By Rod Arroyo
Northern states, territories, and Canada have a deep history of slavery. Early French settlers were enslavers. Slavery was considered legal in New York as early as 1725, and many early settlers in Michigan came from New York. Traders of beaver pelts used enslaved people to transport products from Michigan to New York and other states along the Atlantic coast.
Most enslaved people in Detroit were either Native Americans (enslaved indigenous people were called Panis) or African American, with Native enslaved people comprising about two-thirds of all enslaved people in Detroit. Female Native enslaved essentially functioned as concubines for their male owners. Civic leaders, soldiers, and priests are among the list of enslavers. During early occupation by the French, enslaved people were encouraged to be baptized in St. Anne’s church, and their enslavers were often listed as their godparents.
Although the Northwest Ordinance (1785) banned slavery in the Northwest Territory, it did not require existing enslaved persons to be freed. The same was true of the Act of 1793 in Canada. Slavery was not banned in New York, a frequent trade partner of Michigan, until 1827. Slavery was not abolished in the U.S. until 1865 (13th Amendment).
As a component of my ongoing research into Detroit history – with a focus on city planning history, the evolution of jazz in Detroit, and the stories of Paradise Valley and Black Bottom – I have prepared a map showing Detroit streets in and around Paradise Valley and Black Bottom that were named for slaveholders. This is now part of my presentation “Detroit and All That Jazz: A Visual Journey Through Detroit’s Planning History and the Evolution of Jazz in the City.”
It is also important to note that Michigan played a significant role in the anti-slavery movement. Many worked tirelessly to help with the Underground Railroad movement.
If you want to learn more about Detroit’s slave history, I highly recommend sources I used for this work and the map below: The Dawn of Detroit: A Chronicle of Slavery and Freedom in the City of the Straits, by Tiya Miles, Bill McGraw, “Detroit’s Forgotten History of Slavery” in Detroit 1967 Origins Impacts Legacies, Neal Rubin, Monuments to Detroit Area’s Past Seen in New, Troubling Light: Slavery,” in Detroit News, June 6, 2020, Human Rights Canada, WhiteHouseHistory.org, and HistoryDetroit.org.
Also, follow along with additional information as I continue my research at https://city-photos.com/detroit-history/