Slavery

'I heard the same words of ‘I can’t breathe’ echoing up and down the centuries - from George Floyd pleading for his life under the knee of a white policeman - to the unknown Africans chained in the bowels of my ancestors’ ships. There’s a direct and undeniable link. It’s painful to know this. But it’s so important we do.'

Extract from Black Lives Matter and my slave trading ancestors,
Simon Robinson, June, 2020

The stark truth is that the Robinson, Philipse and connected families were engaged in slave trading, slave ownership and facilitating the trade in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Christopher Robinson

Tobacco planter, slave owner and Virginia agent for the Royal African Company

Importer of slaves

'Slaves supplemented convict labour from Britain. Christopher acted as one of three agents taking delivery of 200 slaves from Gambia in 1685; and 220 in 1687. In 1689 he personally imported 26 whites and 26 negroes; one he called Cleasby, a name used by the family for others later.'
Le Flemming, 2009, p.32

'During the period 1689-1713, at least seven Virginians held the commission as African Company agent: Christopher Robinson (1687-93), William Sherwood (1695-96), James Howell (James River, 1700-01) , Willis Wilson (York River, 1701) ,Edward Hill III (James River, 1701-?), Henry Fielding (York River, 1701-04) , and Gawin Corbin (1705-?).'
Killinger, 1969, p.13

Royal African Company stamp

Extracts from the will of Christopher Robinson, 1693

...My desire and meaning being that all or so many of my negroes, slaves or servants as my Executo shall from time to time think necessary and Convenient, be continued and Imployed upon my severall plantations in Middlesex County and Essex County, in- tending and making crops of Corn and Tobacco, or and about such other worke and Imployment as may be most profittable and of greatest advantage to my said Deare Children,...

...my will and minde is that all the Lands and Plantations and Mills I shall dye possessed of shal be used and Imployed To and for the Common and Equall profitt and Advantage of all my said Children, and the Servants, slaves and stockes of horses, cattle now kept and Imployed upon the same at the discression of the Overseers of this my [last will] untill each of my said Children cann and may clame there part or share of my Personall Estate as aforesaid, that the same to be disposed of as is hereafter Mentioned.

Will of Christopher Robinson 1645-93

Administrators of the estate of John Robinson, 1704-1766

'We would now address ourselves to Mr Robinson's debtors, and entreat them to contribute something to the support of the family of their deceased friend... and to consider that if they neglect doing it, Mr Robinson's innocent infant children will be left without a home or a single slave to make them a single morsel of bread. Surely if they have any humanity, they will show it on this occasion, and at least do justice to save a worthy family from poverty and ruin.'
Source: Jarvis, 1967, p.63.

Christopher Robinson III (1705 -1768), will of 1768

In this year, CRIII willed his daughter five slaves and £800 to be paid at the time of her marriage, and Christopher Robinson IV (b.1737) inherited Hewick property. Source: Archaeology of a Female Landowner c. 1768-1832, Marie E. Blake, 1994

Christopher Robinson IV (1737 - 1775)

Page 146 - Account, 1769. Concerns the purchase of slaves and stock by Richard Corbin and Ralph Wormeley as acting guardians of Christopher Robinson IV.*

Christopher Robinson IV died at the age of twenty-one, leaving his sister Elizabeth (Robinson) Steptoe heiress to Hewick. She inherited 1,700 acres and 114 slaves. Richard Corbin and Ralph Wormeley were appointed. Archaeology of a Female Landowner c. 1768-1832, Marie E. Blake, 1994

Sarah Robinson's will of 1771

Copy of Sarah Robinson's will, 6 December 1771. Richard Corbin and Ralph Wormeley named executors of late husband's estate (Christopher Robinson) with slaves given to Christopher (son) and Elizabeth (daughter). Source: Guide to the Robinson Family Papers 1684-1915

Major John Robinson, 1707 - 1787

Page 172 Accounts (fragments), 1775-1777. Eight receipts of notes of purchases made by John Robinson of Middlesex County, Virginia including one receipt for the hire of two slaves (1777). Source: Guide to the Robinson Family Papers 1684-1915

Page 368-371 Copy of the will of John Robinson of Middlesex County, Virginia, 21 February 1785. Leaves home and plantation to daughters Judith, Mary, and Priscilla until death or marriage when it is passed to William (J.R.'s son). Son John receives "Green Branch", daughters Katherine and Mary and son Peter receive slaves. Other family members receive money, livestock, etc. Copy dated 4 May 1853. Source: Guide to the Robinson Family Papers 1684-1915

Will of Major John Robinson, 1785

The Asiento de Negros

In treaties that emerged from the Congress of Utrecht, Great Britain was was awarded the Asiento de Negros, a trade deal giving British exclusive rights to supply the Spanish colonies in South America for a period of 30 years.

It was Bishop John Robinson that negotiated and signed for Great Britain in his capacity as First Plenipotentiary (i.e. had full power of authorisation to sign a treaty or convention on behalf of a Queen Anne).

After the Treaty of Utrecht, Spain granted the Asiento de Negros to Great Britain. The Real Asiento de Inglaterra of the South Sea Company was established in Buenos Aires around 1713, during the reign of Philip V of Spain and Anne, Queen of Great Britain.

The treaty of 1713 permitted the annual arrival of 1,200 slaves in the port of Buenos Aires, mostly to be sent to the cities of Córdoba and Lima. The president of the Real Asiento de Inglaterra arrived in the Río de la Plata onboard the warship HMS Warwick in September 1715

Cuartel del Retiro c. 1880, built on the land belonging to the Real Asiento de Inglaterra

People Not Property

People Not Property is an interactive documentary about the history of Northern colonial enslavement produced by Historic Hudson Valley. It explains the Philipse family's role in slave trading and the lives of the enslaved on the Philipsburg Manor plantation.

People not Property website

Introduction

Despite the fact that slavery was crucial to the economic development of the American colonies, the history of enslaved people in the North has long been neglected. Historic Hudson Valley is proud to share these stories of family and separation, work and community, negotiation, resistance, and perseverance.

The Story of the Charles

Historian Michael A. Lord describes the voyage of the Charles, a ship owned by New York merchant and slave trader Frederick Philipse. The Charles was one of the northern colonial ships that transported hundreds of thousands of captives from Africa to the American colonies and the West Indies

'It is by negroes that I finde my cheivest Proffitt. All other trade I only look upon as by the by.'
Frederick Philipse to Captain Samuel Burgess (1695)

Wider resources

Traces of the Trade

Exploring the DeWolf family's links to the slave trade

In the feature documentary Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North, filmmaker Katrina Browne discovers that her New England ancestors were the largest slave-trading family in U.S. history. She and nine cousins retrace the Triangle Trade and gain powerful new perspectives on the black/white divide.

Watch the introduction or the full film.

Yes! Magazine: Make it Right

In an article from Yes! Magazine from 2015 Sharon Leslie Morgan (who's ancestors were slaves) and Thomas DeWolf (who's ancestors were slave traders) explore routes to healing and reconciliation.

Read the article

Coming to the Table

The Coming to the Table vision for the United States is of a just and truthful society that acknowledges and seeks to heal from the racial wounds of the past—from slavery and the many forms of racism it spawned.

Coming to the Table provides leadership, resources, and a supportive environment for all who wish to acknowledge and heal wounds from racism that is rooted in the United States’ history of slavery.

Coming to the Table website

Heirs of Slavery

'We are a group of people whose ancestors profited from and supported transatlantic slavery and its many related industries. It is a history that we have all examined and acknowledged publicly. There are wrongs in today’s world that derive from the exploitation of African people and their descendants by Britain and other former colonial powers. We believe it’s important to acknowledge this crime against humanity and address its ongoing consequences.

We wish to support today’s movements seeking apology, dialogue, reconciliation and reparative justice. We encourage others who have similarly examined their family history to consider how personal charitable donations, according to their means, can help the futures of people in the Caribbean and Britain. But our main purpose is to lend our voices as heirs of those involved fin the business of slavery to support campaigns for institutional and national reparative justice.'

heirsofslavery.org

Alex Renton, a descendant of slave owners, explains the aims of Heirs of Slavery in this article.

Inheriting the Trade

Thomas Norman DeWolf, 2008

On the surface, Inheriting the Trade is a story about the legacy of slavery and how it continues to impact relationships among people of different races today. By digging deeper, readers will see the connections between racism, sexism, religious intolerance, gender discrimination, and oppression along class, age, and other lines. Read more

Slavery's Descendants

Edited by Dionne Ford & Jill Stauss, 2019

Slavery’s Descendants brings together contributors from a variety of racial backgrounds, all members or associates of a national racial reconciliation organization called Coming to the Table, to tell their stories of dealing with America’s racial past through their experiences and their family histories. Read more

Gather at the Table

Thomas Norman DeWolf & Sharon Leslie Morgan, 2012

Sharon Leslie Morgan, a black woman from Chicago's South Side avoids white people; they scare her. Despite her trepidation, Morgan, a descendent of slaves on both sides of her family, began a journey toward racial reconciliation with Thomas Norman DeWolf, a white man from rural Oregon who descends from the largest slave-trading dynasty in US history. Read more

The Little Book of Racial Healing

Thomas Norman DeWolf & Sharon Jodie Geddes, 2019

This book introduces Coming to the Table’s approach to a continuously evolving set of purposeful theories, ideas, experiments, guidelines, and intentions, all dedicated to facilitating racial healing and transformation.. Read more

Personal Contributions

Coming to the Table members

One of the most important actions in Taking America Beyond the Legacy of Enslavement is to continue to educate ourselves. Here is a wealth of reading material to help do just that; all written by members of CTTT.
CTTT website

Slaves in the Family

Edward Ball, 1999

This book tells the story of southern slavery through tracking the history of the Balls, prominent landowners, rice-planters, one or two of them slave traders, and big slave owners in a southern family in dispersal and decline. Descendants of the Ball slaves may number as high as 11,000 today. Read more

Martin, S. I. (1999) - Britain's Slave Trade - more info

Schama, Simon (2005) - Rough Crossings: Britain, the Slaves and the American Revolution - review

Singer, Alan J (2008) - New York and Slavery - more info

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