of white families in NYC owned another human being--more than any other city in the Thirteen Colonies with the exception of Charleston, South Carolina. Not only did it rely on enslaved people for manual labor, New York was also a city built on the Triangle Trade. It grew rich largely thanks to its economic ties with the brutal sugar plantation economies of the West Indies. In the 19th century, was replaced with an even more profitable connection to the American South. So when the nation became divided over slavery in the 1850s, NYC fell firmly on the side of the Southern cotton planters. In this episode, we'll talk about the myriad ways in which chattel slavery played a crucial role in creating the city we know and love today.