In the Womb of Slavery
Slavery and the Atlantic slave trade commodified the bodies of enslaved women by making their wombs the site of production of new enslaved persons. Many bondswomen sought to control their own fertility and avoid giving birth to newborns who they knew would be the property of their owners.
In a context of intrinsic violence, where physical punishment was an inherent threat, enslaved mothers had to face the constant dilemma of choosing between their own children and their owners’ offspring. From time to time, however, there was no choice. In these circumstances, some bondswomen were pushed to take extreme actions, killing their own children and themselves. Despite the tragedies that permeated the daily lives of enslaved mothers, more often than not in addition to raising their own children, they tended to other bondswomen’s kids and took care of their owners’ little ones. Eventually, the rise of gradual abolition legislation in the Americas, which started in the late eighteenth century but accelerated during the second half of the nineteenth century, brought hope to enslaved mothers, as free womb laws promised to free their newborns once they reached adulthood. But once again, bondswomen had to fight. They resisted relocation to other regions where free womb legislation was not in force, and they attempted to purchase the freedom of their children before the end of the established terms. When their efforts failed, some bondswomen living in urban areas used the courts to achieve their goals. As we will see in subsequent chapters, enslaved women, including mothers, continued to struggle in all possible ways.