TASK FORCE TO STUDY THE HISTORY AND LEGACY OF SLAVERY IN MARYLAND (Final Report) 1999/12/31 MdHR 991422 MdHR 991422, Image No: 35 Print image (43K) |
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TASK FORCE TO STUDY THE HISTORY AND LEGACY OF SLAVERY IN MARYLAND (Final Report) 1999/12/31 MdHR 991422 MdHR 991422, Image No: 35 Print image (43K) |
26 the special characteristics of slavery in Maryland are directly related to the cultural and economic landscape of the state. For example, Maryland is known to have had relatively large tobacco plantations, but many slaves also worked in small towns as well as in Baltimore City performing a number of urban and artisan tasks. As a geographer, I am concerned with the spatial variation of phenomena. Because of the cultural and economic differences among the central, southern, western, and Eastern Shore communities, there were considerable variations in the number and distribution of enslaved Africans and their behavior, as well as their interactions with slave holders. However, relatively little is known about the spatial variation of these relationships. One should not overlook the temporal dimension of slavery in Maryland's geographic regions and the degree to which the colony's social order evolved. How does this social order relate to the developing enslaved labor system? How harsh was slavery in Maryland? Did it become harsher when profitability from tobacco crops were threatened by exhausted lands? There is much research to be done to show the relationship between declining yields of tobacco and declining profitability and the treatment of enslaved Africans. In many cases, planters adopted more intensive farming |