Authorities in the Americas 1450-1750

Want to read the rest of this paper? Join Essayworld today to view this entire essay and over 50,000 other term papers

1804 (Doc 3). While this strategy in particular is quite effective, other people decided to end their slavery through more peaceful means.
In 1676, the Spanish governor of Cartago, Costa Rica, publicly declared that freed African and mixed slaves would be granted Costa Rican citizenship, or the equivalent of the time, after a large petition was signed by the people of those minorities (Doc 1). It should also be noted that the governor made a pointed statement of the king wanting the Costa Rican provinces to have additional security, so it might have all been in the interest of gaining militaristic power. Nonetheless, they were able to obtain the citizenship available to them. This was, however, an insecure method to gaining freedom, as the slaves of 1774 Massachusetts learned. Between the years of 1773 and 1777, they sent five separate petitions to the Massachusetts legislature, and each one of them failed. Perhaps accusing them of religious inimicality hurt their already low ...

Get instant access to over 50,000 essays. Write better papers. Get better grades. Already a member? Login

CITE THIS PAGE: